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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 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. Since 2015 it has also been responsible for land-based search and rescue helicopter operations.^[2]

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.^[3]

His Majesty's Coastguard is a uniformed service that fulfills six of the nine functions required by the 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 - as the duties traditionally associated with a military coastguard service are spread around the Civil Service and British Armed Forces, unlike other coastguard services around the world. 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. HM Coastguard wet leases commercial helicopters — Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland AW189s — to provide aerial search and rescue cover around Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as an ocean-going emergency towing vehicle in areas not served by tug brokers. On the coastline, HM Coastguard maintains a network of cliff and mud rescue teams, comprised 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.

History

HM Coastguard was established in 1822.

By the start of the twentieth century, there was a growing sense of dissatisfaction with the service expressed both by the Board of Customs (concerned for revenue protection) and by the Board of Trade (responsible for safety at sea). In the wake of the First World War, moves were made to address these deficiencies. In 1923 the Coastguard was re-established as a coastal safety and rescue service, overseen by the Board of Trade.^[7] Its skills in maritime communication (acquired during the Admiralty years, when Coastguard officers often manned signal stations) were recognized, with provision being made for the use of new communication technologies for safety at sea. There was also a renewed determination to recruit, train and co-ordinate volunteer rescue personnel with the establishment in 1931 of a Coastal Life-saving Corps, later renamed the Coastguard Auxiliary Service (see Coastguard Rescue Service, below).

For the rest of the twentieth century, the Coastguard continued to operate primarily out of local shore stations (use of ships had declined after 1923). In 1931 in England there were 193 stations and 339 auxiliary stations; in 1974 there were still 127 stations (permanently manned) and 245 auxiliary stations. From the 1960s onwards, though, priorities were changing from maintaining coastal lookouts to provision of co-ordinated search and rescue services. Old watch houses, with their on-site accommodation and annexed boathouses, gave way to new technology-based Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres, far fewer in number.^[8] Efficiency drives in the 1990s made Her Majesty's Coastguard a government executive agency, then in 1998 the Marine Safety Agency and the Coastguard Agency were joined to become the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The Coastguard Rescue Service

The Coastguard Rescue Service is made up of 352 teams located near the coast in stations around the UK, with the most coastal rescue stations in the UK. The teams are made up of Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) who are volunteers trained to carry out rescues and provide assistance to those in distress on the UK's coastline. There are approximately 3500 CROs and they carry out rope rescue, mud rescue, water rescue and search duties in all weathers and at all times. The teams are paged by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) or Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and respond to emergencies. They also assist other authorities such as the Police, Fire and Ambulance with their specialist expertise. The Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) will also provide safety advice to those they rescue and members of the public.

After recovering any casualty the CRTs will provide the assistance needed then will transfer them to a place of safety. The teams will also provide support to the lifeboats and SAR helicopters per tasking by the Operations Centres.

Search and rescue

The Coastguard Rescue teams carry out searches of the shoreline which, depending on the team's location, could be urban or remote, beach, mud or cliff. The searches could be for vessels, wreckage, people who have abandoned ship, or missing persons. This is referred to as Lost and Missing Persons Search (L&MPS).

Water safety and rescue

Due to the nature of the work carried out by CROs they are trained to be safe when in or near the water. They are trained to be able to carry out rescues in extremely rough conditions and the team will work together to recover the casualty from danger while ensuring that each team member is safe.

The training the CRT have will depend on the location of the CRT. All teams are trained in land search methods, water rescue and casualty care.

Mud rescue

Mud rescue is described as the most physically demanding type of rescue there is. Mud rescue technicians walk on the mud using equipment to prevent them getting stuck, and recover casualties. In most cases these are people who have become too tired to continue walking on the mud while taking a shortcut. The CRTs also have rescue equipment to extract people deeply stuck in mud, including inflatable rescue walkways, mud lances, and specialist footwear inspired by ducks' feet.

Rope rescue

Rope rescue methods are to recover casualties who have fallen or are stuck on cliffs or difficult to reach areas, be they rural or urban. The teams work together to lower a rope rescue technician who will assess the casualty, provide first aid treatment if necessary and then recover the casualty to safety, before transferring the casualty to the next level of care as required.^[9]

Casualty Care (CERCC)

Each team member receives extensive casualty care training that goes much further than just basic first aid, the course known as CERC (Coastguard Emergency Responder Casualty Care) is taught by a team of trainers locally around the coast with regular role play training and evaluation. Each CRO is required to have his/her CERC qualification re-validated every three years.

The HMCG CERCC qualification is bench marked at Level D (Diploma) of the PHEM framework from the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care,^[10] and is also equivalent in syllabus content to the First Response Emergency Care Level 3 Certificate (FREC 3) level.

In 2017 the CERCC course was updated to reflect and include latest research and guidance such as implementation of the 2015 European Council Resuscitation Guidelines, 2017 JRCALC Guidelines and the British Thoracic Society Oxygen Guidelines.^[11] Each frontline Coastguard Rescue vehicle carries a fully stocked Coastguard Emergency Responder Bag which includes a first aid kit, pelvic splint, frac straps, airways set (OPA & NPA), trauma dressings, airway suction kit + bag, valve & mask set.

In 2022 HM Coastguard provided each operational team with a Heartsine Samaritan 500p

Role and responsibilities

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency responsible throughout Britain for implementing the Government's maritime safety policy. That includes initiating and co-ordinating search and rescue at sea or on the coast through His Majesty's Coastguard, checking that ships meet British and international safety rules and preventing coastal pollution.

Typical emergencies to which the Coastguard is summoned include:

• Persons in difficulties in the water;
• Persons in difficulties on the coastline;
• Pleasure craft with problems;
• Medical emergencies on vessels, installations or offshore islands;
• Incidents involving oil installations;
• Persons threatening or attempting suicide on the coast or bridges over estuaries;
• Missing persons on the coast;
• Merchant vessels with problems;
• Evacuating injured or ill persons at sea;
• Groundings;
• Collisions at sea;
• Reports of suspected ordnance.

Ships in distress or the public reporting an accident should make a

• HM Coastguard's own CRO (Coastguard Rescue Officers) Initial Response and Coastguard Rescue Teams;
• Inshore lifeboats, all-weather lifeboats and inshore rescue hovercraft operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
• Other nominated inshore rescue services
• Search and rescue helicopters under contract to the MCA
• Emergency towing vessels (ETV) – powerful tugs contracted to the MCA
• Nominated Fire Service teams for cliff and mud rescue as well as firefighting and chemical incident response for vessels at sea
• Nominated beach lifeguard units

Declared Assets are facilities that have given a declaration to the Coastguard of a certain level of availability or training. Other assets that may be tasked to assist with any incident include; Mountain Rescue, Military Police, The Fire and Rescue Service and volunteer lifeguards. In addition, various 'Memorandums of Understanding' exist between the Coastguard and other emergency services to establish priority when working in each other's areas. For example, police officers needing to carry out a search of the shoreline.

The Coastguard has ten rescue helicopters based around the United Kingdom (at

When HM Coastguard receive a distress call by a 999 or 112 phone call, by radio or any other means at the MRCC, a Maritime or Senior Maritime Operations Officer will use their training to question the caller to determine the location. The Maritime Operations Officer will normally be able to confirm the location given by the caller if the call is on the 999 system as the equipment in the Operations room will display where it has come from. The use of the equipment is very important because when people are in a distress situation it is easy for them to make mistakes as they may be frightened, anxious and/or uncertain. Coastguard Rescue Teams are paged via an SMS based system detailing the emergency incident, or via a VHF pager, although these are being phased out.

The Maritime Operations Officer will use the correct chart or map for the area and they are trained to ask questions that will help the caller identify where they are. The coastguard SMC (SAR Mission Co-ordinator) in charge of the watch will then decide which rescue resources will be used to conduct the SAR operation. The Maritime Operations Officer who takes the call may keep talking to the caller, while another can be passing information to the chosen rescue resources. These assets will depend on the situation, but could be one of the 365 Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRT) around the UK coast made up of 3,500 Coastguard Rescue Officers, RNLI or independent lifeboats, Search and Rescue fixed wing aircraft or helicopters, or a civilian vessel or aircraft known to be in the vicinity or who responds to a broadcast on radio made by the MRCC.

The MRCC will call out and send the rescue units according to the nature and severity of the incident. The MRCC will then co-ordinate the SAR operation using the Coastguard Rescue Teams, lifeboats and helicopters or other vessels or aircraft, who carry out the physical rescue.

Coastguard Rescue Teams have an Officer in Charge who is responsible for the action of that team or unit, management of the scene and joint coordination of the rescue with the MRCC. If the caller is, for example, stuck in mud, the CRT Officer in Charge (OIC) will coordinate which of the team goes onto the mud to carry out the rescue. If it is someone stuck on a cliff the OIC will coordinate who is lowered over the cliff. All this is done while keeping the MRCC updated of their actions, and possibly being supported by lifeboats or a rescue helicopter. Each rescue resource is able to relay information about any casualty to each other and to the MRCC who retains overall coordination. The coxswain of a lifeboats and the SAR helicopter pilot would be in command of that rescue asset, whilst being coordinated by the MRCC or the OIC.

The rescue resources work together with the MRCC as the coordinating authority to carry out SAR response. Once the persons in danger are rescued the person is then given the assistance they need and then transferred to a place of safety.^[9]

Ceremonial

HM Coastguard also parade at local Remembrance Parades and selected officers parade at the annual Remembrance Sunday parade at the Cenotaph in London.^[14]

Locations

HM Coastguard co-ordinates activities from one Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), nine Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) and one Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre (MRSC).

• JRCC UK at the National Maritime Operations Centre at Fareham. Incorporating
  Cospas-Sarsat
  Mission Control Centre (UKMCC).
• MRCC Aberdeen
• MRCC Belfast (Bangor)
• MRCC Shetland
• MRCC Stornoway
• MRCC Falmouth
• MRCC Holyhead
• MRCC Milford Haven
• MRCC Dover
• MRCC Humber (Bridlington)
• MRSC London

All centres operate 24 hours a day. In addition Coastguard Rescue Teams are based locally at over 300 locations around the UK.^[15]

Aircraft

The coastguard operate the following aircraft:^[16]

Fixed wing

Operated by 2Excel Aviation:

• 3
  Beechcraft King Air B200 - search and rescue, fisheries patrol, pollution patrol, maritime surveillance
• 2 Piper PA-31 Navajo - search and rescue, fisheries patrol, maritime surveillance
• 2 Diamond DA62

Operated by

• 1
  Beechcraft King Air B200
  - pollution patrol, surveillance, search and rescue
• 2
  Boeing 737-400F
  - Oil Spill response
• 1
  Cessna F406
  - Oil Spill response

Helicopters (operated by Bristow under contract)

• 10 Sikorsky S-92 - search and rescue
• 10 Leonardo AW189 - search and rescue

Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS)

• 4 Schiebel Camcopter S-100

Under a 10-year £1.6 billion contract starting in 2015, Bristow Helicopters assumed responsibility for search and rescue operations within the United Kingdom on behalf of HM Coastguard. Under the contract, Sikorsky S-92 and Leonardo AW189^[13] helicopters operate from 10 locations around the British Isles. Ten S-92s are based, two per site, at Stornoway, Sumburgh, Humberside, Newquay and Caernarfon. Ten AW189s operate, two per site, from Prestwick airport, Inverness, Lydd, Lee-on-the-Solent and St Athan. Two aircraft are kept in reserve.^[17] All bases are operational 24 hours a day. Half of the new fleet was built in Yeovil, Somerset.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency are launching a tender for their second generation UK search and rescue aviation programme (UKSAR2G),^[18] which is one of several tenders for similar services.^[19] In July 2022 the contract was awarded to Bristow Helicopters, worth £1.6 billion over 10 years.^[20]

Communications & Technology

Communications

A variety of communication platforms are used depending on the individual asset and situation. Communication involving Coastguard Rescue Teams, inshore lifeboats (operated by the

HMCG have their own VHF radio network spread across the entire British Coast, this includes sites located on the Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and Remote Scottish Islands. There are also sites inland to support Search & Rescue in the Lake District. The network is designed in such a way that any Operator can monitor & transmit from any radio site location. A recent upgrade to the radio network has introduced even better resilience and alternative connectivity to ensure continuity of service.

HMCG also have access to and use the Airwave service available to all Category 1 & 2 responders in the UK. This allows better communication between other Emergency Service partners.

List of utilised communications within HMCG:

• VHF (Very High Frequency) (Primary radio communications method)
• MF (Medium Frequency)
• PSTN (Public Service Telephone Network) (Used for 999 & Routine telephone calls)
• Airwave

Technology

HMCG has invested heavily in introducing state of the art systems & services to aid Search & Rescue, started in 2014 after the organisational restructure a dedicated computer network was introduced specifically used for operational working. In more recent years a rolling refresh of technology continues to keep the service at the cutting edge of all available technology.

Coastguard Rescue Stations have recently benefited from the installation of new Wifi services & tablet devices (one per station), as well as new web services for volunteers for communications and training.

As part of the recent UKSAR2G tender, unmanned aircraft (drones) technology has been provisioned, with feeds potentially being provided to Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCC) for better incident working.

Rank structure

Current rank structure (Full Time Coastguard and Volunteer Coastguard Rescue Service)

King Charles III is the Honorary Commodore of HMCG, and wears a uniform with the ranks insignia of Chief Coastguard plus an extra bar.^[1][21]

His Majesty's Coastguard v t e

Maritime Operations

Honorary Commodore

Chief Coastguard

Assistant Chief Coastguard

Strategic Commander / Divisional Commander

Tactical Commander / Rescue Coordination Centre Manager (RCCM)

Maritime / Aeronautical Team Leader

Senior Maritime Operations Officer / Senior Aeronautical Operations Officer

Maritime Operations Officer

Maritime Operations Officer (Trainee)

Coastal Operations

Coastal Operations Divisional Commander

Coastal Operations Area Commander

Senior Coastal Operations Officer

His Majesty's Coastguard Coastal Operations v t e

Station Officer (Voluntary)

Deputy Station Officer (Voluntary)

Rescue Officer (Voluntary)

Rank structure during WW2

HM Coastguard came under the control of the

Former rank structure

• Chief Coastguard
• Chief Boatman (Chf Btman / Chief Bn / Chief Boatn)
• Chief Officer (Chf Officer)
• Commissioned Boatman (Comd Bn / Comd Btman)
• Boatman (Boatn)
• Provisional Boatman (Provs B'man)
• Permanent Extraman (Permanent Extraman)
• Temporary Extraman (Tempo Y Exta)

Uniform

As a uniformed service, but with Coastal responsibilities and maritime traditions, HMCG's uniform appearance is similar to the Royal Navy, the former HM Customs and Excise and HM Revenue and Customs. There are three types of uniforms:

1. Formal
2. Blues (daily duties)
3. Personal Protective Uniform (PPE) uniform

Formal uniform

Males

• white-topped peaked cap with HMCG capbadge
• white shirt and black tie
• dark blue Reefer jacket with two rows of buttons
• dark blue trousers
• dark polished shoes
• black gloves

Females

• white-topped bowler cap with HMCG capbdage
• white shirt and black tie
• dark blue Reefer jacket with two rows of buttons
• dark blue trousers or skirt with dark tights
• dark polished shoes
• black gloves.

Medal ribbons are worn on the left breast.^[24] Rank (if any) is worn on both cuffs. "HM Coastguard" shoulder titles are worn on each shoulder of the tunic. For public duties (e.g. the annual Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph in London), a greatcoat is worn. Black (everyday/formal) or white (formal only) gloves may be worn.^[25]

Some officers may carry Naval style swords for formal parades.

Undress Akin to the RN No. 3 dress, everyday uniform is similar to the above, except the tunic is replaced with a 'wooly-pully' jumper.

Males

• white-topped peaked cap with HMCG capbadge
• white shirt and black tie
• dark blue NATO style jumper
• dark blue trousers
• dark polished shoes

Females

• white-topped bowler cap with HMCG capbadge
• white shirt and black tie
• dark blue NATO style jumper
• dark blue trousers
• dark polished shoes.

Rank slides are worn on epaulettes, along with HMCG identifiers. In summer months, a short sleeved, open-necked shirt may be worn instead of the tie and jumper.

'Blues' (daily duties)

Akin to RN No. 4 dress, for more outdoor work, HMCG officers and CROs wear:

• White-topped peaked cap with HMCG capbadge
• Blue shirt with pockets
• Dark blue 'wooly-pully'jumper
• Blue cargo trousers
• Black boots.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) rescue uniform

For coastal rescue uniforms, CROs wear the following:

• Overalls
• Safety boots
• Helmet + Helmet headlight
• Safety glasses
• Safety goggles
• Safety gloves
• High visibility wet weather gear
• A high visibility buff (a neck-worn protector)
• Micro fleece
• ADS t-shirt
• Technical trousers
• Socks (upon request)
• Mobile phone or pager
• Personal radio.

Exterior items are appropriately marked to identify them as rescue workers.

See also

• Maritime and Coastguard Agency
• H.M. Coastguard Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
• RAF Search and Rescue Force
• Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service
• Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)
• Trinity House
• Isle of Man Coastguard
• Irish Coast Guard
• National Coastwatch Institution

References

External links

• Official website