Posts

Showing posts from December, 2014

SUCCESS FOR MCA IN NEW YEAR HONOURS LIST

Image
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is celebrating after three of its team received awards in the New Year Honours list.   Kenneth Richards Steven Dexter Jane Lee Kenneth Richards has given more than 45 years of commitment as a Coastguard Rescue Officer in Cornwall.   He is the Station Officer with the Port Isaac Rescue Team, leading his fellow volunteers to carry out rescue missions in all weathers and often at unsocial hours. He’s been awarded a MBE. Kenneth, who lives with his wife in Port Isaac, North Cornwall said: "I consider it a great honour to receive this award in recognition of my work with the Coastguard Rescue Service. I wear the uniform with pride and I really love and live for Her Majesty’s Coastguard. I receive this on behalf of my team, colleagues and all volunteers who give so much to make the Coastguard Rescue Service such a success." Steven Dexter is an Evidence An

SEARCH ONGOING FOR PERSON BELIEVED TO BE MISSING IN BELFAST LOUGH

At 15:22 today Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received a call from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) reporting that a swimmer is believed to be missing off Bangor in Belfast Lough. The Coastguard are now coordinating a search of the water and shoreline with the Bangor Coastguard Rescue Team, the RNLI All Weather Lifeboat based at Donaghadee and the RNLI Inshore Lifeboat based at Bangor. The PSNI helicopter, a fishery protection vessel and the Irish Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter based in Dublin have also helped with the search. 

SHETLAND FIVLA INTER-ISLAND FERRY NOT OPERATING

Shetland Coastguard was this morning alerted to an incident involving the Shetland inter-island ferry which operates from Unst to Yell. The ferry hit rocks on its way into Unst this morning at around 6.50am. There were no passengers on board, only four crew members and no injuries sustained. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency duty Counter Pollution and Salvage Officer was informed of the minor collision, but there was no loss of fuel from the vessel. The ferry is currently alongside in Unst with the Fire Brigade pumping out water which was taken on board following the incident.

WORKING THIS CHRISTMAS? SO ARE WE

As many settle down to tackle that turkey lunch tomorrow, spare a thought for the people working this Christmas. This includes Coastguards in our operational centres around the UK, volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers with their pagers close at hand, plus the on-call MCA surveyors, counter pollution and enforcement officers who may need to make a move within a moment’s notice. For some of the Coastguards working at the new National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC), this will be their first Christmas on duty. From those doing the night shift through Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, to those doing the 12 hour shift on Christmas Day itself, there will always be someone there to answer 999 calls and mayday broadcasts. Janis May is a Maritime Operations Officer at the NMOC in Fareham. This is her first year with the Coastguard and she’s working the day shift tomorrow. She says: “As a Coastguard, to think that I may be able to help someone in difficulty and ensure they return safe

SEARCH FOR MISSING MAN IN RIVER NITH

A large scale search involving a rescue helicopter, coastguard rescue teams from Kirkcudbright and Annan and the Nith Inshore rescue team has been ongoing since the early hours of yesterday morning, when an 18 year old man was seen entering the water at College Street, Dumfries.   Liverpool Coastguard have been leading the coordination of the Search and Rescue (SAR) effort for this young man since he was last seen. The Search is ongoing.  

EIGHT FOREIGN FLAGGED SHIPS UNDER DETENTION IN THE UK DURING NOVEMBER 2014

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced today that eight foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during November 2014 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection. During November, there were six new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port. Two vessels remained under detention from previous months and five vessels were released during November. A total of three vessels remain under detention at the end of November. 1. In response to one of the recommendations of Lord Donaldson's Inquiry into the prevention of pollution from merchant shipping and in compliance with the EU Directive on Port State Control (2009/16/EC as amended), the Maritime and Coastguard agency (MCA) publishes details of the foreign flagged vessels detained in UK ports each month. 2. The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris  Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships