Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team

14/06/2026

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 – 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐖𝐞 𝐃𝐨.
999 – Coastguard

Have you got a minute to refresh yourself on the role and capabilities of HM Coastguard in your local area?

🚨 We are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in all weathers.

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Our Coastguard Rescue Station is located at Snekyeat Industrial Estate Hensingham, next to the hospital.

We are made up of a dedicated team of 16 Coastguard Rescue Officers from a wide range of backgrounds, including Designers, Construction, Retirees, Project Managers, Paramedics, Police Officers, Firefighters to name a few.
Our team brings together a wealth of knowledge and experience, ranging from officers who have recently joined to others with almost 20 years of service.

As Coastguard Rescue Officers, we are on call 24/7 and can be mobilised at any time of the day or night by our paging system.

While there is no on-call allowance, we can claim a basic payment for incidents attended, and also to undertake essential training in a variety of different skill-sets.

Several of our officers live close to the station, helping us maintain a rapid response capability.

How HM Coastguard Works:

Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres, located around the UK, are responsible for coordinating and tasking Search and Rescue (SAR) assets including Coastguard Rescue Teams and Coastguard Helicopters.

When you dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard, it is one of these Coordination Centres that answers your call, assesses the situation and deploys the appropriate rescue resources.

Who We Are:

HM Coastguard is a Government-funded emergency service and forms part of the UK's national Search and Rescue capability.

Unlike our colleagues in some of the other rescue organisations, HM Coastguard is not a charity and does not rely on public donations to operate.

As a Category 1 Responder under the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, as well as the Coastguard Act 1925, HM Coastguard has statutory responsibilities for emergency preparedness, response and recovery.

This places the organisation alongside other key emergency services and responder agencies that work together to protect life, property and the environment during emergencies.

Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team is proud to play its part in delivering that capability on a local level, responding to incidents along our coastline and supporting wider emergency response operations when required.

What We Do:

We attend around 100 incidents each year and work closely with partner emergency services to provide an effective search and rescue capability.

Our primary responsibilities include:

• Technical Rope Rescue
• Water Rescue
• Missing Person Search
• Emergency Casualty Care
• Casualty Extraction
• Flood Response
• Pyrotechnics and Ordnance (TEP) Response
• Securing Emergency Helicopter Landing Sites
• Receiver of Wreck Duties
• Incident Coordination
• Mutual Aid to Other Emergency Services and Agencies

Whether responding to a person cut off by the tide, performing a rope rescue, assisting an injured casualty on difficult coastal terrain, searching for a missing person, or supporting partner agencies during major incidents, our team is ready to respond whenever needed.

🌊 In a coastal emergency, always dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

⛵ For water users, assistance can also be requested via VHF Marine Radio Channel 16.

Coastguard Rescue Teams are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing a lifesaving search and rescue service in all conditions.

𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 ☎️9⃣9⃣9⃣ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙.
From Rope Rescue (cliff/structure/vessel access etc), Water Rescue, Mud Rescue, casualty evacuation, vessels in distress, Lost & Missing Persons Searches, suspicious items (ordnance/pyrotechnics), Royal Fish (whales, sturgeons, porpoises and dolphins) etc, then we’ve got you covered should you need us.

HM Coastguard are responsible for the initiation and coordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the UK search and rescue region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate 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 UK as well as some inland waters (for Cumbria this includes Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston and Windermere).

13/06/2026

Wednesday’s training focused on a Lost & Missing Person Search, giving our Search Team Leaders and Technicians the opportunity to refresh their skills across a variety of terrain types.

🆘👀 Search taskings are time-critical incidents. Saving lives depends on disciplined, trained, and assessed search teams using standardised techniques, supported by robust command and control from our Officer in Charge (OIC).

The session covered a wide range of search skills, including:

✅ Average maximum detection range

✅ Probability of detection

✅ Search categories and techniques

✅ Searching in closed and open terrain

✅ Clue perception

✅ Preservation of forensic scenes

Behind the scenes, our OIC was managing the teams, whilst logging and record keeping, ensuring every decision, action, and find was accurately documented to support and evidence the overall search plan.

𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 ☎️9⃣9⃣9⃣ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙.
From Rope Rescue (cliff/structure/vessel access etc), Water Rescue, Mud Rescue, casualty evacuation, vessels in distress, Lost & Missing Persons Searches, suspicious items (ordnance/pyrotechnics), Royal Fish (whales, sturgeons, porpoises and dolphins) etc, then we’ve got you covered should you need us.

HM Coastguard are responsible for the initiation and coordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the UK search and rescue region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate 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 UK as well as some inland waters (for Cumbria this includes Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston and Windermere).

09/06/2026

Planned Sellafield site emergency exercise - Wednesday 10th June 2026 🚨

A Sellafield site emergency exercise will take place on the morning of Wednesday 10th June 2026 (daytime hours).

This may involve the sounding of the Sellafield site siren, which can be heard off-site.

Access to and from the site will be as normal up until approximately 8am on the morning of the exercise.

📲 Local residents: If you live nearby and are signed up to receive automated alerts (SMS, email or phone), you may be contacted during the exercise.

✅ Emergency exercises are carried out regularly at all nuclear licensed sites to ensure continued preparedness and to protect our workforce, site, and local community.

📢 Share this post to help spread awareness across the local community.

👉 For more information about the emergency exercise, or if you’re a local resident and would like to sign up for automated alerts click the links in the comment section.

28/05/2026

🏊 🛟

Operational Learning is a vital part of HM Coastguard and is developed through a range of processes, including Informal Mission Reviews and Post Mission Reviews. By reviewing actions and outcomes from both incident and non-incident activities, we are able to identify where procedures, decisions, actions and overall outcomes can be improved, helping us continually develop and enhance the way we operate.

Last night’s session focused on putting our learning into practice through water rescue scenarios based on incidents we’ve attended in and around Whitehaven Marina Outer Harbour.

A huge thank you to the Marina for their continued support and understanding of both our training and operational needs. Their longstanding support, along with that of all our landowners and stakeholders, plays a vital role in the success of our rescue operations.

𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 ☎️9⃣9⃣9⃣ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙.
From Rope Rescue (cliff/structure/vessel access etc), Water Rescue, Mud Rescue, casualty evacuation, vessels in distress, Lost & Missing Persons Searches, suspicious items (ordnance/pyrotechnics), Royal Fish (whales, sturgeons, porpoises and dolphins) etc, then we’ve got you covered should you need us.

HM Coastguard are responsible for the initiation and coordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the UK search and rescue region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate 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 UK as well as some inland waters (for Cumbria this includes Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston and Windermere).

27/05/2026

27/05/2026

🚨📟𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗨𝗧🚨📟 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 #𝟑𝟏 & #𝟑𝟐

🚨📟 #𝟑𝟏 - 🆘 𝐏𝐀𝐍-𝐏𝐀𝐍 𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥 - 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 🚤
Tasked to assist a vessel suffering engine failure in the Saltom Bay area. After multiple attempts, the crew were unable to restart the engine and as they were drifting towards the rocks they contacted the Coastguard via VHF to report their situation and request assistance.

Whitehaven Coastguard Rescue Team & Maryport Coastguard Rescue Team were tasked to establish visual contact with the vessel, while Workington Lifeboat launched their ALB to take the casualty vessel safely under tow back to Whitehaven Marina, where it was met and secured by Coastguard Rescue Officers.

Meanwhile…

🚨📟 #𝟑𝟐 𝐕𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 - 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧
With our Station Officer already on the marina as the initial tasking came through, he was immediately on scene.

Using the Sealock as a vantage point, a second vessel was spotted near Wh**ey Rock, raising immediate concern. Moments later, it had drifted dangerously close to the rocks.

The Operations Room was updated of a second potential incident, while half the team was deployed and prepared to carry out a potential sn**ch water rescue.

As the team approached, the boat ran aground on the rocks and turned broadside on, meaning it soon became swamped with water. The two persons onboard entered the water but were quickly safely ashore.

Swamped and sitting on the high water line, it required significant effort to free before we managed to refloat.

Workington Lifeboat had by this point cleared from the previous incident, however the shallow water and rocky hazards prevented them from getting close enough to safely establish a tow.
The vessel was ultimately left at anchor for the owner to arrange recovery.

𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 ☎️9⃣9⃣9⃣ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙.
From Rope Rescue (cliff/structure/vessel access etc), Water Rescue, Mud Rescue, casualty evacuation, vessels in distress, Lost & Missing Persons Searches, suspicious items (ordnance/pyrotechnics), Royal Fish (whales, sturgeons, porpoises and dolphins) etc, then we’ve got you covered should you need us.

HM Coastguard are responsible for the initiation and coordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the UK search and rescue region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate 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 UK as well as some inland waters (for Cumbria this includes Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston and Windermere).

25/05/2026

We couldn't have asked for better bank holiday weekend weather. 😎👌.
We hope you're all having a lovely and safe time.
𝙄𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙖 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙛 𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 ☎️9⃣9⃣9⃣ 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙.
From Rope Rescue (cliff/structure/vessel access etc), Water Rescue, Mud Rescue, casualty evacuation, vessels in distress, Lost & Missing Persons Searches, suspicious items (ordnance/pyrotechnics), Royal Fish (whales, sturgeons, porpoises and dolphins) etc, then we’ve got you covered should you need us.

HM Coastguard are responsible for the initiation and coordination of civil maritime search and rescue within the UK search and rescue region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate 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 UK as well as some inland waters (for Cumbria this includes Derwentwater, Ullswater, Coniston and Windermere).

23/05/2026

The team are down with Maryport Coastguard Rescue Team, come along!