The terminal rollout (which is intended to increase the safety of SSRS’s personnel) supports a programme of other operational enhancements, including a new operational headquarter building which offers a larger space to store safety equipment and a fleet of new rescue boats that can travel at high speeds even in rough seas.
SSRS now has more than 200 rescue boats based at 71 rescue stations – all of which have the ability to quickly programme their local fleet of radios, using Sepura’s Radio Manager software.
The chosen terminals include the STP9000 hand-portable, which is IP67 rated for dust and water ingress protection and features technology to protect it against salt corrosion from seawater. Other features include Wake-on-Alarm, which allows an emergency call to be initiated at the touch of a button, even if the radio is switched off. SSRS has also chosen the SC20 and SC21 hand-portable radios, which Sepura describes as being broadband and applications ready, and they support Wi-Fi, as well as TETRA. The SC20 is submersible, waterproof and dustproof to IP65, IP66, IP67 and IP68 and the radios have water porting technology, which drains the speakers of standing water to preserve audio quality in wet conditions.
SSRS was established as a not-for-profit organisation in 1907, with a mission to save lives at sea. It operates on the island of Käringö and receives around 450 calls per year. On the rare occasions that urgent rescue operations are required in inaccessible locations, operations can be co-ordinated with the Civil Aviation Administration’s rescue helicopters. This is aided by collaboration through the Swedish nationwide Rakel TETRA network which SSRS joined in 2011.
