Solent Coastguard

02/07/2023

Yesterday saw the annual Round the Island Race here in the Solent.

Sailors were presented with some challenging conditions on the back of the Island, but due to the preparedness of the crews everyone knew what to do in case of emergency. But if things didn't go quite to plan, we were there to answer the call and coordinate the response with the help of our fantastic SAR family.

To get a real insight to the work we do, check out Channel 5, 2100 local this evening: "Coastguard: Every Second Counts"



photo courtesy of
Rescue 175 and Bembridge RNLI

25/06/2023

Urgent Message

Due to an ongoing technical fault with the National BT 999 Service, some people may be unable to call 999.

In the event that you are unable to contact 999 in an emergency, you are advised to call 101 for the Police, or 111 if it is a Medical Emergency.

This is a short term measure and further updates will be provided when available.

10/05/2023

Recently we were delighted to visit the outgoing Lord Mayor of Southampton, Councillor Jacqui Rayment, who took up post in May 2022 to become the 800th Mayor of the City and Honorary Admiral of the Port.

Southampton born Coastguard Nicola Daubeny represented the service and commented on the impressive array of paintings and antique pieces reflecting the rich and long civic heritage. She was also shown a poignant burned patch on the floor where it was almost all lost during the Second World War, when an incendiary bomb nearly destroyed it all after landing on the civic office. HM Coastguard featured amongst the many ships plaques, banners and the bell of HMS Southampton in the Maritime Corridor of her office.

Of particular note was the extensive collection of mayoral maces, including one which is a large silver paddle and carried when the Lord Mayor meets a ship for the first time!

Nicola commented "Like the Mayor, I was born in Southampton and consider it my home city, it was a privilege to meet with the Lord Mayor and I thank her sharing the extensive heritage of the City of Southampton."

07/05/2023

Happy Coronation weekend from all of us on Watch Charlie! The weather has definitely improved compared to yesterday across the South Coast and we can see many of you have taken to the coast or water to enjoy the weekend. Likewise the number of incidents we're responding to across the region is steadily on the rise.

Make sure you're going out prepared, know how to raise the alarm and alert us to incidents when you see them to make sure we can keep everyone safe across the South.

Remember you can reach us in an emergency by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard or on VHF CH16.



Picture Credit: Torbay Coastguard Rescue Team

Looking for more safety advice or to get involved? Find out more at https://hmcoastguard.uk/safety-advice

06/05/2023

Its for King Charles III who previously was our Honorary Commodore. We've a contingent of Coastguards who will be marching as part of the Civil Service today, representing the service and drawn from all aspects of His Majesty's Coastguard to ensure every corner of the United Kingdom is represented so keep an eye out for them on the footage!

Several members of the marching party have been drawn from the team at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and representing the service at ceremonial events when required is an important part of our role.

Watch the video below of when we were presented our Coastguard Colour in 2005.

03/05/2023

Watch Bravo from the Aeronautical Rescue team based at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre visited Devon Air Ambulance at Exeter airport in March as part of ongoing engagement to improve mutual operational understanding and maintain relations.

The Aeronautical Rescue component of the JRCC maintains a wide portfolio, not limited to just maritime and coastal incidents they cover the entire of the United Kingdom and act as the sole tasking authority for Search and Rescue Aircraft (both fixed and rotary). This includes supporting Mountain Rescue, Police, Fire and Ambulance incidents!

In this role its important they understand other air asset capabilities and procedures and visits like this are key to achieving that.

Interested in being part of the team? Find out more at https://hmcoastguard.uk/careers

26/04/2023

We recently covered the UK Mission Control Centre, a responsibility Coastguards at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre cover but its time to introduce another key component to UK National Search and Rescue based here.

The Aeronautical Rescue team are the sole tasking authority for UK Search and Rescue assets, they task and monitor every one of our Search and Rescue helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. Its a challenging role with some difficult decision making and plenty of thinking on your feet.

Unlike our maritime focused Coastguards, their mission is to place the right aircraft, in the right place at the right time all across the UK - be it on land, or sea or in the air.

This could include some of the following;

Supporting Mountain Rescue Teams with reaching a casualty in the Eryri National Park (Snowdonia)
Searching for a missing person in Nottingham
Transporting firefighters to wildfire in Northern Ireland
Responding to a missing aircraft under the direction of the Distress and Divergence Cell in Swanick
Searching for a person in the water off the Cornish coast.

No day is the same for the Aeronautical Team, but thanks to the right training and experience they are able to best support us, our emergency service colleagues and our stakeholders with mission critical assets.

Do you have any good photos of our aircraft you'd like to share? Post them below! 👇

Interested in joining our Aeronautical Team? Head to https://hmcoastguard.uk/careers to find out more.

Image: Senior Aeronautical Operations Officer Dimitrios Nasopoulos captured our Lee-on-Solent based aircraft exercising with Gosport & Fareham Independent Lifeboat

23/04/2023

This afternoon the UK Government will be testing the Emergency Alert service for mobile phones, UK wide at 1500 hours. Your phone will alarm with a loud, siren like sound and vibrate for up to 10 seconds and display a message which can be closed down.

No action is required when you receive this alert.

The Emergency Alert service is designed for the UK Government and emergency services to have the capability to send an alert directly to mobile phones when there is a risk to life. An example where you might receive an alert involving the Coastguard is when we are assisting our emergency service colleagues in widespread, significant flooding and need to notify you of the danger in your area.

You can find out more at gov.uk/alerts

20/04/2023

Tucked away inside the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre is the little known, but vitally important UK Mission Control Centre which is staffed by Coastguards and is an option to specialise in after your Maritime Operations Officer qualification.

It holds responsibility for processing any 406Mhz beacon alert for UK registered beacons globally, any 406Mhz beacon alert in the UK Search and Rescue Region (approx. 1.25 million nm2) alongside other duties such as Satellite Emergency Notification Devices (SEND).

The UK Mission Control centre receives these alerts by satellite and is ensures the information is presented to Rescue Coordination Centres (RCCs), Police or the Distress and Divergence (D&D) cell at Air Traffic Swanick to support vessels, persons or aircraft in distress on land, in the air or at sea.

Whilst we won't go too far into the details in this post; ensuring your EPIRB or PLB is correctly registered - including updating the registration when you sell your vessel or beacon could help save your life.

In the event of an accidental activation, your registration could prevent lifeboats, helicopters and Coastguard teams being tasked to your location - avoiding any embarrassment at the marina when they arrive by allowing us to quickly contact you to confirm all is well.

If we can't get in touch - we treat every activation as a real alert and will do everything we can to locate you and render assistance, as every activation is classed as a distress situation..

You can find all the information you need to register your beacon or contact the registry at https://hmcoastguard.uk/services

In the event you need to contact the UK Mission Control Centre regarding an accidental activation, you can phone 03443 820 902 to speak to the duty MCC operator.

HM Coastguard provides a range of services in addition to search and rescue coordination, from emergency distress beacon registration to Receiver of Wreck.

17/04/2023

Congratulations to our two new Maritime Operations Officers who have successfully completed their year of training and subsequent examinations to take their place in His Majesty's Coastguard's National Network.

Maritime Operations Officers Matt Hanson and Damitha Liyanarachchi have worked hard through a syllabus designed to equip them with the right skills and knowledge to become fully fledged members of their watch keeping teams.

At the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and across the service, Maritime Operations Officers are pivotal in providing an effective, efficient and prompt response to all incidents relating to our six Coastguard functions. This includes answering of 999 calls and distress and urgency radio traffic. You may very well find yourself speaking to them if you ever need to reach us!

Are you interested in joining the team or volunteering? Visit https://hmcoastguard.uk/join-our-team to see what opportunities are available.

14/04/2023

Interested in joining His Majesty's Coastguard? We're recruiting for Maritime Operations Officers at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and elsewhere across the country - if you're ready to take the first step in a new career keep reading below 👇

13/04/2023

To our Coastguard 200 Bicentennial event where over a hundred Coastguards and guests came together to mark our 200th birthday and the final celebration of the occasion. We were privileged to be joined by numerous VIPs from other emergency services, the City of Southampton and a representative of the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire.

His Majesty's Coastguard was formed on the 15th January 1822 when the Revenue Cruisers, Riding Officers and Preventative Water Guard came together. Today HM Coastguard provides a modern search and rescue service, comprising of on average 3,500 of our crucial volunteers who serve their communities in the Coastguard Rescue Service who are supported by full time coastal officers and the staff of the 11 Rescue Coordination Centres across the country.

Want to get involved in your Coastguard service? Go to https://hmcoastguard.uk/join-our-team for more information.

You can read more about HM Coastguard's history here: https://hmcoastguard.uk/history