Established an international legal framework for coordinating maritime search and rescue operations across national boundaries.
Key Facts
- Adoption Date
- 27 April 1979
- Entry into Force
- 22 June 1985
- Governing Body
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- Amendment (1998)
- IMO Resolution MSC.70(69)
- Amendment (2004)
- IMO Resolution MSC.155(78)
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
The absence of a unified international framework for maritime search and rescue created gaps in coordination between nations, leaving seafarers in distress without guaranteed assistance across jurisdictional boundaries. Growing international shipping traffic heightened the need for a formal legal instrument to standardize rescue obligations and procedures.
On 27 April 1979, the International Maritime Organization adopted the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue. The convention entered into force on 22 June 1985, establishing binding obligations for signatory states to coordinate search and rescue services at sea and delineating maritime rescue regions of responsibility.
The SAR Convention provided the foundational legal structure for international cooperation in maritime rescue operations. It was subsequently amended by IMO resolutions in 1998 and 2004 to strengthen its provisions, and it continues to underpin the global search and rescue system protecting those in peril at sea.
Political Outcome
International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue adopted, entering into force in 1985 and establishing a global legal framework for coordinated maritime SAR operations.