The objective is to create a European Maritime SAR Response Module, improving capacity, speed and effectiveness of response for dealing with major coastal inundation disasters.

Although the pilot project core partners are from the UK (Maritime and Coastguard Agency), Sweden (Swedish Rescue Services Agency) and Ireland (Irish Coast Guard), EU FloodCommand is designed to be multinational, with maximum participation and dissemination throughout the European Union being achieved by a programme of conferences, workshops and exercises, alongside a technology development program which will put in place an Extranet for the alerting, deployment and tasking of Maritime Search and Rescue assets.

The EU FloodCommand technology development programme will support the development and exercising of an Extranet system for the coordination and tasking of maritime search and rescue (SAR) assets in response to coastal inundation flooding events. The technology development partner selected for the project, and the company which will also be responsible for programme and conference management, is UK based international emergency services technology and consulting company VectorCommand Ltd.

The project was formally launched in London on 20 February when the Project Board met formally for the first time. Preparations are now under way for the EU FloodCommand initial Conference and Workshop, which will be held in the UK in the second week of May 2007. The conference will involve stakeholder organisations from all EU nations with either maritime SAR assets or coastal/tidal flooding concerns, and is being held to research and define the programme requirements.

Magnus Qvant, of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency College, Revinge said,  ‘The Swedish Rescue Services Agency College is very pleased to support the EU Flood Command Project. We are participating in this project with our full competence and resources. We are also doing everything we can do to engage the Swedish maritime rescue organisations in this project designed to promote understanding and cooperation. We are convinced that the EU FloodCommand Project will create a mutual platform for assistance when a major coastal inundation occurs.’