Marine Rescue Batemans Bay deployed crews to rescue two distressed vessels over the last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday, July 8, a crew rescued four people on board a six-cabin runabout stranded by mechanical failure off Jimmies Island, south of Batemans Bay.
Crew members Rod Ingamells, David Murn and Sandra Simmonds and radio operators Glenn Felkin and Mike Dolan were part of the rescue.
On Friday, July 3, a crew was deployed to rescue two people on board a small open runabout with fuel problems past the Tollgate Islands at the entrance to Batemans Bay.
The crew included Murray McCracken, Rod Ingamells, John Clement and Greg Lee, with communications support from radio operator Andrew Murn.
Marine Rescue NSW signed a major communications agreement on June 30, to support their work in saving lives on the water.
The agreement was for the development of a new robust and stable Telstra communications platform to ensure that when a boater was in trouble on the water, crews would get the call to action fast, a Marine Rescue NSW spokesperson said.
The new agreement was for the development of a communications platform to support all the service's communications needs, including phones, internet data and even satellite links.
The project would see a suite of standard new telephone hardware and connection devices rolled out to all 45 units.
It provided all units with NBN, and Telstra LANES 4G back-up, meaning they would have priority access to the network in peak traffic periods and 24/7 priority support to repair and manage outages.
Commissioner Stacey Tannos and Chief Financial Officer Todd Andrews signed the agreement with Managing Director Vivek Trivedi and Sales Director Niten Devalia, of Exigo Tech Pty Ltd, Telstra Platinum partners, who will manage the network project.
The project also included an upgrade to the mobile network by Telstra Platinum Mobility partner, MobileCorp, led by Sales Director Gavin Lo.
Commissioner Tannos said the exciting project would provide the service with essential communications surety.
"We work closely with Telstra and our technology partners ExigoTech Pty Ltd and MobileCorp to ensure we have reliable networks and IT solutions, so we can be certain we can activate our crews, answer boaters' calls for help and access our online vessel tracking and other systems 24/7," he said.
"Every minute can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency on the water.
"So we need absolute confidence that we can not only answer distress calls from boaters caught in a potentially life-threatening situation but also that we can immediately call out our crews to get on the water."
Mr Devalia welcomed the new agreement.
"The agreement made today marks the beginning of a project that was driven from a conversation about how we can ensure a more reliable, secure and agile approach to the way MRNSW engages with its communication and network across all sites," he said.
"Working with Telstra, we will be able to deliver a service that will not only meet today's requirements but pave the way for an adaptation to technology and innovation.
"We look forward to building a strong relationship with such an honourable organisation that's dedicated to helping save lives."
