MCA's Annual Report - published this week
The
UK Ship Register goes digital and Her Majesty’s Coastguard responds to more
than 30,000 incidents highlighted in Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s annual
report
Investment in new technology,
training and innovation have kept the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at the
forefront of the maritime world.
The
MCA’s annual report for April 2019 – March 2020 has been published this week,
highlighting the work of the Agency for the 12 month period.
Although the report doesn’t cover
the period where the effects of COVID-19 were felt most, it’s clear that the
MCA still had a number of challenges to deal with in terms of maritime.
Her Majesty’s Coastguard, the
search and rescue service of the MCA responded to more than 31,000 incidents at
the coast. The Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre – which responds to
incidents where aviation support is needed - responded to 3,800 incidents
during the annual report’s period of data collection; rescuing over 1,900
people in the process.
As well as frontline search and
rescue, HM Coastguard has delivered a number of major projects including making
the Channel Navigation Information Service national across its network. This
means that, from now on, 24-hour radio and radar coastal vessel traffic data is
available at all Coastguard Operations Centres – not just Dover – to help and
support vessels navigate waters safely
Away from HM Coastguard, the MCA’s
Maritime Regulatory Compliance Team successfully prosecuted ten cases.
And the UK Maritime Services Team,
incorporating the UK Ship Register, continues to move more of its work to
digital platforms. The UK Ship Register is now able to process registration and
vessel information online and had recorded 77 new ship registrations by the end
of March.
The survey and inspection side of
the Maritime Services Team has completed its Transformation Programme giving
surveyors and customers more flexibility of working. In addition to that, a
successful surveyors’ recruitment drive saw the MCA place a minimum of 85
qualified Port State Control Officers in positions by 31st March of this year –
meeting its target.
Seafarer training and certification
faced a number of challenges at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic but the
team worked to find solutions including offering extensions and training
online.
The MCA continues to work hard to
provide a good workplace and continues to drive equality in its workforce. In
the annual report, it shows there has been an increase of just over 15 per cent
in the number of female staff holding senior roles within the organisation.
Brian Johnson, Chief Executive of
the MCA, said:
“I’m proud of all those who work
and serve with and for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. They continue to
carry through the commitment to driving forward maritime safety in all aspects
of our work
“As this report demonstrates, we –
as an agency – continue to keep protecting the general public with our
first-class search and rescue service. Elsewhere, exciting work has and is
continuing to take place across the board, with important steps being made in many
areas, such as Survey and Inspection and enhanced experiences for UK Ship
Register customers.
“The final month of this year’s
report was affected by Covid-19, in which the Agency had to react and adapt
quickly to new challenges. We did so effectively, working closely with and
supporting our emergency service partners and local resilience forums, whilst
maintaining full capability to operate. This work also extended to supporting
the shipping industry during a difficult period and doing our bit to make sure
that important services have been able to resume as close to normal as possible
in most cases.”
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