Matthew is a qualified and experienced Captain in the field of maritime search and rescue (SAR), having served in the sector for over 14 years and as Commander and instructor on search and rescue hovercrafts, inshore and offshore SAR vessels in the UK and across Europe in a variety of maritime SAR contexts. He has spent the last 6 years working as a maritime search and rescue consultant, working with government and non-government organisations around the world to drive forward and advance maritime search and rescue capabilities in areas such as crew and commander competence, search and rescue governance, SAR operation scoping and implementation, risk and legal compliance. He is an internationally recognised maritime search and rescue subject matter expert having been summoned to provide expert evidence and analysis at a number of high-profile international maritime search and rescue legal cases involving large loss of life, mass casualty rescue, implementation of maritime search and rescue operations at the operational, tactical and strategic level, interoperability in maritime SAR and interpretation of maritime search and rescue law and  regulation. He regularly appears on international media providing expert commentary and analysis on notable maritime SAR events, including the European migrant crisis and the loss of the Titan submersible in the North Atlantic. He is a recipient of Fellowships to both the Institute of Search and Technical Rescue and the Maritime Search and Rescue Council for his maritime SAR work, and is currently serving as Chairman of the Maritime Search and Rescue Council providing strategic direction and management of a number of maritime SAR projects across the globe. He is the co-founder of the Maritime Emergency and Coastguard Policy Institute, where he leads on providing evidenced based research and policy recommendations to governments and international bodies around the world on maritime emergency response and maritime search and rescue. More information on his background and work can be found at www.mschanck.co.uk