Search and Rescue

Imagery courtesy of HM Coastguard

Bristow has pioneered the provision of world-class search and rescue (SAR) services around the world for 50 years. 

At sea and on land, Bristow has come to the aid of those in need of assistance. Beginning in the UK in 1971, the company has supported members of the public and private sector companies, on all continents, regardless of geography, and in all weathers.

Bristow Group is a leader in global vertical flight solutions offering helicopter offshore energy transportation and search and rescue (SAR) services, to civil and government organizations worldwide.

Since 1971, Bristow has provided SAR services to governments and the energy industry. To date, Bristow has conducted more than 85,000 flight hours supporting over 31,000 SAR missions, during which more than 19,000 people have been rescued or assisted by our crews worldwide.

Operating under Bristow’s main service line called Offshore Energy Services, Bristow’s commercial SAR footprint includes: 

  • Norway
  • Trinidad
  • Suriname
  • United States
  • Canada through our partnership with Cougar Helicopters 

We operate government search and rescue contracts under our main service line called Government Services. Bristow operates the HM Coastguard helicopter search and rescue service for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) of the UK Government. We also operate the helicopter search and rescue service for the coastguard in the Netherlands and Dutch Caribbean.

Bristow’s teams of specialists around the world work together to provide the most operationally effective all-weather helicopter SAR service to our clients, greatly improving the chances of survival for those in the greatest need.

Our challenge is to ensure that everything we do meets the very highest standards of safety and speed of response, no-matter the mission or environment into which we are deployed. 

Bristow offers a fleet of SAR aircraft to include AW139, AW189 and S-92, which are equipped with the latest technological capabilities including SAR Automatic Flight Control Systems (AFCS), Advanced Search Radar, Night Vision Imaging Systems, Forward Looking Infra Red (FLIR), multi-frequency homing, and wireless crew intercommunication systems. Many of our aircraft are equipped with systems to allow us to fly in icing conditions. 

We invest in our people; our aircraft; innovation; and in achieving continuous improvement and operational excellence. We pursue each of these aspects with the guidance of our shared values, which are the foundation of Bristow Search and Rescue’s approach.