The plan to integrate maritime rescue services into the new body called for the absorption of Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) units and volunteers.
Twelve months on and 14 VMR units and 530 volunteers have joined with more to come.
Latest to join was the Bowen VMR unit, which has operated since 1969 in about 8500 square kilometres, from Cape Upstart in the northwest to Dingo Beach in the south and out to the Great Barrier Reef.
(Talks are continuing with the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard to bring them into the fold, the MRQ says).
MRQ Bowen Unit Commander Gary Howes says locals should consider volunteering regardless of skill.
“Support from the state government means we are able to provide our rescue services to the community without charge but we can’t do that without volunteers,” he says.
Howes says the work of volunteers varies greatly: “One day we’ll be towing back a broken-down vessel, the next we’ll be practising our expanded square search techniques,” he says.
They even took part in Gilmour Space rocket launches by patrolling the safety exclusion area.
MRQ Chief Officer Tony Wulff says the MRQ Act has given them government support and funding for disaster and emergency responses by providing resources, vehicles, critical safety equipment and additional protections for volunteers.
However, he says that there is plenty left for them to do.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us to build a united statewide service, but we are committed to … providing assistance to anyone who needs help when they are out on the water.”
TORRES STRAIT
In May, MRQ added Torres Strait VMR units on Thursday Island, Masig (Yorke Island) and St Pauls (Moa Island) as it launched its Kubin unit on Moa Island.
The 25-strong volunteer crew will cover more than 250 nautical miles across the Torres Strait and contend with remoteness of rescues and limited VHF radio coverage.
Wulff says the Torres Strait units add northern coverage and capability to MRQ.
“These units are our most northern units across the state and boast some of the most diverse and challenging areas for our volunteers to carry out rescues,” he says.
“MRQ now has marine rescue units as far north as the Torres Strait and south to Currumbin on the Gold Coast,” he says.
