Recommendation CR5: Mass Persons in Water Triage procedure
From The Cranston Inquiry Report, published 5 February 2026.
Recommendation
Those involved in maritime search and rescue should adopt formally the Mass Persons in the Water Triage procedure to govern the operational response to a maritime search and rescue incident when the number of people requiring rescue exceeds the capability of the search and rescue units on scene.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended that maritime search and rescue responders formally adopt a mass triage procedure. In October 2026, the Cabinet Office reported that the recommendation had been marked as complete under an ongoing approach subject to internal monitoring by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) (Cabinet Office, Oct 2026). In July 2026, the Department for Transport stated that His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) had incorporated the triage tool into its mass rescue operations plan and shared it with other search and rescue partners (Department for Transport response, Jul 2026). The department added that the tool had been adopted by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and vessels contracted by the Border Security Command (BSC) (Department for Transport response, Jul 2026).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 16 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Government response
The Multiple Persons in Water Triage Tool developed by HMCG has been adopted by the RNLI and vessels that are contracted by Border Security Command (BSC). Following international consultation and endorsement through the International Mass Rescue Federation (IMRF), the RNLI have now implemented the tool throughout the UK to all their lifeboat crews. In March 2026, HMCG shared the tool with all other SAR delivery partners, including independent lifeboats and Bristow Helicopters. The tool is also included in HMCG’s Mass Rescue Operations Plan, which is used by operational HMCG staff as a framework for how to best respond to a large-scale mass rescue operation. It outlines the roles within a response, how HMCG should respond and requirements to train, exercise and continuously develop.
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: Cranston Inquiry Report: Interim Response (CP 1635), presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Transport in July 2026. The words are the Department for Transport's. The paper describes HM Coastguard, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch in the third person ("HMCG recognises ..."), so the site files each passage under the Department, not under the body the recommendation is addressed to.
Delivery
Cabinet Office says completed (5 October 2026)
The Department for Transport published its interim response to the Cranston Inquiry in July 2026, which included updates against this recommendation. This update noted that many of the recommendations - including this one - have been marked as complete but are necessarily based on an on-going approach, rather than having a single end point. The Department (DfT), the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), and His Majesty’s Coastguard (HMCG) are committed to on-going learning and improvement, and will regularly review processes and practices, learning from best practice, to ensure that they are fit to meet the evolving challenges of maritime search and rescue (SAR). Due to the operational and ongoing nature of these recommendations, the MCA has established an internal process of monitoring, verifying and reporting against recommendations that are its responsibility, noting that many recommendations require an on-going approach rather than reaching a single, fixed point.
From: Cranston Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, October 2026 (data file)
Site note: The dashboard gives each recommendation its own cell. The cells for recommendations 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15 and 16 carry the same words, so the same passage is recorded on each.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Department for Transport
Response - Cabinet Office
Delivery statement