coast guard

U.S. Coast Guard medium endurance cutter Vigilant (WMEC-617).

A CH-149 Cormorant training with a Canadian Coast Guard cutter.

A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries.

Role

Among the responsibilities that may be entrusted to a coast guard service are:

• search and rescue,
• enforcement of maritime law,
• safety of vessels,
• maintenance of seamarks and
• border control.

During wartime, some coast guard organisations might have responsibilities in harbour defence, port security, naval counter- intelligence and coastal patrols.

The coast guard may, varying by jurisdiction, be part of the country's military, a law enforcement agency, or a search and rescue body. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard is a military branch with a law enforcement capacity, whereas the United Kingdom's Her Majesty's Coastguard is a civilian organisation whose only role is search and rescue^[1].

In some countries, the coast guard is part of the military (such as the US), in others it is a civilian, law enforcement, or even private sector organisation. Most coast guards operate ships and aircraft including helicopters and seaplanes that are either owned or leased by the agency in order to fulfil their respective roles.

Some coastguards, such as the Irish Coast Guard have only a very limited law enforcement role, usually in enforcing maritime safety law, such as by inspecting ships docked in their jurisdiction^[2]. In cases where the coast guard is primarily concerned with coordinating rather than executing rescue operations, lifeboats are often provided by civilian voluntary organisations, such as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution in the United Kingdom, whilst aircraft may be provided by the countries' armed forces, such as Sea Kings operated by the RAF and Royal Navy in addition to any of the coast guard's own assets.

Types and roles

The following lists a select number of coast guards around the world, illustrating the varied roles they play in the respective countries they operate in:

Bangladesh

The Bangladesh Coast Guard's officers are transferred from the Bangladesh Navy. While under the remit of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the coast guard is part of the country's military^[3].

Canada

In Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) is a civilian service under the Department of Fisheries and Oceans responsible for patrolling the world's longest coastline of 243,042 km (~151,000 mi)^[4].

The CCG holds responsibility for all marine search and rescue in Canada. The CCG coordinates search and rescue operations with the Canadian Forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and other organizations. The CCG maintains and operates seamarks, coastal light stations, vessel traffic services, marine pollution response services, marine communications systems and provides icebreaking services. CCG also operates all federal scientific research and hydrographic survey vessels. To accomplish these tasks, CCG has a sizeable fleet of vessels and aircraft, all serviced from various bases and smaller stations located on three coasts (Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific) and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.^[5]

The Canadian Coast Guard College is located near Sydney, Nova Scotia.

France

In France, there are no Coast Guards, per se. But, in each region, a Naval Admiral, called Préfet Maritime, is in charge of coordination of all state services for action at sea (Navy, gendarmerie, customs, fishery survey ...). The charity, Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer, provides most life saving duties.

Germany

The German Federal Coast Guard, known as the Küstenwache, is both a civilian service and a law enforcement organisation, staffed with both police officers and certain civilians from the various German federal agencies associated with maritime administration with responsibility for the coordination of all law enforcement activities within its jurisdiction.^[6]

Haiti

The Haitian Coast Guard is an operational unit of the Haitian National Police. It is one of the few law enforcement organisations in the world to combine water policing and coast guard duties while remaining as a policing unit. It operates primarily as a law enforcement agency, with secondary responsibilities in search and rescue.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, law enforcement duties are carried out by the Marine Police and the Customs and Excise Department. The Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (HKMRCC) co-ordinates search and rescue vessels, aircraft and other resources of the Fire Services Department, Government Flying Service, Marine Department and the Marine Police.

Iceland

The Icelandic Coast Guard is primarily a law enforcement organisation and is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice. It is, however, commonly involved in military operations and exercises, such as Enduring Freedom and Northern Challenge^[7].

India

In India, the Indian Coast Guard is a military unit and, in contrast with some coast guard units, resembles a naval coastal defence force. It has responsibility for search and rescue, enforcement of maritime law- smuggling, immigration and shipping regulations- and protecting the country's maritime and offshore resources^[8]

Italy

In Italy, the Guardia Costiera is part of the Italian Navy under the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport. They have responsibility for enforcement of shipping and maritime safety regulations, as well as performing search and rescue duties^[9]

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) or Malaysian Coast Guard is part of the Malaysian Civil Service and is under the Prime Minister's Department. The Agency is headed by a Director General who is appointed by the Yang Di Pertuan Agong (King) on the advice of the Prime Minister while other personnel are appointed by the Public Service Commission. In times of war, crisis or emergency, the Agency may be placed under the command of the Malaysian Armed Forces. It was formed to combat the rise of piracy in the Malaccan and Moluccan straits, especially after frequent attacks from the Orang laut pirate during the 1900s. Personnel often work very closely with the Royal Malaysian Navy and Royal Malaysian Air Force. The Coast Guard operates a Special Forces Commando or STAR (Special Weapons and Tactics) unit, which was absorbed from the Navy's PASKAL and Air Force's PASKAU. The agency utilises its resources in a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue capacity^[10]

New Zealand

The Royal New Zealand Coastguard is a civilian volunteer charitable organisation^[11], providing search and rescue services to coastal waterways and some lakes in New Zealand. Smaller incidents are coordinated by the New Zealand Police, who may call on the services and resources of the coastguard. Larger incidents are managed by the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ), with support from the New Zealand Defence Force.^[12]

Pakistan

In Pakistan, the Pakistani Coast Guard is the youngest of the nation's armed forces. It is a military force in its right, as opposed to being part of the Pakistan Navy. The coast guard has responsibilities for protecting and the country's coastlines in terms of strategic security, as well as law enforcement within the country's Exclusive economic zone^[13].

Philippines

In the Philippines, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is a maritime law enforcement agency operating under the Department of Transportation and Communications of the Philippine government. It is tasked with the broader enforcement of maritime laws, especially against smuggling, illegal fishing, drug trafficking and piracy. It patrols the country's 36,289-kilometer coastline, and is also involved in maritime search and rescue (SAR) missions, as well as the protection of the marine environment.^[14]

Singapore

A third generation Patrol Craft of the Police Coast Guard conducting a sea-rescue demonstration off the southeastern coast of Singapore.

In Singapore, the Police Coast Guard (PCG) is an operational department of the Singapore Police Force. Functions of the coast guard were transferred from the Republic of Singapore Navy to what was then the Marine Police in February 1993 ^[15]. The Marine Police was thus restructured and renamed as the Police Coast Guard, one of the few law enforcement organisations in the world to combine water policing and coast guard duties while remaining as a policing unit. It operates primarily as a law enforcement agency, with secondary responsibilities in search and rescue.^[16]

Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, until 2009 a Coast Guard Unit existed under the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, responsible for fishy and natural resource protection coastal areas. A new Department of Coast Guard was created under the Department of Coast Guard Bill presented to parliament in 2009. The department would be under the purview of the Ministry of Defence and be staffed by civilian personal. The department's responsibilities include search and rescue, law enforcement within the country's Exclusive economic zone, conducting anti-smuggling and anti-immigration operations, suppression of terrorist activities in territorial waters of Sri Lanka.^[17]

Republic of China (Taiwan)

In Taiwan, the Coast Guard Administration (ROCCGA) is both a military and a law enforcement organization. The ROCCGA is considered a civilian law enforcement agency under the administration of the Executive Yuan, though during wartime it may be incorporated as part of the military. Its primary roles are in ensuring the safety and security of the country's waters and coordinating search and rescue efforts.^[18]

ROCCGA is instituted Maritime Patrol Directorate General and Coast Patrol Directorate General. Officers of Maritime Patrol Directorate General are law executors, but officers of Coast Patrol Directorate General are soldiers who have partial law-enforcement power.

United Kingdom

The HM Coastguard station at Girvan Scotland.

In the United Kingdom, Her Majesty's Coastguard is purely concerned with search and rescue. It has no role in the maintenance of seamarks which is instead the responsibility of Trinity House, the Northern Lighthouse Board (in Scotland) and the Commissioners of Irish Lights (in Northern Ireland), nor has it any concern with customs enforcement, which is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs. HM Coastguard does not possess its own lifeboats, instead calling on those of the volunteer Royal National Lifeboat Institution and other independent Lifeboats^[19], although it often wet leases commercial helicopters — mainly Sikorsky S-92s and AgustaWestland AW139s— and tugs to provide search and rescue cover in certain areas. It does, however, maintain a number of search, cliff and mud rescue teams as well as some inshore rescue boats and is a coordinating body and public face for the maritime search and rescue services. It is part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which in itself is an executive agency of the department for transport. HMCG faced criticism and an unsuccessful negligence case (Oll v Secretary of State for Transport)

United States of America

Racing Stripe

In the United States, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is both a military and a law enforcement organization. It is one of the seven components of the Uniformed services of the United States and one of the five elements of the United States Armed Forces. Its role comprises enforcement of US law, coastal defense and search and rescue.^[20]

During peacetime the USCG falls under the administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security. During wartime, the USCG may, at the direction of the President, report to the Secretary of the Navy; its resources, however, are integrated into U.S. military operations (see 14 U.S.C. § 3–4).

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy and Officer Candidate School are located in New London, Connecticut. The Coast Guard's Training Center Petaluma located in Petaluma, California provides assignment training (also known as "A-schools") as well as its Chief Petty Officers Academy. The United States Coast Guard Training Center Cape May in Cape May, New Jersey is the Coast Guard's only Recruit Training Center. Many other countries' entire naval forces are comparable in size and/or strength to the USCG^{[citation needed]}. The USCG enables the US Navy to concentrate on its main mission of power projection — while the USCG manages maritime security, port security, and coastal patrols.

The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the other branches of United States armed services from directly enforcing U.S. laws, with the exception of the USCG. Thus, the USCG provides Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETs) to US Navy ships and the members of the LEDETs do the actual boarding, interdiction and arrests with the assistance of US Navy personnel.

In 1917, Congress passed and President Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Espionage Act, authorizing the Treasury Secretary to assume control of U.S. ports, control ship movements, establish anchorages and supervise the loading and storage of explosive cargoes. The authority was immediately delegated to the Coast Guard and formed the basis for the formation of the Coast Guard's Captain of the Ports and the Port Security Program. This established the basis for the current involvement in Homeland Security.

The USCG maintains an extensive fleet of coastal and ocean-going patrol ships, called cutters by tradition, and small craft, as well as an extensive aviation division consisting of HH-65 Dolphin and HH-60 Jayhawk helicopters and fixed wing aircraft such as the C-130 Hercules and the HU-25 Guardian. USCG helicopters are equipped with hoists to rescue survivors and also play a major role in law enforcement. The helicopters are able to land and take off from USCG cutters, making them an indispensable tool in fighting illegal drug traffic and the influx of illegal migrants. The fixed wing aircraft are used for long range search and rescue and law enforcement patrols.

Racing Stripe

The Racing Stripe was designed in 1964 by the industrial design office of Raymond Loewy Associates to give the United States Coast Guard (USCG) a distinctive, modern image^[21].

Uruguay

In Uruguay, the Coast Guard (Prefectura Nacional Naval-PRENA)[1] is a part of the Navy.

It is tasked with the broader enforcement of maritime laws, especially against smuggling, illegal fishing, drug trafficking and piracy. It patrols the country's coastline, and is also involved in maritime search and rescue (SAR) missions, as well as the protection of the marine environment.

See also

• Port security
• Maritime security regime

References

External links

• Download records of service of the UK Coastguard 1816-1947

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