“ Speaking from experience the problems most confronting to search and rescue in Tongan waters is the distance . A boat with fishermen on board has to travel out into open waters miles from land , accidents happen boats overturned , someone lost overboard ! engine trouble ! radios for help ; How soon will help arrive ? What type of assistance is required ? Almost all boating tragedy occurs on voyages between islands and because Tonga is scattered within a vast open sea between islands it poses a dilemma for search and rescue efforts . Fast response is of essence for a search and rescue mission to arrive in time to save lives or it will be too late and lives will be lost . There will be cases where rescue will not culminate in a happy ending , but ! in recovering bodies from the scene of a sinking is worth the effort both for the rescue party and especially for the families . Air surveillance would greatly enhance the chances of a search and rescue mission being successful . Rescue ships should be stationed in such a way as to be able to cover a certain area very quickly around the three main islands of the Kingdom . That way they have a better chance of reaching the area to be searched quicker and remaining longer at the scene of the tragedy . Most maritime shipping within Tonga is between Tongatapu and the two Niuas with Ha'apai and Vavau in between . All shipping tragedy occurs on this route so search and rescue vessels must get to anywhere within that area fast on receiving distress calls . No vessel so far has caught fire either in port or at sea yet , but that don't mean it will never happen that must be considered also , and be prepared for when that happens . ”