We have been trying to get the backing of the RNLI for a long time but have received no response until now. On 18th November I wrote on their fb page: The RNLI would do well to BACK OUR CAMPAIGN. last Thursday they scrambled 4 LIFEBOATS in a SEARCH for someone REPORTED OVERBOARD. CCTV WOULD HAVE SHOWN IF IT HAD HAPPENED: Our supporter, Captain Colin Smith, asked: The question is "does RNLI get any funding from ferry operators!" If so then I can understand RNLI's reluctance to join a campaign that would be against pecuniary self-interest. I always thought they depended upon funding from non-corporates sources.i.e. myself. I'd certainly review my position if I found that it was buckling to corporate pressure. This initiative has such obvious benefits at so little cost that I'm astonished that it has not been put into effect. One incident would fund the retrofitting of such a system. I have responded to MoB alarms where knowing "when and where" would have shaved hours off response times and miles off deviations. As for knowing how many people are on board, I can tell you that BCFC works on a 3% margin of error. This means that, with ship carrying up to 2200 passengers, knowing the passenger count is meaningless, and the ship has to be thoroughly searched BEFORE a search can be initiated. What a luxury it would be to be able to review the external CCTV tapes for the voyage at high speed to confirm somebody really did go overboard, whilst running at a slow bell to await results. RNLI Hi Marianne, sorry for the delay in replying. While we welcome any innovation that takes the ‘search’ out of search and rescue and could help save lives, we are not experts in operating ferries and we haven’t carried out any research into CCTV cameras aboard ferries and how effective they could be for monitoring whether some-one falls or jumps overboard. Ship owners & operators are responsible for making their own decisions concerning safety on board while following relevant legislation and guidance. We don’t receive any direct funding from ferry operators but ship-owners and operators have supported us in other fundraising ways throughout our history – but this does not influence our stance on issues like this. We are a charity that depends on donations but works independently of direct funding from ferry operators. As we’ve said we welcome any improvements to safety, and we wish you the best with your petition. Marianne Fearnside Thank you for your reply and for clearing up that very thorny question. Many people have done research into CCTV and other systems of monitoring safety on deck. I will send you some of them. I know full well that ship owners are responsible for their own risk assessments and for deciding whether to employ CCTV or other methods. We feel that the risks are underestimated, or dismissed, and we would ask that all ships have increased safety systems. I hope you will be able to back our campaign in the future as the rescue services would also benefit from more accurate details of time and place when incidents occur. RNLI Hi Marianne, if you email the research you mention above to social@rnli.org.uk, we'll make sure to pass it on to our operations team. WE WILL BE RESEARCHING AND WILL SEND THE INFORMATION TO THE RNLI FOR THEIR CONSIDERATION. iT IS A STEP FORWARD.