SAREx sea rescue training: "We forgot that it was an exercise"

Sea kayakers disappear in a bad weather front, ships collide, seriously injured people have to be rescued from confined spaces: From 23 to 25 April, the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS) carried out the large-scale search and rescue exercise "SAREx 2026" off Wilhelmshaven with around 140 emergency personnel. The details show just how realistic such large-scale exercises are: radio code words are forgotten when the pressure rises. Even the exercise leader is fooled by simulated gearbox damage. And professional injury actors act so convincingly that the crews believe the exercise is real. Insights into the interaction between the rescue units.

When the code words are forgotten: Pure realism

"Fortunately, we rarely experience missions with seriously injured people," says Stephan von Wecheln, foreman of the DGzRS volunteer centre in Wilhelmshaven. "But in this big exercise, we also had to deal with that, for example deciding who needed help first in a narrow ship. It was so realistic that we completely forgot it was an exercise."

The special radio code words are an indicator of how deep the crews are in the scenarios. To avoid confusion with real emergency calls, the sea rescuers should always use special practice codes on the radio. Instead of "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday", water sports enthusiasts then hear: "Junk, Junk, Junk, to all radio stations, to all radio stations, to all radio stations, this is Exercise Rescue, Exercise Rescue, Exercise Rescue".

"We use these code words because we sometimes use the regular marine radio," explains Timo Jordt, Head of the Maritime Rescue Academy. "This allows us to recognise very quickly whether the crews are still in training mode or are already fully up to speed. When the situation becomes more relaxed, the code words are used. But in the initial phase, when the pressure is high, we hear over the radio: 'There's the person, there's the life raft, there's water ingress' - without 'Exercise', without 'Junk'."

The realism is intentional - and it works. "Of course, 'Exercise' comes first," says Jordt. "But when there's a situation report on the marine radio, with the casualty actors acting realistically in the background and you can hear them calling for help, you quickly forget that it's an exercise." The radio sometimes receives a response from a passing ship: "Can we provide any assistance?"

From the Easter egg hunt to a major accident

Before things got serious for the 140 or so participants on the water, station training in the harbour was first on the agenda. The crews practised ship-to-ship transfers with rope hoist systems, rescuing casualties from confined spaces and navigation.

Then came the first scenario on the water: a group of sea kayakers were supposed to paddle from Hooksiel to Dangast, but were driven apart by a bad weather front. The sea rescuers referred to it internally as an "Easter egg search": dummies were scattered across the Jade Bay - some anchored, some drifting - all equipped with transmitters. A naval helicopter assisted with the aerial search. The coordinated search in subsections trained the interaction of several vehicles. "The helicopter helped us a lot with the area search," says Jordt. "The search areas were searched successfully and quickly."

Two parallel scenarios followed in the further course of the exercise: In each case, a collision between a large vessel (tugboat or passenger ship) and a small vessel (pleasure craft or sailing boat), which subsequently sank. Only the life raft was still afloat. The large vessels had run aground, were taking on water and had to be pumped out. Injured people had to be treated. An NHC rescue helicopter flew in medical assistance and evacuated the seriously injured after sighting them.

"One exercise took place in the area of the approach to the Jade Weser Port, the other in the southern container terminal area," explained Jordt. The two scenarios ran in parallel - a particular challenge for the exercise control centre, which had to coordinate both situations simultaneously.

The final event on Saturday was a large-scale situation: all units were deployed together, with two disabled persons and floating life rafts. "It's a bit of a curve: from light to heavy and complex situations," says Jordt, describing the concept.

When even the trainer thinks the gearbox damage is real

One of the special moments of the SAREx was a scene that shows how realistically technical problems can occur. On Thursday, one of the rescue cruisers involved reported a gearbox failure over the radio.

"The crew presented it so convincingly that even I thought: Oh no!" recalls Timo Jordt. The report from the control centre also left no doubt as to its authenticity. "I really assumed that I would now have to reschedule the next scenarios," says Jordt. He was already reaching for his computer to re-plan the exercise for the next day. Then came the reassuring news: the gearbox damage had also been faked.

These well-rehearsed technical faults - sometimes a blackout, sometimes a gearbox failure - are part of the concept. "It's important to check the internal on-board operations and see how the processes on board work and how well the crew is coordinated," explains Jordt.

Challenges: Weather, technology and coordination

The weather conditions with winds of up to seven Beaufort were a challenge - especially from a planning perspective. "We wanted to push them to their limits, but we also wanted everything to remain intact, both for the damaged vessel and for us," says Jordt. Particularly important: "That no personal injury occurs."

Another difficulty is the ship-to-ship transfer with different heights on board. A tugboat from JadeWeserPort presented the crews with a particular challenge. "With the different heights on board, it is very challenging to transport a person from one ship to another," explains Jordt. "If a SAR boat is alongside, the crew suddenly has to climb very high. So we practised setting up a line connection, finding suitable attachment points and lowering people safely on board."

The training is also important for possible deployments on bulkers or car transporters. "Even if there is a pilot door there, it can still be very high," says Jordt. In such cases, the sea rescuers have to find technical solutions to get injured people off the ship safely.

Mistakes are welcome!

Observers travelled on each of the vehicles involved in order to provide feedback on the processes later in the debriefing. "We do a sharp debriefing," emphasises Jordt. "This means that we address what stood out without mincing our words - both positive and negative."

First there is a station-specific debriefing, then an overall debriefing with all crews. "The observers are usually just moderators who don't have to say much," explains Jordt. "They initiate the discussion and then it bubbles over."

The control centre is also involved: Why did you send me there? Why did I always call out, but you didn't hear me? "Something like that can't be worked through within the crew because you don't know what happened on the other side," says Jordt, explaining the need to work through the missions afterwards.

"It's important that mistakes are made here, because we can all learn from them," emphasises the Academy Director. "If no mistakes are made at all, we have to sharpen up the scenario."

Partners on land and in the air

Seven DGzRS units were involved: the rescue cruisers "Hans Hackmack" (without a fixed station), "Eugen" (Norderney) and "Pidder Lüng" (List) as well as the rescue boats "Peter Habig" (Wilhelmshaven), "Wolfgang Paul Lorenz" (Horumersiel), "Secretarius" (Langeoog) and PAUL NEISSE (Eiderdamm).

Rescue helicopters from the Naval aviators and from NHC Northern Helicopterthe "WSP 5" of the Lower Saxony Water Police and the tugboat "Fairplay 34" and the launch "Seebär".

The Emergency Training Group (ETG) of I.S.A.R. Germany provided professional injury actors. "They are really, really good at staying in character until the very end, until they are landed," praises Jordt. "And not just visually, but also in terms of their behaviour."

The Wilhelmshaven fire brigade took over the further care of the "shipwrecked" on land and set up a patient compartment at the DGzRS station building - a tent in which the injured were sighted and given further treatment.

Insights for training

It's not just the rescuers involved who regularly learn something new during the SAREx exercises - their instructors do too. "We learn the most at every SAREx," summarises Jordt. The Sea Rescue Academy learns from every exercise: Which processes need to be adapted? Where does more intensive training need to be provided? Where can the focus be changed?

New equipment is also tested at SAREx. "When we have new ideas, we place them with SAREx first," explains Jordt. "The crews familiarise themselves with the equipment in advance training, then they can use it in the scenarios. The feedback shows us whether the innovation is a success or not - and we decide whether to implement it accordingly."

One example: the stretcher systems for casualty care were completely overhauled a few years ago. "We realised that the larger flyboard stretchers with a hard body that we use for ship-to-ship transfers are sometimes too bulky to rescue people from narrow ship interiors," explains Jordt. "Flexible stretchers into which the person can be rolled have proven to be more practical. We then incorporated these into the equipment."

Crews reach their limits - that is intentional

"We deliberately push our crews to their limits during these exercises," explains Jan Lutz, Head of the DGzRS rescue service. "This is the only way we can ensure that they are optimally prepared in an emergency. We would like to thank all the partners involved for their great commitment, which makes these realistic exercises possible."

Wilhelmshaven hosted a SAREx for the sixth time. "We have the necessary infrastructure, sufficient berths and the perfect sea area," says Stephan von Wecheln. The host role does entail a lot of extra work, "but we're happy to do it. And there's something about a home game like this."

Twice a year: training for emergencies

The SAREx (Search And Rescue Exercise) is a large-scale search and rescue exercise that the DGzRS has usually carried out twice a year since 2012 - once on the North Sea and once on the Baltic Sea. It is organised by the Bremen-based Maritime Search and Rescue Academy. During the exercise, which lasts several days, the sea rescuers and their partners complete various scenarios with increasing levels of difficulty on and above the sea. The aim is to optimise cooperation between different units and organisations and to prepare the crews for complex operational situations. Larger exercises of this kind have also taken place off Rügen, in the Bay of Eckernförde, in the Bay of Lübeck and off Büsum in recent years.

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