Board and Search Training School Training Activities

During the course each member of the team undertakes a series of military tests to prove their physical fitness and their weapon handling skills.

They also have to demonstrate that they could move quickly and aggressively around a ship wearing the correct weapons and equipment.

The course teaches the sailors how to board a suspect vessel either by boat or by helicopter by descending to the deck on the suspect vessel by rope.

This technique is known as 'rapid roping'.  Training starts on a 50 foot gantry and moves on to live descents from a helicopter at heights ranging from 30 to 50 feet.

In addition to lectures, the team carry out realistic practice boarding of the MV Cossack, a land based purpose built mock up of a typical merchant ship.

They also take to the water and board the training ship Brecon, moored in the River Lynher, and carry out boardings out at sea on a vessel specifically engaged for training.

Instructors from the School or the ship's crew role-play merchant seamen to give the team a real taste of interacting with the crew of a suspect vessel.

The training completes with a final exercise when the teams are assessed by the instructors at the school to ensure they are competent to carry out this important task during deployments anywhere in the world.