House of Commons - Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs

Select Committee on Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs Sixth Report

THE MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY

The Coastguard Agency and the Marine Safety Agency

4. The Coastguard Agency was established in April 1994, comprising HM Coastguard and the Marine Pollution Control Unit (MPCU). In the twenty years prior to becoming part of the Agency, HM Coastguard had undergone significant change. Until the late 1970s, it operated fixed watch posts along the coast, visually scanning the area covered by each post for signs of seafarers and coastal users in difficulty.[7] That modus operandi was abandoned, however, and its primary responsibility now is to respond to emergency calls, made either by telephone or radio, by despatching and co-ordinating the organisations, including lifeboats, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and its own officers and auxiliaries, which might be required to deal with the problem. As a result of this changed role, the number of maritime rescue co-ordination centres has been progressively reduced: by 1979, the number of centres had been reduced to 28, and now there are only 21, situated on or near the coast.[8]

5. In addition to those officers based in the maritime rescue co-ordination centres, there are 64 Coastguard sector officers. Sector officers are responsible for a length of coastline,[9] and, within that area, for recruiting, training and otherwise managing local auxiliary Coastguards, for liaising with local authorities, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), the other emergency services, and with seafarers and coastal users, for managing vehicles and other equipment used within the sector, and for providing a day to day operational response to incidents. They also have other duties, carried out on behalf of the Receiver of Wrecks, the Registrar for Shipping and Seamen, and the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions.[10]

6. Auxiliary Coastguards, of whom there are approximately 3,100, make up the coastal response teams. They carry out rescues on cliffs and mud-flats, prepare landing sites for helicopters, provide back-up radio support for operations with inshore lifeboats, and play a role in incident prevention.[11] Auxiliary Coastguards are volunteers, paid a small allowance for an average of 160 hours service each year, although many put in considerably more hours of unpaid time.[12]

7. HM Coastguard has a range of other resources at its disposal. As a result of the recommendations of the Donaldson Report,[13] it is responsible for monitoring the disposition of, and ensuring that there is adequate provision of, salvage tugs. Three vessels, based at Dover, Falmouth and Stornoway, are provided under contract to the Coastguard during the winter months.[14] Finally, HM Coastguard can call on four helicopters, based at Portland, Shetland, Solent and Stornoway, which it has on charter from Bristow, six Royal Air Force helicopters, based at Boulmer, Chivenor, Leconfield, Lossiemouth, Valley and Wattisham, and two Navy helicopters, based at Culdrose and Prestwick.[15]

8. The workload of HM Coastguard has increased steadily over the past few years. In 1987, it was involved in 5,563 incidents, compared with 11,667 incidents in 1997, a rise of 110 per cent;[16] in 1987, it assisted 8,867 people, compared with 16,884 in 1997, a rise of 90 per cent. Even so, the number of lives lost annually has remained constant, between 1987 and 1997, at approximately 250 each year.[17] In 1996, the United Kingdom experienced 19 deaths per thousand incidents, which compared favourably to the United States with 22, Ireland with 26, Norway and France with 32, and Spain with 50 deaths per thousand incidents.[18] Moreover, between 1986 and 1996, there was "a decrease of 52 per cent in real terms in HM Coastguard's cost of handling each incident".[19] We note that although HM Coastguard now deals with twice as many incidents as ten years ago, there has been no increase in fatalities. We also note the impressive record of HM Coastguard compared to equivalent organisations in other countries, and the equally impressive decline over the past ten years in the cost of dealing with each incident.

9. The MPCU is responsible for countering incidents of pollution at sea from ships, and for assisting local authorities in preparing for and dealing with shoreline pollution.[20] To deal with pollution at sea the Unit directly owns and contracts aircraft capable of spraying dispersants, surveillance aircraft, stocks of dispersant, and other equipment.[21] It also contracts various experts to assist it in its work.[22] MPCU's main tasks in dealing with shoreline pollution are to co-ordinate contingency planning, to advise local authorities and to train their staff in appropriate clean-up techniques, and to maintain stockpiles of shore clean-up equipment.[23] In 1997, 1,115 pollution incidents were referred to the MPCU, a rise of 4.8 per cent over 1996.[24] This increase continued the upward trend of the past few years.[25]

The Marine Safety Agency

10. The MSA was also established as an executive agency in April 1994. It aimed to "develop, promote and enforce high standards of marine safety, and to minimise the risk of pollution of the marine environment from ships".[26] It was therefore responsible for surveying and certifying the British merchant and fishing fleets, although much of the work involved in surveying and certifying UK registered ships is delegated to Classification Societies, such as the Lloyd's Register of Shipping.[27] The MSA also carried out Port State Control, the inspection of foreign ships calling at British ports, and was involved with the training of seafarers through membership of bodies such as the Merchant Navy Training Board, the Fishermen's Training Advisory Group and the Yachtmaster Qualification Panel.[28]

11. In 1997-98 the Agency employed 336 staff, of whom slightly less than half were front-line professionals, mainly surveyors, and the rest were administrative or support staff.[29] In that year it carried out a total of 2,809 surveys,[30] which "involve the thorough examination of a ship's construction, safety equipment, pollution prevention, management systems, manning requirements and living conditions",[31] allowing the vessel to be issued with appropriate certificates if they meet the required standards. It also performed 5,420 inspections,[32] which are mainly carried out on foreign ships, to ensure that they meet British standards, although some are carried out on British vessels to ensure that the "conditions which applied at the time of survey are maintained".[33] 1,890 foreign vessels were inspected under Port State Control.[34] A total of 179 foreign flagged ships were detained as a result. During 1997-98, the Agency also carried out Food and Hygiene inspections on 200 ships, both UK registered and foreign vessels, to examine the cleanliness of food stores, galleys, mess-rooms and sanitary facilities. Six per cent of the UK ships, and 23 per cent of the foreign flagged vessels, so inspected were found to be dirty.[35]