MRC developed the first "Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boat" training program to be approved by the U.S. Coast Guard (1996) that meets the mandatory requirements of the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO. MRC also wrote the proposed national assessment standards for FRBs unanimously accepted by the MERPAC¹ Survival and Rescue Craft working committee. By arrangement with the STAR Center in Dania, FL, the curriculum is also approved by the governments of Norway, Liberia, Marshall Islands, and the Bahamas. We have conducted this training directly and on site for several clients, including

• The Military Sealift Command
• NOAA
• The University of Washington
• State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College
• Various merchant mariner unions
• Various cruise lines, including CCL and NCL

This class is also conducted periodically at the Maine Maritime Academy, MITAGS, and the Pacific Northwest Maritime Institute.

The FRB curriculum is based on STCW Table A-VI/2-2, and coincidentally on our own core curriculum. Topics include both classroom and hands-on training in:

• Basic high and low speed operations
• In water victim recovery and transport
• Running alongside another vessel underway and riding a sea painter
• Open water search patterns
• Launch and recovery
• Stern and side towing
• Re-righting a capsized FRB (several methods)
• Sponson and valve repair, and emergency repair
• Use of communication and emergency equipment
• Operations in heavy weather and breaking seas
• Engine familiarization and trouble shooting

We can conduct this class anywhere in the world; contact us for more information.

¹ Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee