Why in news?
The Indian Coast Guard conducted the twelfth National Maritime Search and Rescue Exercise off Paradip, Odisha, on 8 October 2026. Known as SAREX-2026, the exercise tested a coordinated response to a simulated mass-rescue emergency at sea. Its scenario involved an aircraft carrying 228 people making an emergency water landing and striking a container vessel, causing fire. These were exercise situations, not reports of an actual disaster. Ships, aircraft, rescue equipment and command teams had to work together to locate and recover people. The purpose was to test the links between agencies that must function quickly when no single rescue unit can manage an emergency alone.
Why a coastal exercise involves many organisations
Paradip lies on Odisha's Bay of Bengal coast, near the Mahanadi's meeting with the sea. Its port setting brings commercial shipping and coastal activity into the same operating environment. A rescue response there may need both seagoing resources and facilities ashore. Finding survivors, treating injuries, fighting a fire and organising evacuation are different tasks. The exercise put these responsibilities into a shared scenario rather than treating each organisation's equipment as a separate demonstration.
The Coast Guard's account describes participation by fifteen of its ships, two naval ships and several types of aircraft. The sequence included rescue from the water, firefighting and the use of remotely operated equipment. An incident command post helped coordinate the response. These activities illustrate the difference between possessing rescue assets and directing them effectively. The exercise tested how available resources could be brought together around the same emergency.
The organisation behind a distress response
The Coast Guard is India's coordinating authority for maritime search and rescue. Its national arrangement includes Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair. These centres cover the western seaboard, eastern seaboard and island sea areas respectively. They provide a point for receiving information, coordinating assistance and assigning resources. Coast Guard stations and rescue sub-centres connect this larger organisation with operating units along the coast.
This structure matters because a person in distress may first be seen by a passing ship or reported through another agency. The nearest available resource may not belong to the organisation coordinating the incident. A working system must bring those observations and resources together. Common procedures help responders understand who is directing the operation and what each unit has been asked to do. Geography determines the response area, while the emergency determines which capabilities are needed.
International rules make cooperation part of rescue
The International Maritime Organization's Search and Rescue Convention was adopted in 1979 and entered into force in 1985. It established a framework for coordinated assistance wherever people are in distress at sea. Countries arrange search-and-rescue regions, rescue coordination centres and cooperation with neighbouring services. The purpose is a dependable rescue system rather than an isolated national capability. Arrangements include communications, trained personnel and procedures that connect maritime and aviation responses.
The Convention requires rescue coordination centres to operate continuously with suitably trained staff. It also encourages cooperation that pools resources and improves access during emergencies. An aircraft forced down at sea demonstrates why aviation and maritime services cannot work separately. The aircraft's distress information must lead to a search area, while ships and rescue aircraft must receive usable instructions. SAREX's combined scenario tested this relationship in practical terms.
What preparation adds to the sea phase
The exercise followed an inaugural programme and the National Maritime Search and Rescue Board's annual meeting on 7 October. The official pre-exercise account recorded thirty-two international delegates from thirty countries. Their participation provided an opportunity to compare procedures and observe India's arrangements. Such cooperation is especially relevant when shipping routes and emergencies extend beyond one country's immediate coastline. Familiarity with another service's procedures can support coordination before an actual emergency creates urgent demands.
Conclusion
SAREX-2026 examined the chain connecting an alert, a command decision and help reaching people at sea. Its value lies in revealing whether separate teams can function as one response system. The simulated scale made coordination central to the exercise, not merely the number of ships involved. Lessons become meaningful when they improve procedures, communications and future training.