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Sailor rescued from damaged vessel 600 miles out at sea

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A sailor onboard a critically damaged yacht , around 600 nautical miles out at sea, was saved as part of a two-day rescue operation led by HM Coastguard.   Thanks to knowing what to do in an emergency and having the right equipment onboard, it was much easier for the sailor to be successfully located and rescued.   The first beacon alert was received by HM Coastguard at around 11.30am on Thursday, 2 November . The solo sailor activated the beacon while in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Cornwall.   In the midst of Storm Ciarán the vessel had lost its mast and was taking on water.   Air assets and vessels in the vicinity were requested to head to the distress position to provide assistance . Due to the position of the yacht and the weather in the Atlantic , the first responding vessel estimated their arrival to be around 2 0 hours later . D espite this, they changed course and proceeded .   W ith the correct safety equipment onboard the yacht , the sailor was able to keep communicat
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Fears for safety of people in mental health crisis as festive season looms

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Senior Maritime Operations Officer Joel is more aware than most of the impact the time of year has on mental health. With Christmas and New Year around the corner, the experienced search and rescue coordinator has spoken out on International Men’s Day to raise awareness. Joel, based at Holyhead Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), has worked for HM Coastguard since 2011 and said that, in that time, he has sadly dealt with many people struggling with life. For the past five years, HM Coastguard callouts to incidents involving people threatening self-harm have been on the rise and are among the top reasons for incident response each year. Joel said: “Everyone in this room has taken a call from someone struggling with their mental health, as an emergency service, it is a part of the job. “It is why awareness days like International Men’s Day are so important; so that we can highlight the problem and work towards improving it. Prevention is absolutely key. No one likes incidents inv
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HM Coastguard to take part in Remembrance Day Parade at the Cenotaph

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HM Coastguard representatives at the Field of Remembrance opening ceremony HM Coastguard will be taking part in the Remembrance Day Parade at the Cenotaph, with a contingent of 10 chosen to march.  The group selected have never taken part in the contingent before as, each year, a new group are awarded the honour of representing the search and rescue service.  They have been selected from every area of the coastguard, including maritime, coastal, air and non-operational.  Alongside those marching at the Cenotaph, there will also be 15 members of the coastguard at the Westminster Abbey service on Sunday.   This weekend’s involvement in events follows four Coastguards paying tribute in the opening ceremony of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster event on Thursday. The memorial garden was opened this year by Queen Camilla, who took time to inspect the coastguard plot and meet Senior Coastal Operations Officer Ryan Douglas.  Queen Camilla opened the Fields of Remembrance Service, with Se
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Maritime and Coastguard Agency partners with Multiverse in skills drive

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The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has partnered with a tech start-up to deliver data skills training to at least seven per cent of the workforce in the next three years. Multiverse is working alongside the MCA to launch data apprenticeships in a drive to boost the skills of teams and make better use of data. So far, 42 apprentices have been enrolled on data apprenticeships within the maritime industry, with plans to expand the programme in the future. Various teams across the MCA, and across the UK, will be able to access data training A drive to upskill staff is supported by MCA employees. Research by the UK Government* found that almost a quarter of employees use data skills in their work, yet a shortage of these skills among staff is estimated to cost UK businesses as much as £2bn a year. Charis Doidge, Head of Data Science and Analytics at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, said: “We’re committed to building data capability within the MCA and are excited to be offer
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Online form quicker and easier for volunteer coastguard enrolment

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  Applying to enrol as a volunteer with HM Coastguard is becoming quicker and easier.   After successful trials throughout the UK, a new online volunteer enrolment form has been launched nationally by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).   With a tap or click of a mouse, applicants can access the form online to complete at home or on the go and submit on any internet-enabled device, including smartphones.   It is the first MCA project to benefit from the government's new digital form-builder, GOV.UK Forms, launched this year by the Government Digital Service, part of the Cabinet Office.   Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) undertake lifesaving search and rescue activities all around the UK coastline in diverse environments including mud, cliffs and water.   As members of Coastguard Rescue Teams, they work closely with the other emergency services and volunteer organisations. As a volunteer role, attendance as a CRO is quite flexible. Full training and kit are p
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Coastguard highlights 'tenacity and resilience' of residents evacuated in Storm Babet floods

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"The tenacity and resilience of people, when disaster strikes, can be really incredible. They were the ones faced with a horrendous situation, and yet they were thanking us for coming."   More than 100 HM Coastguard Rescue Officers were  deployed across the UK as part of the National Flood Response Framework during the Storm Babet response last weekend , with coastguard flood rescue teams seen across news channels in some of the worst affected areas. If you tuned into any mainstream news channel during coverage, you would have seen some of our teams in action, as they rescued people from homes caught in floods. Graham, a coastguard rescue officer from Southport in Merseyside, was among those deployed to Brechin and Invergowrie in Northeast Scotland last week, as he helped warn and evacuate residents caught out by the rising waters. Sent as part of the coastguard flood team in Area 15 (officers from Wirral, Southport, Fleetwood, Knott End, Arnside, Furness, Millom, Whitehaven
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Meet Your Coastguard Stornoway: International Control Room Week special series

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Part Five of a series of Meet Your Coastguard specials from our operations rooms for International Control Room Week, as we round off the week by meeting a member of the Stornoway team. We have introduced you to Senior Maritime Operations Officer (SMOO) Dave at Humber, SMOO Norman at Belfast, Maritime Operations Officer Gregg in Milford and Team Leader Jolene at Humber to give you a bit of insight into what makes our operations room staff tick. We are rounding off our week of introductions with Graham at Stornoway. We hope you never have to meet them but, if the worst happens at the coast and you have to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard, it is experienced people like Dave, Norman, Gregg, Jolene and Graham who will be on the other end of the phone, ready to guide you to safety. National network HM Coastguard operates on a UK-wide basis and, as the only national emergency service, is responsible for a Search and Rescue Region of approximately one million square nautical miles. There a
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