Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Her Majesty’s Coastguard is warning people not to take risks at the coast this weekend. The warning comes as lockdown eases in various parts of the country meaning coastal exercise and visits are allowed. And with the weather set to be scorching in most of the country, many people will take the opportunity to visit the coast. However the usual risks the coast poses have been amplified as local authorities and land owners may not have had the opportunity to make their usual safety provisions and the majority of beaches will not currently be lifeguarded.  Anyone going to a beach should take personal responsibility, avoid the dangers and keep themselves safe.   Three people died last weekend in separate incidents and HM Coastguard says there’s a real danger more there could be more fatalities in the next few days. Director of HM Coastguard Claire Hughes said: ‘We can’t emphasise this enough - the sea has no respect for whether you’re local or not, whether you’re ...

It’s more important than ever to take extra care in these extraordinary times. The majority of beaches are not currently lifeguarded so it’s important to make sure that you’re safe and protected if you’re going out on the water. Don’t assume that you’ll be safe on a sunny day – the weather can change quickly, and it’s easy to get caught out, no matter how experienced you are. Sea mist, which is currently affecting large stretches of our coastline, can appear suddenly and can be extremely dangerous if you’re out on the water. Check the weather forecast and tide times and make sure you have a ways to contact us if you get into difficulty #999Coastguard https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/specialist-forecasts/coast-and-sea/inshore-waters-forecast

A lady has been rescued from the water at Fleetwood this morning after being caught out by the incoming tide. Holyhead Coastguard Operations Centre received a 999 call reporting someone in the water off the beach at Fleetwood resulted in a quick response with Coastguard Rescue Teams from Fleetwood and Lytham St Anne's, two RNLI lifeboats from Fleetwood and a Coastguard Rescue helicopter sent.  On arrival, Fleetwood Coastguard Rescue Team rescued the lady from the rough sea and she was treated for exposure to the cold by NW Ambulance Service.  A spokesperson at Holyhead Coastguard Operations Centre said, "It must have been a frightening experience for her and on initially making the 999 call to the Coastguard the water was up to her knees but within ten minutes it was up past her waist.   'The casualty got into difficulty while litter picking on the beach but had not checked the tide times and wrongly assumed the tide was going out, when it was in fact ...

HM Coastguard is currently coordinating rescue efforts for a yacht believed to be in trouble off Spain. An EPIRB beacon alert was received for the UK Registered Vancouver 34 yacht Helena in an area 500 miles north west off Cape Finisterre around 12.20am today (22 May). Its location means that the nearest vessel which can help is 22 hours away with a second one 27 hours away. Two vessels are on their way to the position. A French maritime patrol aircraft has been sent to search the area. HM Coastguard has been unable to get in touch with any of the listed contacts and is appealing for help to get hold of someone who might be able to assist with some further details of the 10 metre yacht and its crew. Duty controller Piers Stanbury said: ‘We have as yet been unable to find someone who can help us with more information including how many are on board. ‘We’re coordinating the response and are working with the French Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, looking at all the me...

HM Coastguard and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) today launch a new beach safety campaign, urging parents to protect their families by following key safety advice to save lives this summer. Following the recent easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions in England and with children still off school, many more people are expected to visit the coast to exercise and take part in water-based activities. In Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the rules may be different, but there could still be an impact on RNLI and HM Coastguard services. Last weekend alone, coastguard rescue teams were called out 194 times in the UK to incidents including; inflatables drifting offshore, crashed jet skis, people injured while out walking or cycling along the coast, paddleboarders, kayakers, windsurfers and kite surfers in difficulty and people cut off by the tide. In 2019, RNLI lifeguards aided more than 29,000 people on UK beaches in more than 17,000 incidents, saving a tot...

Engineering oral exams will commence online from 11 May under new plans announced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. In addition, the MCA is also actively working on plans to provide an online way of carrying out Deck oral exams. Marine offices will get in contact with candidates who had previously had theirs cancelled to arrange new dates but everyone is being asked not to get in touch while the backlog is cleared. Katy Ware, Director of Maritime Safety and Standards said: ‘We completely understand people are anxious to get their all important exams done but we can’t accept any new oral exam bookings until we have cleared the backlog of those who had theirs cancelled because of Covid-19.’ ‘We will publish a MIN later this month to provide further guidance on accepting new applications for oral exams. The MIN will also provide timelines for the future booking of exams; for those who hold Notice of Eligibilities (NOEs), those who have applied for NOEs and those who are abou...

The MV Kaami has successfully been refloated and towed to a dry dock in Loch Kishorn.  Six weeks ago on March 23, the MV Kaami ran aground in the Minches, between the Isles of Skye and Lewis. Since then a team from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency together with a salvage team from Resolve have worked tirelessly to remove the cargo from the vessel and to complete repairs in preparation for refloating. Following yesterday's (4 May)  midday low water, salvors successfully refloated MV Kaami on the rising tide and towed the ship from the rocks to safe water. It’s stability and integrity were thoroughly checked before towing to Loch Kishorn could begin. The MV Kaami was towed by a tug and escorted by three other tugs into Loch Kishorn dry dock. The journey took 14 hours to complete. The HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft conducted an overflight to monitor the refloating operation and there were no signs of pollution. The vessel is now docked and sal...

An attempt is due to be made today to re-float the MV Kaami. Six weeks ago (on March 23 ) the vessel ran aground in The Minches and the salvage team have been working tirelessly to remove the cargo, transport it for safe disposal and to make repairs to enable the vessel to be re-floated. A temporary exclusion zone of 1000m will be in place around the towing vessel during the operation to all but those vessels directly involved in supporting the response. The HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft will be conducting an overflight to monitor the refloating operation.

Salvors successfully offloaded the last recoverable cargo material from the grounded MV Kaami yesterday (April 30). Weather conditions during the early part of the week had made it unsafe for the salvors to board the vessel and therefore slowed down the salvage operation. Settled weather conditions yesterday allowed approximately 30 tonnes of cargo to be removed and transferred to a landing craft for disposal. The focus of the salvage operation is now on completing repairs to make the vessel watertight and to allow for it to be re-floated.

All UK registered fishing vessels of 15 metres and above length overall must be fitted with Automated Identification System (AIS) to IMO standard. AIS is a valuable aid to navigation, helping to keep the vessel and crew safe. AIS shall remain on and must be operational at all times. It is an offence to switch off reporting while operating and the regulations which set out this requirement for fishing vessels are the Merchant Shipping (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2011. Find out more information here . On 5 July 2019, a UK fishing vessel was involved in a collision with another vessel in the English Channel. A contributing factor was that the fishing vessel was not transmitting on AIS, so was not picked up by the other vessel in respect of course, speed and distance off. In January 2020, the skipper of the fishing vessel was sentenced to 26 weeks imprisonment (suspended) for not transmitting the AIS. Other near misses have been repo...