Volunteers turn tide for stranded sailors

Fishermen are winched from the waters by the Beihai Flying Rescue Service on Nov 18, after their boat Lushouyu 60909 was damaged in bad weather in the waters off Dongying Port in Shandong province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The past decade has seen a steady rise in the number of unpaid search-and-rescue teams along China's coastline, providing a vital lifeline for vessels and mariners from all nations. Peng Yining reports.

In 1982, at the age of 15, Guo Wenbiao dived into a heavy sea and saved the life of his shipmate, an elderly fisherman who had fallen from the deck of their boat when it was hit by a large wave. That was the first of more than 700 lives Guo has saved as a fisherman and maritime rescue volunteer.

"I didn't have time to think of the danger," said the 49-year-old from Wenling city in Zhejiang province, East China. "If people fall into rough seas, they face certain death if help doesn't arrive promptly."

Founded by Guo in 2007, the Wenling maritime rescue team, a group of volunteers in the coastal city, comprises 14 people and six vessels.

"Fishermen are alone and vulnerable when they work on the ocean," Guo, the group's director, said. "We have to help one another."

In the past 10 years, the number of maritime rescue volunteers has grown rapidly, according to the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center. It has released a report showing that between 2003 and 2012, it organized more than 17,000 rescue missions involving more than 60,000 vessels, about 40,000 of them crewed by volunteers.

More than 80 voluntary maritime rescue groups work along China's coastline, and more than 5,000 volunteers, most of them fishermen, participate in the operations. If ships get into trouble in shallow, offshore waters that are unsuitable for large rescue vessels, local fishing boats can provide help more efficiently, Guo said.

His role as director of the local volunteer team means he carries his mobile phone wherever he goes, and even puts it next to the bed at night. "My mobile number is the 'life-saving number' for fishermen," he said. "We all have work to do and families to feed, but we are always ready to help."

Bravery awards

In 2011, Guo won the International Maritime Organization's award for Exceptional Bravery At Sea.

Having been cut by ropes, shells and debris during rescue missions, his hands are covered with scars. He is always prepared, and when storms occur or are forecast, he always sleeps fully clothed in case he is called in the middle of night.

Yin Jie, director of the emergency management office at the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center, said teams such as Guo's are vital lifelines for sailors.

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