HM Coastguard

Falmouth Coastguard is currently involved in a search and rescue operation in the Indian Ocean. At 0830 this morning the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) received a satellite call   from a 45ft yacht with three people on board, including a British national, around 300 miles south of the Seychelles.  The vessel has suffered severe damage to its main rudder and is taking on water, with crew using pumps to limit the amount of water taken onboard.   Falmouth MRCC has requested a Maersk tanker in the region to divert to the yacht's location. The tanker’s estimated time of arrival is around 1930 UK time, due to adverse weather conditions in the area. The seas are rough to very rough with wind speeds in excess of 25 knots. Falmouth has also alerted nearby authorities, including the Seychelles Coastguard, and other resources in the region.   Falmouth Coastguard Watch Manager, Martin Bidmead, said: "The y...

Three kayakers were rescued this morning eight miles off the Devon coast. At 8.25am Swansea Coastguard received a mobile phone call from three kayakers who reported they had got into difficulties after the double kayak had capsized during a 22 mile paddle from Ilfracombe to Lundy Island .   The mobile phone signal from the caller was weak and dropped out at times due to the kayakers being far offshore but Coastguard coordinators were able to get an approximate position of the incident. Swansea Coastguard asked Appledore and Clovelly RNLI lifeboats to head to the location eight miles off the coast and while lifeboats were heading to the scene Swansea Coastguard was contacted by the container vessel Endeavor, which spotted the kayakers.   The vessel stood by until the Clovelly inshore lifeboat arrived and recovered the three men and then rendezvoused with the Appledore all weather lifeboat. The men were taken back to shore by Appledore RNLI lifeboat and were asses...

Her Majesty's Coastguard, Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Bangor Marina and Harbour manager are asking people not to put themselves at risk during this spell of good weather. The warning comes after the agencies noticed an increase in the number of people jumping off Eisenhower Pier as well as a rise in the number of young people consuming alcohol in the area. Steve Carson, Rescue Coordination Centre Manager at Belfast Coastguard, said: “We always urge people to have fun but stay safe when out enjoying our beautiful coastline. “Jumping from piers, cliffs and rocks – or tombstoning as it is also known - is a big concern as it’s extremely dangerous. Water depth alters with the tide, so deep water at lunch will be extremely shallow and dangerous by tea time. Objects like rocks may not be visible either, and they can cause serious injury if you jump onto them. “It’s also worth remembering that the sea and alcohol do not mix. If you have been drinking, your j...

Dover Coastguard was contacted just after 11am this morning to reports that a woman had gone into the sea from Ramsgate pier. The Margate Coastguard Rescue Team, the search and rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham, along with five boats, including two RNLI lifeboats from Ramsgate, were sent to the scene. A thorough land, sea and air search was carried out but nothing found. Unless any new information comes to light, the search has now been stood down.

Coastguards have reunited a dog with its owners more than 12 hours after it went missing. Brixham Coastguard was contacted just after 7.30 this morning by a member of the public who spotted a dog in the water near Babbacombe pier. The woman was concerned for the safety of this dog as she was thought it would be swept further out to sea and wouldn’t be able to get back to shore. Worried that the woman was about to go in after the dog, the Torbay Coastguard Rescue Team  (CRT)  was sent to the scene. When they got there the staffie cross had managed to swim his way back to shore. Harry with his relieved owner and John Bunce, Torbay CRT Upon further investigation, it turned out the dog, known as Harry, had been reported missing by his owners at 6pm yesterday evening. Torbay Coastguard Rescue Team has since taken Harry back to his owners. Andy Huber, Watch Manager at Brixham Coastguard, said: “We’d just like to take this opportunity to remind people...

Figures suggest increase in lifejacket [1]  wear has led to fewer deaths. Twelve people’s lives might have been saved in 2013 if they had been wearing a lifejacket or buoyancy aid, according to the Casualty Review Panel [2] . The number of people who died without a lifejacket/buoyancy aid, who may have lived if they had worn one, has been decreasing since 2007 as the message about the importance of lifejacket use gets through to the public. The panel has suggested that increasing awareness of the benefits of buoyancy aid and lifejacket wear may have helped to reduce the numbers of lives lost over the last few years. The Casualty Review Panel meets once a year to discuss the circumstances surrounding fatal maritime incidents, and provides its opinion about whether a lifejacket or buoyancy aid might have saved a person’s life. This year the panel commented that other safety measures, in addition to buoyancy wear, are important in ensuring safety. These include carrying a mea...

Belfast Coastguard coordinated the search this evening for a child who was missing near cliffs close to the Silvercliff Caravan Park at Ballycastle. The Ballycastle and Coleraine Coastguard Rescue Teams, a Police helicopter, the rescue helicopter from RAF Prestwick and the Portrush and Red Bay RNLI lifeboats all searched for the missing child after Belfast Coastguard received reports that the child was missing. The child was found at the base of the cliffs and has been taken by the RAF helicopter to Coleraine Hospital .

Dover Coastguard has been assisting a dive boat this afternoon after two of its divers experienced difficulties during a dive mid channel, south of Eastbourne . Both divers have been evacuated from the dive vessel by Coastguard helicopter, with the assistance of the Trinity House Vessel, ‘Patricia’ and have been taken to Eastbourne Hospital .

A father and son have been rescued and brought ashore this afternoon after their boat broke down and their attempt to repair it went wrong. The angling boat was 3 nautical miles off Redcar , when it broke down and the 2 men began attempting to repair it. As they worked on the engines, the main engine suddenly sprang into action and threw both of them into the water. The boat circled around the two men in the water (neither of whom was wearing a lifejacket) for 40 minutes before the vessel ran out of fuel. At this point the son was able to clamber back on board and broadcast a mayday message. The fishing vessel ‘Nimrod II’, the pilot vessel ‘Coatham’ and a passing warship responded to the request for assistance, whilst Humber Coastguard requested the Redcar RNLI lifeboat to launch. The Nimrod II rescued the man from the water and took him to shore, whilst the Coatham stood by to ensure safety. When the lifeboat arrived on scene, it retrieved the other man from the angling b...

An Eastbourne Coastguard has been awarded an MBE for his dedication and commitment to the Coastguard Rescue Service. Stuart McNab has been with the Eastbourne Coastguard Rescue Team for more than two decades, and has been leading the team as Station Officer for the last 15 years. In that time, he has attended over 2,000 coastal incidents, including more than 500 cliff and recovery operations, mostly from the cliffs in and around Beachy Head. In receiving the MBE, Stuart has been recognised for his efforts in often difficult and challenging circumstances. The honour also recognises how he has gone the extra mile in liaising with the bereaved after the recovery phase to help them come to terms with the loss of family members. Stuart, who lives in Eastbourne , said: “I am extremely pleased and honoured that my service to Her Majesty's Coastguard has been recognised in this way. None of my achievements would have been possible without my team however, which I am incredibly ...

A man, whose small boat collided with a ferry, had a lucky escape this evening after being thrown into the water, going under a ferry and surfacing on the other side. Portland Coastguard received several 999 calls earlier this evening reporting that a small grey inflatable dinghy had suffered engine failure whilst in the path of the Sandbanks chain ferry. The two occupants were unable to start the engine in time causing it to collide with the chain ferry. The two men were thrown into the water, one going under the ferry before surfacing the other side. The chain ferry, ‘ Bramblebush Bay ’ plucked one of the men from its own path. The other man was rescued from the water by a passing yacht. Both Poole RNLI All Weather Lifeboat and Poole RNLI Inshore lifeboat were diverted from another job, so were able to get to the scene quickly with Coastguard Rescue Officers from Poole . The lifeboat assisted by removing the dinghy after it had become trapped in the chains and took it asho...

The UK Ship Register has become one of only around 20 in the world to keep the prestigious United States Coast Guard (USCG) award for excellence. The register, which is administered by the  United Kingdom’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), regulates and inspects the ships that sail under the UK flag. It was recognised for the USCG’s Qualship 21 for 2014-15, thanks to an excellent Port State Control record achieved by UK-flagged vessels.    Qualship 21 assesses ships’ safety and pollution prevention records and is awarded against a stringent set of criteria, including the requirement for a less-than 1 per cent detention ratio over a rolling thee-year average.  The award reduces the likelihood that UK-registered ships will be proactively targeted for future inspection by US Port State Control inspectors. Head of the UK Ship Register, Debasis Mazumdar, said:   “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is delighted to have kept Qualship 21 for the UK...

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced today that ten foreign flagged ships were under detention in UK ports during May 2014 after failing Port State Control (PSC) inspection.   During May, there were four new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in UK ports.  Six vessels remained under detention from previous months. Five vessels were released during May.  A total of five vessels remain under detention at the end of May.  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 that ar...