Thanks to a major three year grant from The TK Foundation at the end of 2025, the IMRF has begun developing its online Maritime SAR Academy, a modern, accessible e-learning programme designed to strengthen lifesaving capability worldwide. This work supports the IMRF’s unwavering vision of zero lives lost on the world’s waters.

Saving lives at sea depends on a system that works from top to bottom. From policy and coordination through to research, regulation, equipment development, training, advocacy and frontline search and rescue (SAR), every part plays a role. The IMRF exists to support and strengthen that global system, and its Maritime SAR Academy is a clear example of that mission in action.

The project is being delivered with the support of key partners and guided by an external global advisory panel. Day to day delivery is led by Jaakko Heikkilä, the IMRF International Programme Manager and Head of Training at the Finnish Lifeboat Institution, alongside Paul Duffy, the newly appointed IMRF Project Manager for the Maritime SAR Academy.  

Paul brings more than 20 years of SAR experience, along with strong instructional credentials, including training delivered across the UK Overseas Territories. He has a practical focus on areas such as incident management and human factors. Together, Jaakko and Paul bring deep knowledge of the IAMSAR framework, extensive international training experience and a strong understanding of local operational contexts worldwide.

The Maritime SAR Academy builds on more than 15 years of IMRF training delivery. This includes capacity building work with international partners, training based on IAMSAR model courses, mass rescue operations development, and lifeboat crew exchange programmes. The organisation has also delivered targeted training linked to its initiatives, including Women in SAR, safety culture development, and mental health and wellbeing support for SAR personnel.

Through its existing online SAR Academy, the IMRF has already seen participants from 70 countries complete its Basic Rescue Boat Operator course. In total, thousands of people worldwide have taken part in IMRF training, strengthening SAR capability across the globe.

The development of the IMRF SAR Academy follows from a strategic review begun two years ago, which examined gaps in SAR training and how best to address them. This involved consultation with partners, reviewing past delivery, listening closely to the SAR community and developing a plan that would raise standards while keeping training accessible, regardless of resources.

The IMRF Maritime SAR Academy will act as a shared training and capacity building platform for the global maritime SAR community. At its core will be an online learning management system, allowing users to complete training modules on demand. The content will draw on lessons from across the IMRF’s global network, as well as experience gained through the organisation’s existing e-learning platform, which has delivered an online Basic Rescue Boat Operator course over the past three years.

Training will align with the IAMSAR framework and be supported by additional IMRF resources. Supplementary modules will include topics such as mass rescue operations, safety, climate considerations and trainer skills. Human factors thinking will be integrated in all aspects of the training.

Preliminary module planning for 2026 includes a structured programme aligned with IAMSAR Volumes 1, 2 and 3. Modules will cover an introduction to IAMSAR and the global SAR system, SAR planning and risk assessment, search planning and execution, on scene coordination, and communications in SAR operations.

The training is designed to benefit SAR unit crews, rescue coordination centre personnel and merchant shipping crews. Access will be free for participants from low resource countries and IMRF members, with language localisation and offline access available to support learning in low bandwidth environments.

Alongside online modules, the IMRF Maritime SAR Academy will offer live webinar trainings and an in-person train-the-trainer element. The platform will also support continuing professional development for SAR personnel. While firmly rooted in maritime SAR, parts of the programme will be aimed at the shipping community, recognising the vital role that commercial vessels play within the global SAR system. Work is already under way with partners in the shipping sector to support this element of the Academy.

With that support now in place, the IMRF Maritime SAR Academy marks an important step for the IMRF and the wider maritime SAR community. This is one of the most ambitious projects the IMRF has undertaken to date, and one it believes will strengthen lifesaving efforts worldwide.

The first live global training session was held on 26 February and focused on the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); the recording is available to rewatch here. The first online modules in the Maritime SAR Academy e-learning platform will be available in the Spring. 

For more information on the Maritime SAR Academy, click here