Jersey Coastguard is responsible for the safety of life at sea along with the security and protection of the maritime environment for Jersey’s territorial waters. The service is provided by the Ports of Jersey from the Maritime Operations Centre in Maritime House in the port of St Helier, Jersey.
Search and Rescue (SAR) Jersey Coastguard is a tier-one emergency service on the island of Jersey. People who dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard or call up on VHF marine radio channel 16 or 82 will speak directly with the team, which is available 24/7, to coordinate their rescue. They work closely with adjacent services, including Guernsey Coastguard, CROSS Jobourg, CROSS Corsen, and HM Coastguard in the UK.
If there is an incident at sea, there are several assets available in the island. Two lifeboat charities operate in Jersey. The RNLI operates three lifeboats, and The Jersey Lifeboat Association currently have two. Jersey Fire and Rescue Service have two inshore boats (Fire Alpha & Fire Bravo) that can be deployed at various locations around the coast. Ports of Jersey Marine Services have many vessels that can be readily called upon with a crew on standby 24/7. There are additional lifeboats in Guernsey and around the French coast which will also assist if required, as can a number of air assets, including Channel Island Air Search in Guernsey and several military and civilian search and rescue helicopters in France and the UK.
There are 124 life rings around the coast provided and maintained by Jersey Coastguard for those in difficulty inshore. The beaches of St Brelade, St Ouen, Portelet and Greve de Lecq have RNLI beach lifeguards that operate in the primary season. The bathing pool at Havre de Pas also has lifeguards on duty in summer months provided by the Jersey Government. +Core maritime rescue assets available to Jersey CoastguardTypeName / call sign / tail numberVHF radio 'name'LocationOperated byEx Tyne-class lifeboatSir Max Aitken IIIJersey LifeboatSt HelierJersey Lifeboat AssociationGemini inshore Rescue RIBAlbert PinelAlbert PinelSt HelierJersey Lifeboat AssociationTamar-class lifeboatGeorge SulivanSt Helier LifeboatSt HelierRNLIAtlantic 85 inshore lifeboatSpirit of St HelierSt Helier ILBSt HelierRNLIAtlantic 85 inshore lifeboatEric W. WilsonSt Catherine's LifeboatSt CatherineRNLID class inshore rescue craftFire Alpha MarineFire Alpha MarineSt Helier Fire StationJersey Fire and Rescue ServiceD class inshore rescue craftFire Bravo MarineFire Bravo MarineRed Houses Fire StationJersey Fire and Rescue ServiceDamen Shoalbuster tugMHZS8Duke of NormandySt HelierPorts of Jersey Marine ServicesNelson 44 pilot cutterMAMW8RivalSt HelierPorts of Jersey Marine ServicesNelson 38 pilot cutterWJG7Le FretSt HelierPorts of Jersey Marine ServicesSims Lepard workboatZINL8HalyconSt HelierPorts of Jersey Marine ServicesBritten Norman IslanderG-CKYCAir Search OneGuernsey airportChannel Islands Air SearchLeonardo AW189 helicopterG-MCGO *Rescue 175Lee-on-Solent airportHM CoastguardEurocopter AS365N Dauphin helicopterRescue Cyclone XrayRescue CycloneCherbourg airportFrench NavyEurocopter EC145 helicopterF-ZBPF *Dragon 50Bréville-sur-mer, FranceSécurité Civile * Helicopter tail numbers subject to operational change
Station ID, channels and frequencies
Jersey Coastguard Maritime Mobile Service Identity Number (MMSI) - 002320060
VHF Channels Used by Jersey CoastguardVHF ChannelFrequencies MHzChannel TypeCommentsAerial site14156.700St Helier VTSMonitored 24/7St Helier, Gorey16156.8International Distress, Safety and CallingMonitored 24/7Fremont, Gorey, St Helier, Five Oaks82157.125 161.725Working ChannelMonitored 24/7Fremont, Five Oaks25157.250 161.850Broadcasting ChannelBroadcasting navigational and safety informationFremont, Five Oaks70156.525Digital Select CallingMonitored 24/7St Helier, St Ouen
Routine Broadcasts The following routine broadcasts are made by Jersey Coastguard on VHF Channel 82 & 25 (with a prior announcement on VHF Channel 16) at the following times:
Shipping Forecast (also available on Jersey Coastguard website)
0645 UTC 0745 UTC 0845 UTC 1245 UTC 1845 UTC 2245 UTC
Strong Wind / Gale Warnings
0307 UTC 0907 UTC 1507 UTC 2107 UTC
Navigational Warnings
0433 UTC 0833 UTC 1633 UTC 2033 UTC
Navigational Warnings and Strong wind warnings are made on receipt and included in the shipping forecast broadcasts.
Equipment
Jersey Coastguard uses the latest technology in their Maritime Operations Centre for routine and SAR working. A coastguard officer has available at their desk a communications screen which has VHF Radio, TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) and phones integrated into one user friendly screen. They have an electronic radio and incident log. Electronic charting (ECDIS) with AIS (Automatic Identification System) and RADAR overlay, with a direction finder interface displaying the direction of VHF calls on ch16 from the old radio tower at La Corbière. For Search and Rescue planning the latest SARIS software is used allowing the officers to input data relating to an incident which then uses multiple calculations involving wind, tide and drift formulas to predict where a person or object may have drifted to. Jersey Coastguard also has an emergency response vehicle, which is equipped with TETRA and VHF radios.
C-SIS Scheme Jersey Coastguard launched the C-SIS Scheme (Coastguard Safety Identification scheme) in 2014 for water craft that do not fall under the category required by the law to be registered. This scheme assists with locating owners of craft if they're lost and come ashore or are found adrift at sea.
Education Jersey Coastguard works closely with local primary and secondary schools delivering an education programme on sea safety focusing on beach safety, dangers of rip currents, being stranded by the tide and importantly whom to call in an emergency. These key messages are also promoted at other Island events which Jersey coastguard attends. Jersey Coastguard is also involved with 'advice on board' and lifejacket clinics run in conjunction with the RNLI.
History and background
Jersey is an independent Crown dependency located in the English Channel close to northern France. Jersey’s territorial waters encompass approximately 840 square miles with more than 28 miles of coastline.
In May 2007, Jersey Coastguard was launched from an amalgamation of services provided by Jersey Harbours, primarily the ‘Jersey Radio’ coastal station, for the States Assembly, with official recognition as a Category 1 emergency responder on the Island, along with the Police, Ambulance and the Fire and Rescue Service.
In October 2015 Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport became incorporated under Ports of Jersey with the primary objective to provide essential public services to the island in a sustainable manner. Jersey Coastguard moved with Jersey Harbours under Ports of Jersey who now provide this service for the Island community.
Between 2002 and 2015 Jersey Coastguard have dealt with between 99 and 175 incidents annually.
References
External