The Brazilian Navy, together with OceanPact, recently conducted a search and rescue exercise called “SAREX Brazil 2025.” The drill was coordinated by the Navy’s Maritime Operations and Blue Amazon Protection Command, which is the main organization responsible for coordinating all search and rescue operations in Brazilian waters.

Over the course of two days in August, the exercise used drift buoys launched from an aircraft to simulate the movement of people adrift at sea, whose positions were tracked via satellite. The drill also used meteorological and oceanographic data from the Navy Hydrographic Center and information obtained by a CODAR high-frequency radar system, integrated into a current prediction model operated by OceanPact.

The exercise evaluated how the Navy’s Search and Rescue Operations Planning and Decision Support System was fed. Using this information, the system optimized its drift prediction models in real-time.

According to Carlos Leandro, OceanPact’s new business manager for innovation and the coordinator of its Meteorological and Oceanographic Intelligence Group, participating in SAREX Brazil 2025 was “an opportunity to show how our meteorological and oceanographic knowledge contributes to the safety and effectiveness of offshore operations.” He notes that integrating environmental data into rapid response systems is essential to save lives and protect resources.

A test was also conducted on the applicability of OceanPact’s CRONOS platform, originally designed for oil drifts, to evaluate its use in search and rescue operations.

The exercise also involved the Naval Aviation Command, the Navy Hydrographic Center, the Naval Systems Analysis Center, the Admiral Marques de Leão Training Center, the Navy Program Management Office, the Brazilian Air Force, CLS Brasil and Bahia Federal University.

The consolidated results will be presented to civil and military institutions, with support from the Secretariat for Interministerial Coordination of Sea Resources.