HM Coastguard
| Her Majesty's Coastguard | |
|---|---|
Coat of arms
|
|
| Founded | 1829 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Allegiance | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Type | Coastguard |
| Role | Search and rescue |
| Part of | Maritime and Coastguard Agency |
| Patron | HRH The Prince of Wales (Honorary Commodore) |
| Motto(s) | "Safer Lives, Safer Ships, Cleaner Seas" (MCA) |
| Commanders | |
| Secretary of State for Transport | The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling, MP |
| Minister of State | The Rt. Hon. John Hayes, FRSA, MP |
| Chief Executive, MCA | Sir Alan Massey |
| Chief Coastguard, HMCG | Vacant |
| Insignia | |
| Ensign |
 |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Helicopter |
Sikorsky S-92 AgustaWestland AW139 |
| Patrol |
Cessna 404 Reims-Cessna F406 Britten-Norman Islander |
Her Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the UK Maritime 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 United Kingdom. It is also responsible for land based search and rescue helicopter operations from 2015.
The chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is Sir Alan Massey. Operational control of the service is the responsibility of the Chief Coastguard.
Her Majesty's Coastguard is not a military force or law enforcement agency, with coastal defence being the responsibility of the Royal Navy, and maritime border control being the responsibility of Border Force. However, the organisation is a uniformed service.
In 1809 the Preventative Water Guard was established, which may be regarded as the immediate ancestor of HM Coastguard. Its primary objective was to prevent smuggling, but it was also responsible for giving assistance to shipwrecks. For this reason, each Water Guard station was issued with Manby's Mortar (the mortar fired a shot with a line attached from the shore to the wrecked ship and was used for many years). In 1821 a committee of enquiry recommended that responsibility for the Preventative Water Guard should be transferred from HM Treasury to the Board of Customs. The Board of Custom and the Board of Excise each had their own long-established preventative forces: shore-based Riding Officers and sea-going Revenue Cruisers. The committee recommended the consolidation of these various related services. The Treasury agreed, and in a Minute dated 15 January 1822 directed that they be placed under the authority of the Board of Customs and named the Coast Guard.
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