Coastguard

Maritime and Coastguard Agency appoints new interim chief

Damien Oliver has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). He will begin his new role on Monday 17 October, which follows the current MCA Chief Executive Brian Johnson’s retirement. Damien joined the MCA in 2001 and has held a number of high-profile roles including responsibility for major… Read more »

Control room award winners celebrated as community honours unsung heroes

The extraordinary contributions of the behind-the-scenes heroes who work tirelessly to serve and protect the public have been celebrated at the Control Room Awards 2022. The ceremony took place on the opening day of the Emergency Services Show and featured many inspirational stories of professionalism, dedication and resilience. The awards are the only accolades of… Read more »

MCA chief to step down

Brian Johnson has announced that after four years as Chief Executive Officer of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) he will be leaving the post in October 2022.  Sharing the news on the MCA’s LinkedIn feed, Mr Johnson said, “I’ve loved all things maritime for many years – since I was a boy, in fact…. Read more »

Senior blue light leaders make landmark mental health commitment

Emergency services across each of the home nations have committed to a uniform approach to supporting the mental health of their emergency responder workforce. In a UK first, The Chief Officers of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, National Fire Chiefs Council and Association of Ambulance Chief Executives have made a public pledge on behalf of… Read more »

Shortlist of bidders announced for the next decade of Coastguard search and rescue aviation

The shortlist of companies being invited to tender for the next generation of search and rescue aviation has been announced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The shortlisted bidders will be invited to tender for the UK Second-Generation Search and Rescue Aviation programme – known as UKSAR2G – to provide HM Coastguard search and rescue… Read more »

SSE Enterprise Telecoms and telent bring highly resilient connectivity to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency

SSE Enterprise Telecoms, one of the UK’s leading connectivity providers, has partnered with telent, a leading UK technology and network services company, to keep the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) remote radio sites connected to support the public’s safety at sea. Operating remote sites across the length and breadth of the UK, the MCA is… Read more »

Coastguards invest in search and rescue skills

Coastguards from across the UK have been on the very first course to build extra expertise in search and rescue incidents involving high risk missing people. The Coastguard Search Adviser (CGSA) course, held at the Police National Search Centre at the College of Policing, was led by police and coastguards with students being taught how… Read more »