Pre-deployment training for humanitarian SAR

Know the
vessel.
Save lives.

Free, expert-built training for crew joining humanitarian search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Built by practitioners. No prior maritime experience required.

Begin module 1.1 View all modules
31
Modules planned
6
Training tracks
100%
Free for NGOs
0
Prior experience needed
Training tracks
Everything before you board

Six tracks covering the full pre-deployment knowledge base — from maritime fundamentals to survivor interaction and mental health resilience.

Track 01
Maritime fundamentals
How ships work, vessel orientation, weather and GMDSS basics, personal safety, and watch systems. Start here if you've never been to sea.
6 modules
Module 1.1 live
Track 02
SAR operations
The SAR system, search patterns, RHIB operations, mass rescue, night ops, and post-rescue documentation. The operational core.
7 modules
Simulator live
Track 03
Medical & first response
Triage methods, drowning and hypothermia response, medical emergencies at sea, and paediatric and pregnancy considerations.
5 modules
Coming soon
Track 04
Survivor interaction
Who the survivors are, first contact protocols, working with interpreters, identifying vulnerable persons, and humanitarian principles at sea.
5 modules
Coming soon
Track 05
Mental health & resilience
Vicarious trauma, psychological first aid, critical incident debrief frameworks, and managing fatigue across sustained operations.
4 modules
Coming soon
Track 06
Legal & humanitarian framework
International law of the sea, SAR obligations, flag and port state relationships, NGO operating frameworks, and incident documentation.
4 modules
Coming soon
Why this exists

Every year, hundreds of volunteers and NGO staff board humanitarian SAR vessels with little to no formal maritime preparation. Onboard briefings are rushed. Crews are under operational pressure. And the gap between what a newcomer knows and what they need to know falls on experienced crew to fill — time they don't always have.

Operation Ready exists to close that gap before people board. Not to replace training — but to ensure that when crew arrive, they already speak the language, understand the environment, and know what's expected of them.

It's free. It's built by practitioners. And it will always stay that way for humanitarian organisations.

"The crew will assume you know things you don't. That assumption costs time in the best case — and something worse in the worst."
Built from operational experience — Mediterranean SAR
Free for humanitarian organisations
Operation Ready is completely free for NGO SAR teams — SOS Méditerranée, Sea-Watch, MSF Sea, Alarm Phone, Open Arms, and others. No account required. No paywall. Share freely with your crew.
Get in touch
Built for teams working with
SOS Méditerranée
Sea-Watch
MSF Sea
Open Arms
Alarm Phone
Sea Eye
Emergency
ResQ