The biggest moments of 2022

As the curtain is drawn on another year in the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, we look back at the biggest moments of 2022.





January 15 – HM Coastguard celebrates its 200th birthday. The service dedicated to saving lives at sea was formally brought into existence on January 15, 1822 and has been working to keep people safe at the coast and sea ever since.

This year has represented a wonderful chance to say ‘thank you’ as a local and national community, as well as a modern rescue service, to all those that have made up the service over two centuries.

This has been done through a series of events across the country, hosted by one of our 10 Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres strategically placed around the UK.

Read all about the celebrations across the nation.


January – Royal Navy and coastguards work together after kayaker's Mayday call. A kayaker's mayday call off the coast of Cornwall was answered by an unexpected team, as a Royal Navy helicopter crew on a training exercise responded.

It was an incident that really highlighted the ‘one team’ attitude of safety at sea and how, when you are miles from shore in a maritime environment, it is vital to work together with whichever vessel is closest.

Matt Rogers, team leader for HM Coastguard, said the Navy crew of Merlin Mk2 helicopter crew’s 'quick actions meant they located the casualty within minutes of arriving' before winching him to safety.

Read more here.

February – Seafarers given the gift of safety, as the MCA celebrated Valentine’s Day by introducing new rules to better protect seafarers in enclosed spaces. New UK rules came into force to tighten up safety for those who work in enclosed spaces on board vessels.

The updated legislation goes further than that currently required under international maritime law and is part of the ongoing commitment by the UK to seafarer welfare.

Full story here.

March – Safety film released emphasising the importance of PFDs (lifejackets) and PLBs following the dramatic rescue of a fisherman in Plymouth Sound.

Watch our vital safety film.

April – III Code Audit reveals an excellent result for MCA.

The UK continues to hold its own as a leader in the maritime world after the leading international agency responsible for safety of shipping carried out an audit that shows how well it does its work.

Auditors from other Member States of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the IMO Secretariat praised the way in which the UK oversees and manages the delegation of statutory survey work to its Recognised Organisations. It also highlighted the work carried out jointly by the MCA’s Hydrography team and UK Hydrographic Office as best practice.

Read about the III Code Audit results.

April – Bad weather, storms and multiple rescues spark safety warning from HM Coastguard in one of our better-read pieces from the year. Safety matters.

Check out our standard safety advice for your winter walk. Don't compromise on safety.

Read more.

May – Mental health awareness. Coastguard Alex spoke out about mental health awareness for the national event, following his recent experience of taking a suicidal 999 call – and saving a life.

The Maritime Operations Officer at the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Holyhead showed how empathy and support for those struggling to cope can make all the difference.

His experience highlighted the important work of coastguard officers in self-harm incidents.

Read more about our mental health work here.


May – We spoke to our longest serving volunteer Keith, who signed up for the search and rescue service as a 15-year-old in 1965. Keith has had a wonderful year, representing the service when the then-Prince of Wales came to visit in July. Thank you Keith.

Read more

June – Hydrography team explain why it matters what lies beneath the surface of the sea as they share details of how they help keep people safe.

So why does it matter? If you missed it earlier in the year, here is your chance again.

June – In our 200th year, we spoke to one of the youngest ever female Station Officers, as we hear about the changing face of the modern Coastguard service.

July – the ‘howl’ every Coastguard knows. A moving memory from one of our most experienced officers, as she recalled one of her worst ever days in the role.

While we always work to save lives, tragically, we cannot always bring people home and Alex reminded us of the poignancy of when we can’t do what we set out to.

Warning, it's a the heartbreaking memory.

The 'howl' every Coastguard knows

July 21 – MCA, on behalf of HM Coastguard, sign the contract for the UK Second-Generation Search and Rescue Aviation programme – known as UKSAR2G – would be awarded to Bristow Helicopters Ltd to deliver both rotary and fixed wing services for the next ten years. 

Read more.

August – Funding boost for next generation of seafarers, as MCA support future cadets, with a massive funding boost by the UK Government with an increase in training subsidies for cadets and ratings.

Eligible seafarers now get half of their training paid – providing a real investment in the future of maritime and securing future growth.

Read more.


September – HM Coastguard pays tribute to The Queen. Coastguards share their memories of meeting Her Late Majesty.

October – Damien Oliver announced as the interim Chief Executive Officer as Brian Johnson announces retirement.

Read more.

November – Dramatic rescue of eight from a sinking vessel. Penlee RNLI Lifeboats and the Coastguard Helicopter from Newquay were sent to help the sailing vessel approximately two nautical miles off Mounts Bay, Cornwall.

All eight people were winched to safety by the Coastguard helicopter and taken to Newquay where they were met by the Newquay Coastguard Rescue Team.

Watch the video and read about the harrowing rescue.

And then watch the rescue from another perspective, let pilot Debs share his view from the cockpit

December – HM Coastguard continues to grow and develop working relationships to aid in the rescue and protection of people at the coast, with a new working relationship with the National Coastwatch.

Read more.

And finally, mariners will also now have the option to use another type of safety communications system after the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) implemented it.

The MCA, in partnership with the UK Hydrographic Office and the Met Office, implemented Iridium after the IMO recognised it as part of the GMDSS. It is now fully operational in the UK area. More information here

We'd love to hear from you if you have a rescue story you would be keen to share with us, we're always looking to listen to your experiences - we believe the best way to share our safety messaging is by hearing about what can go wrong.

Send us an email on public.relations@mcga.gov.uk and one of us will give you a call.

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