Barbados Coast Guard

Barbados Coast Guard
Founded1979
Country Barbados
TypeCoast Guard
Part ofBarbados Defence Force
Motto(s)Per Deo Per Mare (By God, By SEA)
WebsiteOfficial website
Commanders
Commander-in-ChiefDame Sandra Mason, President of Barbados
Commanding OfficerCommander Derrick Brathwaite
Fleet Master ChiefMaster Chief Petty Officer 1 Ryan Nurse
Insignia
Naval and Coast Guard Ensign

The Barbados Coast Guard is the maritime element of the Barbados Defence Force. Its responsibilities include territorial defence, patrolling Barbados' territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as conducting maritime law enforcement, counter-narcotic, search and rescue, fisheries and environmental protection and the enforcement of port & harbour regulations. The Barbados Coast Guard currently is based at its headquarters at BCGS PELICAN in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. The base consists of a partially enclosed base for the coast guard fleet to dock. It consists of a small fleet, including its flagship BCGS TRIDENT.

Before Barbados became a republic the usual styling of the Barbados Coast Guard was HMBS which stood for Her Majesty's Barbadian Ship. After republic status, vessels will now be known as Barbados Coast Guard Ship (BCGS).[1]

The Marine division of the Barbados Police Service is co-located with the Barbados Coast Guard. Additionally, the Coast Guard base is home to the Barbados Cadet Corps Sea Cadets (the marine unit of the Barbados Cadet Corps).

BCGS PELICAN can be seen while travelling along the Spring Garden Highway in Barbados. This new base was commissioned in September 2007 and is an ultra-modern complex that caters to the maritime operational and training needs of the Barbados Defence Force and the other forces of the Regional Security System.

  1. ^ The Barbado's Defense Force [@thebarbadosdefenceforce] (2022-05-07). "On the occasion of Barbados' transition to a Republic, the Defence Board has approved the renaming of the Barbados Coast Guard vessels from Her Majesty's Barbados Ship (HMBS) to Barbados Coast Guard Ship (BCGS)". Retrieved 2022-12-04 – via Instagram.