6.12 A place of safety (as referred to in the
Annex to the 1979 SAR Convention, paragraph 1.3.2) is a location where
rescue operations are considered to terminate. It is also a place
where the survivors' safety of life is no longer threatened and where
their basic human needs (such as food, shelter and medical needs)
can be met. Further, it is a place from which transportation arrangements
can be made for the survivors' next or final destination.
6.13 An assisting ship should not be considered
a place of safety based solely on the fact that the survivors are
no longer in immediate danger once aboard the ship. An assisting ship
may not have appropriate facilities and equipment to sustain additional
persons on board without endangering its own safety or to properly
care for the survivors. Even if the ship is capable of safely accommodating
the survivors and may serve as a temporary place of safety, it should
be relieved of this responsibility as soon as alternative arrangements
can be made.
6.14 A place of safety may be on land, or it may
be aboard a rescue unit or other suitable vessel or facility at sea
that can serve as a place of safety until the survivors are disembarked
to their next destination.
6.15 The Conventions, as amended, indicate that
delivery to a place of safety should take into account the particular
circumstances of the case. These circumstances may include factors
such as the situation on board the assisting ship, on scene conditions,
medical needs, and availability of transportation or other rescue
units. Each case is unique, and selection of a place of safety may
need to account for a variety of important factors.
6.16 Governments should co-operate with each other
with regard to providing suitable places of safety for survivors after
considering relevant factors and risks.
6.17 The need to avoid disembarkation in territories
where the lives and freedoms of those alleging a well-founded fear
of persecution would be threatened is a consideration in the case
of asylum-seekers and refugees recovered at sea.
6.18 Often the assisting ship or another ship
may be able to transport the survivors to a place of safety. However,
if performing this function would be a hardship for the ship, RCCs
should attempt to arrange use of other reasonable alternatives for
this purpose.