1. Co-ordination of all civil maritime search & rescue within the United Kingdom Search & Rescue Region
2. Co-ordination of counter pollution and salvage
3. Statutory survey and inspection of UK registered ships and foreign vessels entering our waters
4. Investigation and prosecution of breaches of Merchant Shipping legislation It is in the first capacity as a Search and Rescue organisation that we are best known.

Only 30 years ago we had 150 visual lookout stations, some manned around the clock and others setting watch in bad weather or at night. Today we have 18 Rescue Co-ordination Centres, each fitted with the most up to date communications equipment with between 3 and 6 officers on duty at all times, ready to respond immediately to any report of ships or persons in difficulties. However, one thing has not changed; we are still the only maritime emergency service contactable on the 999 system or radio, and we are the sole authority responsible for the co-ordination of civil maritime search and rescue.

It is not only in the field of Search & Rescue that we have an essential role, as we believe that accident prevention is just as important. We broadcast gale warnings, navigation warnings, weather forecasts and other safety information on the radio and Navtex, and we are always available to give advice and information to the general public.

Incidents that we co-ordinate range from the person cut off by the tide to major maritime disasters where hundreds of lives may be at risk on board a passenger liner on fire, and may be within sight of the Rescue Centre or in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean (or even further afield - we frequently have to co-ordinate incidents in the South Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The one thing that they all have in common is that someone's life is at risk

Casualties at sea are very different to those ashore; they rarely stay in the one position, it takes much longer for assistance to arrive on scene, and there is the ever-present risk of hypothermia. Throughout the incident the Rescue Co-ordination Centre retains control, evaluating information, deciding which resources to deploy, calculating search areas and allocating specific tasks and areas for each of the participating units. This can be a very complex task, as many variables have to be taken into consideration, not least the survival time for the casualties.

Apart from the Rescue Co-ordination Centres, HM Coastguard has a number of other facilities. All around the coast of the United Kingdom an Northern Ireland we have Coast Rescue Teams, made up of volunteers from the local community, trained and equipped by HM Coastguard to carry out cliff and mud rescue, coastal searches and patrols, as well as any other tasks that enable them to be the "eyes of the ops. room". There are Coastguard rescue helicopters at Stornoway, Shetland, Portland and Lee on Solent, and 4 powerful ocean going tugs placed strategically around the coast.

HMCG may be the lead agency in maritime Search and Rescue, but we cannot operate without all the other maritime authorities such as the RNLI, RAF, RN and other vessels, to name but a few. We all respect each others' areas of expertise, and despite the fact that there may be as many as ten or more different authorities involved in an incident, we work together as an integrated team of professionals. The purpose of this exhibition is to show how we can all work together to make the waters around the United Kingdom safer for everyone.