This paper deals with the legal aspects of saving life at sea by the Maritime Search and Rescue Service (SAR Service). Depending on the situation, it is possible to provide assistance to a ship in distress at sea and to people on board, either from the sea by another ship, or from the land side, i.e. from the coast by specially prepared services. The effective functioning of the SAR organizational system determines the effectiveness of the SAR action in terms of the number of people saved from danger at sea. In order to provide assistance, SAR services around the world performs distress monitoring, communication, coordination, as well as search and rescue tasks, including the pro-vision of medical advice, initial medical assistance or medical evacuation, through the use of public and private resources, including associated aircraft. The tasks of the SAR services include organizing disembarkation of rescued people.

Commercial use of the sea includes, among others: sea shipping closely related to the transport of cargo and passengers, transhipment services in sea ports, fishery and aquaculture, marine mining, marine renewable energy, including the development of technologies for obtaining energy from renewable sources (wind, waves, tides), marine and coastal tourism. All the above-mentioned areas of economic activity are part of the traditionally understood maritime economy. Considering the maritime economy through the prism of sustainable development has led to the crystallization of the concept of the blue economy both at the universal level in the United Nations and at the regional level, e.g. in the European Union. The blue economy is a low carbon, resource efficient, circular economy based on sustainable consumption and production patterns, improving human well-being and social justice, providing economic value and employment, and significantly reducing environmental risks and shortages. The blue economy aims to promote economic growth, social inclusion, and the preservation and improvement of living conditions, while ensuring the environmental sustainability of seas, oceans and coastal areas. The legal framework for the blue economy includes, inter alia, in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The function of further development of the blue economy is the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs).