THE possibility of the Harbours Division taking over the management of marine emergency responses from Liverpool Coastguard is being considered by government.
It follows the announcement that the number of UK coastguard stations is to be cut by more than half with the Liverpool facility - if it is retained - staying open only during daylight hours instead of the current 24 hour round-the-clock cover.
The situation has forced the Department of Infrastructure to re-examine the way it will handle marine emergencies in the future and plans to send a formal response shortly to the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
The impact of the proposed changes in the UK is that the Clyde and Holyhead Coastguard stations will close and so will either Belfast or Liverpool. The remaining station, either Liverpool or Belfast, will only be fully operational during daylight hours.
A statement from the Department of Infrastructure today said, “It is therefore foreseeable that an offshore incident in the Isle of Man’s territorial waters would be co-ordinated from Aberdeen or Portsmouth/Southampton. Whilst such co-ordination is technically possible it may not be desirable.”
David Callister MLC, political Member with responsibility for Harbours, said, “The Department will be considering the implications of the proposed changes in order that a formal response can be sent to the Maritime & Coastguard Agency as part of the consultation process.
One of the options that will be available to the Isle of Man will be for all aspects of the management of a response to marine emergencies, including offshore incidents, to be undertaken by the Marine Operations Centre based at the Sea Terminal and operated by the Harbours Division.
The Marine Operations Centre was set up on 16th March 2009 to enable “999 coastguard” calls to be dealt with. The necessary investment in staff and infrastructure to accommodate this level of response can be used to provide the additional resource necessary to also manage responses to offshore marine incidents, without any significant additional resources being required.”
The UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency commenced a consultation in December on significant and wide-ranging proposals to reduce the number of UK Coastguard stations from 18 to 8, of which only two - one in Aberdeen and one in the Portsmouth/Southampton area - will be fully operational on a 24 hour basis. The proposed changes will commence in 2011/12 and be completed in a four year period.
The Isle of Man continues to be responsible for the provision of search & rescue services, “999 Coastguard” telephone calls and for the management of a response to pollution and salvage incidents in its territorial waters.
The Island has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime & Coastguard Agency for the provision of offshore co-ordination, access to search & rescue helicopters and advice and support for any large scale incidents.
Although the Isle of Man has responsibility for dealing with all offshore co-ordination of marine emergencies, it is currently undertaken on our behalf by Liverpool Coastguard under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding.
