Coastguard Northern Region
| informally, Coastguard New Zealand | |
 |
|
| Formation | 1976 |
|---|---|
| Type | Charitable organisation |
| Purpose | Maritime search and rescue |
| Headquarters | Level 2 470 Parnell Road Parnell Auckland New Zealand |
|
Region
|
New Zealand |
|
Membership
|
18,000 supporter members |
|
Chief Executive Officer
|
Patrick Holmes |
|
Staff
|
23 paid staff |
|
Volunteers
|
2,235 active volunteers |
| Slogan | To be the ‘go to’ people for marine safety, education and search and rescue services |
| Website | www.coastguard.nz |
The Royal New Zealand Coastguard (informally Coastguard New Zealand) is the primary civilian marine search and rescue organisation for New Zealand. Unlike a number of other countries, the organisation is a non-governmental, civilian charitable organization. Uniformed agencies of the New Zealand government, including the police, Maritime New Zealand and customs, manage New Zealand's maritime law enforcement and border control. Coastguard New Zealand has a strong focus on boating education as opposed to taking enforcement action.
Sea rescue services have existed in some shape or form in New Zealand since at least 1861, but it was not until some time later that the modern Coastguard New Zealand was formed.
The Coastguard in New Zealand is a civilian charity made up of volunteers. There are four Coastguard regions (Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern), with 63 units between these regions.
The type of incident will influence a number of factors, such as who is in control of the incident and who will pay for the incident. Other organisations may also become involved in an incident including:
Some examples of a Category 1 incident are:
Typically require the use of local personnel and resources and can be carried out efficiently and effectively at the local level.
Some examples of a Category 2 incident are:
Coastguard also provides non-urgent assistance, such as breakdown assistance (including re-fueling and towing), for free to members. Coastguard membership is $115 per year (as of 2016). However, this non-urgent assistance is chargeable for non-members. The current rate is $280 per hour (from the time the rescue vessel leaves the dock until the time it arrives back). Emergencies are always covered for free as this is the primary mission of the Coastguard.
The vision of the organisation is "No boaties’ lives lost at sea" with the mission "To be the ‘go to’ people for marine safety, education and search and rescue services".
The focuses for Coastguard New Zealand currently are:
A large number of volunteers make up the organisation, alongside a small number of paid staff. In 2016, there was 2235 volunteers and 23 paid staff, made up of 13 Coastguard staff and 10 Coastguard Boating Education staff. The organisation is made up of a large number of different roles, both on-shore and as SAR crew.
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Wikipedia