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200 years of livesaving for HM Coastguard

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The UK Coastguard is marking its 200th birthday this year, having been formed in 1822 to help combat smuggling.

Coastguard­s across the four nations that it serves – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – cast traditiona­l throwlines into the sea as a symbol of the service’s ongoing work.

Today Her Majesty’s Coastguard co-ordinates rescues and other activities from one main centre centre in Hampshire, nine maritime rescue coordinati­on centres around the coast and one maritime rescue ‘sub-centre’.

There are 310 Coastguard rescue teams, made up of 3,500 volunteers, using 10 search and rescue helicopter bases.

The Coastguard responded to more than 33,000 incidents in 2020 and its marine surveyors carried out almost 4,500 surveys on UK and non-UK registered ships. The service’s duties have broadened and during the pandemic, coastguard­s supported the UK’s National Health Service, they attended the G7 summit meeting and COP26 in 2021 and they have responded to flooding and other national emergencie­s.

HM Coastguard provides training to search and rescue authoritie­s around the world and shares knowledge on a mutual basis with others. It is a key player with the Internatio­nal Maritime Organizati­on and o…ers insight into the practical applicatio­n of SOLAS (The Internatio­nal Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea).

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