International ocean rescue organisations are not known first and foremost for having a sense of humour, but that could all be about to change.

AMVER – the US Coastguard’s ‘Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System’ – has managed to dig up some truly outstanding photos to highlight its attempts to combat false alerts.

See gallery here

Sourced originally from a Russian website the day before April Fool’s – there is no explanation behind the photos – but do add your own photo captions below!