'Operation Clean Seas' cleans up Troon Harbour

A joint operation between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and Police Scotland has resulted in the detention of one fishing vessel and two further vessels prohibited from fishing, after being inspected in Troon Harbour, Scotland.
MCA Hunter in Troon Harbour for Operation Clean Seas


Just after midday today (Friday 9 September), MCA surveyors and Officers from Police Scotland boarded a number of vessels in Troon Harbour as part of ‘Operation Clean Seas’.  Today’s operation – which is part of an ongoing MCA inspection policy – follows on from a number of complaints and reports received about substandard vessels, non-qualified crews and crews operating under the influence of drugs and alcohol. 

The operation was also supported by MCA Enforcement Officers, Borders & Immigration Police and the HM Coastguard volunteers on the vessel MCA Hunter.  A total of eight vessels were inspected during the five hour operation and while a number of vessels were found to meet acceptable standards some were found to fall well short of the legal requirements resulting in their detention.  In addition, five improvement notices were issued for crew that were not properly trained and two crew were removed from fishing vessels for having no safety training qualifications at all. 

An expired floatation device found onboard one of the vessels
significant results in the fight to keep our seas safe.  Our first priority will always be the safety of those at sea and we will continue to target those operating substandard vessels and employing unqualified crew. 

‘We want to send a stark message to those who flout the laws on maritime safety.  Fishing is a dangerous job. For the safety of all those working in the industry, operators must ensure their vessels are up to standard and that the crews on board are appropriately qualified.

An expired satellite distress beacon
‘Today’s operations has resulted in one vessel detention and two vessels prohibited from fishing and we will not rule out further inspections or activity as we continue our investigations.  We are committed to working with our partner agencies to protect those at sea by stopping dangerous vessels making their way on the water, and to hold accountable those responsible.’

Inspector Alister Kelly, Community Policing Inspector for Troon, who led the involvement of Police Scotland said today: ‘We all know that fishing is a hazardous job. Poor vessels, poorly qualified crew and poor equipment makes an already dangerous job a potentially deadly venture. Keeping people safe is at the heart of what we do and this includes working with our partners to keep people safe at sea. We will continue to work successfully with the MCA and others to ensure that our local community is as safe as possible for those who live, work and visit Troon.’

Popular posts from this blog

Label your kit at the coast

Image
Kayaks. Canoes. Paddleboards. What do they all have in common? They’re quite often found on the coastline or drifting out to sea. And if we don’t know who they belong to, we can spend time searching for an owner when they’re home safe and sound. So please help us to help you. Label your kit so that if you do get separated from it, and it turns up somewhere, we can get hold of you. In recent weeks, our Coastguard Rescue Teams have found numerous items such as kayaks and canoes drifting out at sea or abandoned near the shoreline. Unfortunately, some of the items we have found have not had their owners’ contact details written on them nor been reported as missing to the Coastguard. As a result, it makes it difficult for us to find out who it belongs to and also means we can never be completely sure if someone is safe or in the worst case, in trouble at sea. This can place a huge strain on our resources especially during the busy summer period when we have to call upon our Coastgua
Read more

A short history of HM Coastguard

Image
Today HM Coastguard is a world leader in maritime search and rescue. Looking back almost 200 years, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Though it’s beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a threat to the country’s economy and security – smuggling. As soon as medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling. By 1743 th e estimate was that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported and shows that smuggling was highly profitable. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of revenue officers, while corruption enabled smugglers to evade harsh p
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he
Read more