If you are a journo, all you need to know is that the RNLI have RIB's stationed worldwide for UK registered aircraft incidents over water. They stay on station for two weeks each shift, except for those in the horse latitudes - those crews stay on station longer. They navigate by hyperbolic navigation.
Union agreements with the RNLI crews dictate that they can't stay on station for more than 6 weeks at a time as they have FTL's. (Floating Time Limitations)
In the US, I believe the USCG do this work due to work visa requirements. (USCG - some kind of pseudo military organisation with governmental approval, like Blackwater)