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| Coast Guard overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 15 January 1822 |
| Headquarters | Fareham, England |
| Motto | To search, to rescue, to save |
| Annual budget | £372 million (2021) |
| Ministers responsible | |
| Coast Guard executives |
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| Website | HM Coastguard |
His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is the section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the UK Maritime Search and Rescue Region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons either in distress at sea, or to persons at risk of injury or death on the cliffs or shoreline of the United Kingdom.[2] Since 2015 it has also been responsible for land-based search and rescue helicopter operations.[3]
The chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is Virginia McVea. Operational control of the service is the responsibility of the Chief Coastguard, Peter Mizen.[4]
His Majesty's Coastguard is a uniformed service that fulfills six of the nine functions required by the International Maritime Organization (IMO):
- Search and Rescue,
- Pollution Response,
- Vessel Traffic Management,
- Maritime Safety,
- Accident and Disaster Response,
- Maritime Security.
The other three IMO functions; Customs/Border Control, Fisheries Control and Law Enforcement, are undertaken by the UK Border Force, Environment Agency and local police forces, respectively. The maintenance of seamarks is the responsibility of Trinity House (in England and Wales), the Northern Lighthouse Board (in Scotland) and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (in Northern Ireland). HM Coastguard is a civilian agency, unlike other coastguard services around the world, as the duties traditionally associated with a military coastguard service are spread around the UK Civil Service and British Armed Forces. It is a Category 1 emergency responder alongside the United Kingdom's regional police, fire, and ambulance services as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004.
Lifeboat services are provided by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, or other independent lifeboat stations not affiliated with the RNLI, all under the coordination of the Coastguard. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency wet leases commercial aircraft for HM Coastguard operations — Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland AW189s — to provide aerial search and rescue cover around Great Britain and Northern Ireland, supported by fixed-wing aircraft such as the Beechcraft King Air and Diamond DA-62 in reconnaissance and counter-pollution roles. An ocean-going emergency towing vehicle is also operated in areas not served by tug brokers. On the coastline, HM Coastguard maintains a network of cliff and mud rescue teams, composed of around 4,000 volunteers, and can call upon the National Coastwatch Institution which staffs many former Coastguard lookout stations around the coast. It is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which in itself is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.
- ^ "Prince Charles opens UK coastguard centre". Seatrade-maritime.com. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020.
- ^ "Hansard Written Answers: Her Majesty's Coastguard". Hansard. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
- ^ "About us, MCA". Gov.uk. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
- ^ "Chief Coastguard". Gov.uk. Retrieved 22 February 2024.