SAR privatisation announced as Swanland sinks
Prince William was co-pilot of the RAF search and rescue helicopter which rescued two crewmen from the Swanland late last month.
The 81m cargo ship Swanland sank in heavy seas off the north coast of Wales late last month with the apparent loss of six Russian crew members.
Two crew members were rescued from the sea by an RAF SAR helicopter co-piloted by Prince William, second in line to the British throne, who serves as Flt Lt William Wales. A survivor said the ship, carrying 3,000 tons of Limestone from Abergele to Cowes, was hit by an enormous wave which rolled it over and broke its back.
Irish rescue helicopters also participated in the operation. RNLI lifeboats were launched from Porthdinllaen and Pwllheli, joined later by the all-weather boat from Holyhead. One crewman was found dead in the water and another five remain missing despite five lifeboats, six helicopters, four coastguard rescue teams, three merchant vessels, an Irish navy patrol vessel and an aircraft searching an area of some 300 sq/m through Monday. The UK’s Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is investigating the sinking.
As rescue operations continued, the British Government announced that the nation’s 60 years of military search and rescue operation was to end, with the service being privatised by 2016. Prince William was reported to have privately lobbied Prime Minister David Cameron to preserve the service when both participated in the England 2018 World Cup bid team.
The current SAR service is provided jointly by the Ministry of Defence operating a fleet of Sea King helicopters from eight military bases, with a further four civilian bases operated under contract to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The new service will see SAR operations provided by contracted civilian crews under an anticipated 10 year contract which the Government intends to award early in 2013, giving the new service provider time to mobilise for 2016, when the Sea Kings will be retired.
The winning private sector contractor is expected to provide a mixed fleet of new helicopters. An attempt to replace the SAR service in February of this year with a commercial operator through the Private Finance Initiative failed when irregularities were found in the bidding process.
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