Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center

The Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center or JRCC Larnaca (Greek: Κέντρο Συντονισμού Έρευνας και Διάσωσης) is an independent agency of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus and its primary mission is to organize the national Search and Rescue (SAR) system, to co-ordinate, to control and direct SAR operations in the region that the Cyprus JRCC is responsible for (which coincides with the Nicosia FIR), so that people, whose lives are at risk as a result of aviation or maritime accidents, can be located and rescued in the least amount of time.[3]

Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center
Κέντρο Συντονισμού Έρευνας και Διάσωσης
JRCC Larnaca overview
Formed7 August 1995 (1995-08-07)[1]
JurisdictionNicosia FIR
HeadquartersLarnaca, Cyprus Cyprus[2]
MottoΘΑΡΣΕΙ ΚΙΝΔΥΝΕΥΟΥΣΙ ΒΟΗΘΕΙΝ
Ministers responsible
  • Mr. Charalambos Petrides, Minister of Defence
  • Mr. Giannis Karousos, Minister of Communications & Works
JRCC Larnaca executive
  • Lieutenant Commander (N) Andreas CHARALAMBIDES, Commander
Websitewww.jrcc-cyprus.mod.gov.cy
Footnotes
Cyprus Nation Wide call number 1441

This is achieved by coordinating all the different agencies involved such as, Cyprus Police (Including Port and Marine Police, Cyprus Fire Service and Cyprus Police Aviation Unit), the Cypriot National Guard, the Cyprus Civil Defence and other secondary Units,[4] acting as a communications agent between them, so that they do not conduct overlapping searches and waste time by searching areas already searched by other units and in general help all the different units operate as a single larger in numbers unit, eliminating any other problems that might occur.

It reports directly to the operational control of the Minister of Defence and it is staffed by qualified personnel of the Cyprus National Guard, mainly from the branches of the Navy and the Air Force and with all logistic and technical support is the responsibility of the Ministry of Communications & Works.[5][6]

Τhe Joint Rescue Coordination Center is located to in the city of Larnaca in a new owned building near of Larnaca Airport.[7][8]


History

The Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center was established by Law 5(III)/94 and started operating on a trial 24-hour basis on the 7th of August 1995 as an independent unit of the Cyprus Air Force Command.[9][10]
On March 1, 2002 by decision of the Ministry Cabinet the JRCC undertook formally the responsibility for organizing, coordinating and monitoring, search and rescue operations, in the region that the Republic of Cyprus is responsible for.[11]
The JRCC functioned as such until the 26th of July, 2010. Following the relevant opinion of Attorney General for the provisions of Law 5 (III) / 1994 (on Research - Rescue Ratification Act) JRCC reports directly to the Minister of Defence and operates as an independent agency of the Ministry of Defence.

2023 Sudan crisis

The JRCC has played a pivotal role for incoming Britons who were evacuated from Sudan by Royal Air Force during the 2023 conflict in processing them and giving them temporary accommodation in the Republic of Cyprus under the national "ESTIA" plan until they can be moved to RAF Akrotiri and repatriated to the United Kingdom.[12][13][14] The Cypriot authorities were thanked for their help by the Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace and later the British High Commissioner to Cyprus, Irfan-siddiq.[15][16] It has also played a role in helping the evacuation and subsequent repatratiation of French and American citizens.[17][18]

Training activities

The JRCC is also responsible for training and advising other countries on their Search and Rescue skills and plans.[19]

Cyprus search and rescue region (SRR)

The Cyprus search and rescue region (SRR) coincides with the Nicosia FIR as described in the current Air Navigation Plan of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).[20]

Distress frequencies

The internationally established frequencies to be used for Distress and Safety and monitored by Search and Rescue are:[21]

  • 518 kHz NAVTEX (Maritime safety information)
  • 121.5 MHz International civil aviation distress frequency
  • 243.0 MHz International military aviation distress frequency
  • 156.8 MHz (CH-16) International maritime call and distress frequency
  • 156.525 MHz (CH-70)
  • 2187.5 kHz
  • 4207.5 kHz
  • 6312.0 kHz
  • 8414.5 kHz
  • 12577.0 kHz
  • 16804.5 kHz
  • 2182 kHz International maritime call and distress frequency on MF
  • 406.025 MHz Transmission frequency of EPIRB, ELT and PLB of the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system

JRCC Larnaca maintains continued monitoring of the following frequencies:

  • 121.5 MHz VHF/AM
  • 134.0 MHz VHF/AM (Common of Initial Contact with JRCC)
  • 243.0 MHz UHF/AM
  • 255.0 MHz UHF/AM (Common of Initial Contact with JRCC)
  • 156.8 MHz (CH-16) VHF/FM
  • 2182 kHz MF/HF

The DSC frequencies mentioned above are monitored by Cyprus Coast Station (Cyprus Radio)

  • 518 kHz NAVTEX

Note that: JRCC uses the NATO phonetic alphabet for communicating characters in English and the standard Greek phonetic alphabet (Ελληνικό φωνητικό αλφάβητο) for communicating characters in Greek.[22]

See also

References
  1. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center".
  2. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center".
  3. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center".
  4. "Γραφείο Επιτρόπου Προστασίας Δεδομένων Προσωπικού Χαρακτήρα".
  5. "ΥΠΑΜ: Νευραλγικός ο ρόλος του ΚΣΕΔ σε εθνικό επίπεδο (Φώτος) | Offsite". www.offsite.com.cy. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  6. Μενελάου, Ραφαηλία. "Υπουργός Μεταφορών: Η Κυβέρνηση θα συνεχίσει να υποστηρίζει το έργο του ΚΣΕΔ". www.elemesos.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  7. "Ενημερωτική επίσκεψη στο ΚΣΕΔ Λάρνακας, από αντιπροσωπεία Λιβανέζων Αξιωματικών και Λειτουργών". City Of Larnaka. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  8. "Search and Rescue Contacts - JRCC Larnaca". Search and Rescue Contacts. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  9. Solutions, BDigital Web. "Οι επιχειρήσεις διάσωσης του ΚΣΕΔ σε αριθμούς". Kathimerini.com.cy (in Greek). Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  10. "Η υποχρέωση έρευνας-διάσωσης και η άμυνα της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας". Η υποχρέωση έρευνας-διάσωσης και η άμυνα της Κυπριακής Δημοκρατίας. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  11. "Το άγνωστο σχέδιο Τεύκρος, οι τουρκικές προκλήσεις και οι μεγάλες μάχες του ΚΣΕΔ". Το άγνωστο σχέδιο Τεύκρος, οι τουρκικές προκλήσεις και οι μεγάλες μάχες του ΚΣΕΔ. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  12. "Britons evacuated from Sudan arrive in Cyprus". Sky News. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  13. Corbishley, Sam (2023-04-25). "First flight carrying Brits rescued from Sudan touches down in Cyprus". Metro. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  14. "Ενεργοποιήθηκε το ειδικό εθνικό σχέδιο Εστία. Στην Κύπρο ξένοι πολίτες από το Σουδάν". Ενεργοποιήθηκε το ειδικό εθνικό σχέδιο Εστία. Στην Κύπρο ξένοι πολίτες από το Σουδάν. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  15. "@IrfanUKAmb". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-04-26.
  16. "@BWallaceMP". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-04-26. I am grateful to all our partners including Cyprus.
  17. "We have a whole-team effort going on as our Mission's family members drop off donations of toys, books, bags, and blankets for U.S. Citizens fleeing Sudan and transiting Cyprus through @CyprusJRCC, where our many partners are doing us proud!". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  18. "We are thankful to the Cypriot 🇨🇾 authorities @CyprusMFA @CyprusJRCC". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
  19. "JRCC completes training for personnel from Balkan states | Cyprus Mail". cyprus-mail.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  20. "ΥΠΑΜ: Νευραλγικός ο ρόλος του ΚΣΕΔ σε εθνικό επίπεδο". www.philenews.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  21. "Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center".
  22. "ΚΕΝΤΡΟ ΣΥΝΤΟΝΙΣΜΟΥ ΕΡΕΥΝΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΔΙΑΣΩΣΗΣ - JRCC LARNACA - Φρασεολογία Ε-Δ". www.mod.gov.cy. Archived from the original on 2013-06-23.
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