Uk Coastguard News

The U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency is investing over £170 million ($221.5 million) in a new radio network for Her Majesty’s Coastguard. The new network will be built and maintained by telent Technology Services Ltd. and is a significant investment in telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas.The existing network will be replaced with a modern and resilient fiber-based hybrid network, that will provide increased reliability, bandwidth and security.The new network will ensure HM Coastguard can continue to communicate with ships in U.K.

HM Coastguard in the UK was among the agencies joining an international search operation last night (Friday 22 November) after a superyacht sank off Indonesia.At 9.08pm Friday 22nd November, HM Coastguard in the UK received a call from the Australian maritime authority, (JRCC Australia), who had in turn received a HF DSC Distress from what initially appeared to be a UK registered vessel named Asia. Investigations started by searching all relevant databases for contact details for the vessel but the vessel was not found to be on the UK Register. Coastguard coordinators in the UK are able to monitor beacon alerts globally and had noticed that a US registered EPIRB…

The director of a yacht management firm was cleared of manslaughter charges bought on by the death of four sailors in 2014.Four U.K. men – two in their twenties and two in their fifties – were killed when the 40-foot Cheeki Rafiki capsized in the Atlantic in May 2014 while returning across the Atlantic Ocean to Southampton from Antigua. The sailors’ bodies were never recovered.Yacht manager Doug Innes, who had been accused of failing to have the yacht properly checked ahead of its voyage and to ensure that its certification was in date for the intended trip, has been found not guilty on four charges of gross negligence manslaughter today at Winchester Crown Court.Innes along with his company Stormforce Coaching had denied all charges…

The UK Coastguard report that a bulk carrier and an oil tanker collided in the Dover Strait. Although both vessels have been damaged, there is no water ingress and no pollution. A French tug is on scene with the vessels. There are no injuries and all of the crew are accounted for. The tanker, ‘Seafrontier’, which is loaded with 37953mt of gasoline, has 27 people on board. The bulk carrier ‘Huayang Endeavour’ is in ballast and has 22 people on board. The Coastguard helicopter was sent to the scene, along with Dover and Ramsgate RNLI Lifeboats, in case evacuation was required. The helicopter remained with the vessels for a short while, reporting information back to the Coastguard, before returning to base. The lifeboats have also now left and the tug has arrived on scene.

One mariner remains missing after 13 of 14 crewmembers were recovered from the sea following the sinking of their oil tanker in severe weather conditions 240 miles off the coast of Yemen. At around 4:30 a.m. June 26, the U.K. Coastguard received a Mayday distress call issued by a 99-meter-long Panamanian flagged oil tanker believed to be carrying crude oil, reporting that the vessel was sinking. The Yemen Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) were unable to assist, so the U.K. Coastguard stepped in to coordinate the rescue, issuing a Satellite Communication Mayday relay broadcast to all shipping in the area. Multiple commercial vessels nearby responded to the original Mayday call and made their way to the tanker, which had sunk in gale force 8 winds and 5 meters swells.

A Fire and Rescue Marine Response team was airlifted on board of the US car carrier, MV Honor, which caught fire in the English Channel after leaving Southampton headed for the USA at about 3.45am on Friday. The American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier Shipping (ARC) vehicle carrier was en route to Baltimore, in the state of Maryland, USA from Southampton. 21 crew are on board. The vessel caught fire on cargo deck shortly after leaving Southampton in UK on 50 nautical miles northwest of Cherbourg. The UK Coastguard was contacted at 0345, and is now coordinating the incident. In a statement, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said the Honor’s fixed firefighting systems were used to attack the fire and the cargo space has been sealed.

A fire has broken out out aboard the U.S. car carrier Honor in the English Channel while the vessel was en route to Baltimore from Southampton on February 24. “The 21 crew are still on board the vessel and they are safe and well,” said Andy Jenkins, Commander for the U.K. Coastguard. The vessel’s fixed firefighting systems were used to attack the fire and the cargo space has been sealed. The ship’s crew continue to monitor the cargo area. The ship has full maneuverability and has turned back toward Southampton, where it is planned to anchor to the Southeast of the Isle of Wight. U.K. Coastguard said it is monitoring the situation closely and the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been notified of the incident.

On Tuesday, June 21 at 4:30 a.m., a small local fishing vessel reported seeing a static white light 30 meters above the cliffs at Mull of Kintyre, Scotland. Worried that there might be someone in trouble on the cliffs, the U.K. Coastguard sent Oban and Campbeltown Coastguard Rescue Teams, Campbeltown RNLI all weather lifeboat and the U.K. Coastguard search and rescue helicopter, callsign R999, based at Prestwick, to the location. Arriving on scene, the Campbeltown Lifeboat discovered that the bright light was actually being used to attract moths to a white sheet as part of a biodiversity night survey. All teams were stood down and returned to base. Stephen Turner, U.K.

The U.K. Coastguard is searching for the crew of a sunken fishing vessel near St David’s Head, Pembrokeshire.   The Coastguard said it received a 999 call from a member of the public just before 14:30, April 28, to say they could see a fishing vessel in difficulty near the rocks at St David’s Head.   The fishing vessel subsequently sank. It is unknown how many crew members were on board.    The Coastguard search and rescue helicopter based at St Athan, Coastguard Rescue Teams from St David's Head and Fishguard are searching the area.

A fishing vessel sank off the Western Isles, Scotland, in the early hours of April 9. Four crew members were on board at the time of the incident. One was located and taken to hospital by helicopter, two have been found but are confirmed deceased, and one fisherman remains missing. The U.K. Coastguard received a distress alert just before 3:45 when the fishing vessels emergency positioning beacon (EPIRB) was activated near Mingulay. The search involving the Coastguard search and rescue helicopters based at Stornoway and Prestwick, the Barra RNLI lifeboat, local fishing vessels and Police Scotland has been scaled back. Mark Rodaway, National Maritime Operations Commander, for U.K.

Shipping vessels have been advised not to anchor where an object thought to be a torpedo was discovered on the seabed of Scapa Flow, Scotland. On Saturday, February 27, Orkney Vessel Traffic Services informed the U.K. Coastguard that a 7-meter torpedo-like object had been found during a routine seabed sonar survey carried out by SULA Diving on behalf of Orkney Islands Council Marine Services. Video footage was then captured using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), which has now been forwarded to the relevant authorities. U.K. Coastguard has informed the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team and the Senior Coastal Operations Officer based in Orkney.

The owner of a harbor tanker has been fined £3,000 with more than £7,000 costs after pleading guilty to a charge of operating a vessel for being dangerously unsafe. Joseph O’Connor was fined at the hearing in Southampton Magistrates Court February 12 following his guilty plea to the charge which was brought until the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. In March 2009 the Wadestone, then known as the Humber Star, sank at its berth on Weston Wharf in the River Solent. As a result, the vessel was detained by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) as being dangerously unsafe on March 26, 2009. At the time it was detained it was noted that Wadestone (Humber Star) had been poorly maintained and repaired and was not fit to go to sea.

A seventh whale has been reported in shallow water off the coast of Mundesley, Norfolk this morning, February 9. A member of the Mundesley Coastguard Rescue Team contacted the UK Coastguard just after 10 a.m. this morning to report the whale was 300-400 yards off shore. The whale, which is the seventh whale in that area, was reported to be alive and thrashing about in the shallow water. UK Coastguard has alerted Happisburgh and Mundesley Coastguard Rescue Teams who are currently on the shoreline keeping a watchful eye over the position of whale. British Divers Marine Life Rescue, the Zoological Society of London, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Receiver of Wreck and the local council have also been informed.

The Antigua-Barbuda-flagged EMS Majestic began to sink with seven crew on board in the English Channel when it was being towed to safety. The UK Coastguard received a Mayday call at 7.09pm on Sunday from a cargo vessel which was taking in water in the Dover Strait. EMS Majestic reported that they had seven crew on board and were taking on water and sinking 13 miles south east of Eastbourne. A number of vessels transiting the area responded to Mayday Relay broadcast to provide assistance as required. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) rescue helicopters based at both Lee on Solent and Lydd have been sent to the scene along with Eastbourne RNLI lifeboat. EMS MAJESTIC received assistance from the tug, THOR FRIGG and is currently under tow to Southampton.

A piece of metal thought to be debris from an American space rocket was recovered from the sea off the Isles of Scilly. The metal – a large section of alloy about 10 meters by 4 meters, was spotted on the surface between Bryher and Tresco and reported to the UK Coastguard November 26. The Coastguard has issued a warning to shipping in the area. Martin Leslie, Coastal Area Commander, said, “The markings show an American flag. The debris recovered with the help of local professional boatman, before being towed into New Grimsby and is currently securely held on the beach at Tresco.

A man found guilty of making numerous hoax calls to the U.K. Coastguard has been jailed for four months, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. Alasdair Munro, 55, from Kyleakin, Skye, denied all charges before Sheriff Scott at Portree Sheriff Court on August 27, 2015, but was found guilty of an offence contrary to the Communications Act 2003 section 127, according to the MCA. Munro had reportedly called HM Coastguard several times on October 30, 2013, claiming a yacht was lost in Loch Hourn. Munro said he had spoken to someone on VHF radio stating that they were lost in Loch Hourn and didn’t know how to get out. The call led to the deployment of a Mallaig RNLI Lifeboat and Kyle Coastguard Rescue Teams to search for the vessel…

Two Englishmen - one an epileptic with head injuries - attempting to break the world record for rowing across the Indian Ocean as a duo have been rescued for a second time. The rescue mission came after a seemingly bizarre chain of communication attempts from adventurer James Ketchell and friend Ashley Wilson. On their first attempt, in May, they had to abort their bid to row from Geraldton in Western Australia to Port Louis in Mauritius just one day into the journey after electronic guidance systems failed. The pair set off again on Friday, but has run into bad weather about 175km west of Kalbarri, forcing them to activate their emergency personal location beacon about 8am on Wednesday.

The master of a cruise liner which was damaged going over rocky shoals has pleaded guilty to two charges at Belfast Magistrates court June 16, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. Captain Joao Manuel Fernandes Simoes pleaded guilty to failure to properly passage plan in breach of SOLAS and failure to report the incident contrary to the Merchant Shipping vessel traffic monitoring and reporting requirement regulations. On May 11, 2015 the Bahamas registered cruise liner MV Hamburg called in to Tobermory en route from Dublin to Hamburg. The Bay could not be entered on arrival as there were already two other cruise liners so the Hamburg remained outside about two miles to the North East of the popular port. The call to enter came at around 1 p.m.

The U.K. Coastguard is currently coordinating the search for a vessel which may be in distress and taking on water somewhere in the Newhaven area, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported. The Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Lee on Solent, Newhaven RNLI Lifeboat and Newhaven Coastguard Rescue Team are all searching for signs of the missing vessel and are being supported by Newhaven NCI. The Coastguard has also broadcast a message requesting further information from all shipping. Jonathan Mustard, Maritime Operations Specialist for U.K. Coastguard said, “We received a broken message via VHF radio this afternoon at about 2:30 p.m. that a vessel needed assistance because it had a hole in its side and was taking water.

A car carrier vessel has suffered a fire on one of its decks, approximately 40 miles off Harwich, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. The U.S. flagged ship, Courage, reported the fire to the U.K. Coastguard at Dover Maritime Rescue Coordination Center just before 10 p.m., June 2. Using an inbuilt CO2 system to, crew members flooded a large area to put the fire out and continued their journey. The situation is currently contained. A Dover Coastguard RAF Wattisham helicopter was on standby, but was not needed. The vessel is now coming to Southampton where it is being monitored by the National Maritime Operations Center, MCA said.

Five fishermen men were rescued from a life raft overnight after their fishing vessel Kairos sank 75 miles west of the Isles of Scilly. UK Coastguard received two distress calls just after 23:45 yesterday, including an EPRIB from the Kairos that gave a GPS location for the vessel. Falmouth Coastguard coordinated the search that involved two Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue helicopters, RNLI St Mary’s lifeboat, fishing vessels and two commercial vessels that were in the area. The five crew were recovered from the life raft to the vessel Cu Na Mara and are currently making their way to Castletownbere in Ireland. All crew are said to be safe and well.

The missing Belgian fishing vessel, which lost communications in the channel Wednesday, January 28, was located today by a survey vessel, the U.K. Coastguard and Maritime Agency (MCA) reported.   The Dutch authorities have sent to the fishing vessel wreck location a Royal Netherlands Navy warship, HNLMS  Luymes, expected to arrive on scene tomorrow morning.   On board the warship is a diving team and a Dutch police officer, which is standard procedure for missing people, MCA said. Also on board are two officers from the Belgian shipping inspection, which is in charge of the investigation.

The U.K. Coastguard was notified of a fishing vessel in distress just before 11 a.m. this morning. The Iuda Naofa, a 23-meter Irish fishing vessel, was taking on water 48 miles north of the Butt of Lewis, the U.K Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported. A Coastguard Rescue helicopter was requested to attend the scene and drop a salvage pump onto the Iuda Naofa to pump off the ingress of water. However, the vessel became swamped and started to sink. The helicopter airlifted two of the crew onto the nearby sister fishing vessel, the Star of Hope. The other three crew were transferred by helicopter to the Western Isles hospital, where they are being treated for mild hypothermia.