Moderator: Tore Hongset, Joint Rescue Coordiantion Centre Norway
Description: Through joint efforts by Dalhousie University, the Marine Institute at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Hammurabi Consulting, a model-based approach to assess the performance of a maritime and aeronautical search and rescue system is being developed. The model allows assessing response times under a range of environmental conditions and asset allocation scenarios. This work contributes to assessing the maximum expected time of rescue as required by the Polar Code, aimed at improving ship safety and emergency preparedness and response in the Arctic. Target users and stakeholders include Arctic ship operators, classification societies, maritime administrations, Rescue Coordination Centers and SAR authorities.
Aleksei Buinyi, Marine Information Technologies LLC (pre-recorded)
Affiliation: Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
Bio: Dr. Floris Goerlandt is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Risk Management and Resource Optimization for Marine Industries. His research interests include risk assessment and management, Search and Rescue, area-based management of shipping, and resilience of maritime transportation systems. He has published over 150 articles on these topics.
Affiliation: Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS
Bio: Kimia Mostaghimi is a Master of Applied Science graduate from Dalhousie’s Department of Industrial Engineering. Her research focused on developing an approach to assess the response time of maritime vessels to a distressed vessel in the Canadian Arctic. She currently works as a Safety Risk Analyst at Metrolinx.
Affiliation: Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL
Bio: Mohammad Zarrin Mehr is a Master of Maritime Studies graduate from MUN’s Marine Institute. His research focused on developing a model to assess the response time of SAR helicopters to a distressed vessel in Atlantic Canada. He currently works as a Senior Fire Protection & Process Safety Engineer at Hatch.
Bio: Parsa Rezaei is a Master of Applied Science graduate from Dalhousie’s Department of Industrial Engineering. His research focused on developing a model to assess on-site rescue time to a distressed vessel in the Canadian Arctic by SAR assets. He currently works as a Process Improvement Engineer at Tower Engineering Professionals.
Affiliation: Hammurabi Consulting, Halifax, NS
Bio: Jack Gallagher is a Master Mariner who served 22 years with the Canadian Coast Guard before founding Hammurabi Consulting. His work spans policy, risk assessment, auditing, training, and operations. He has also taught at the Center for Marine Simulation and lectured at universities in Canada, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
Affiliation: Marine Institute, Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bio: Dr. Robert Brown is a Senior Research Scientist at the Ocean Safety Research Unit at MUN’s Marine Institute. His research interests include thermal protection in maritime and Arctic survival situations, performance assessment of emergency locator beacons, modelling of maritime Search and Rescue operations, and modelling human behaviour during ship evacuation. He has contributed to several ISO standards and IMO regulations in these areas.
Bio: Dr. Ronald Pelot is Professor with research interests in maritime safety, environmental risks, spatial analyses, vessel traffic modeling, data analytics, response resource allocation, and risk assessment methods. From 2012 to 2022, he was Associate Scientific Director of the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network of Centres of Excellence.
Affiliation: Marine Information Technologies LLC
Bio: Aleksei Buinyi has a background in physical oceanography and specializes in polar sciences. His research spans ocean circulation, wave dynamics, and satellite data analysis. He has also developed a growing interest in signal processing, deep learning, and metocean studies, with a strong emphasis on real-world applications.