A French sailor has set off his emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) in the Channel and Coastguard rescue teams assist a man separated from his elderly father on a cliff walk. The Coastguard searches for an injured walker on Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) and Belfast MCA surveyors are put in the media spotlight while ensuring a high-profile cruise ship is safe.
Rescued sailor Arnoud Masson recalled: “My radio was broken, communication was not possible, and I had to take a decision. I had my immersion suit and my lifejacket so I decided to jump into the water. "I said, I cannot die today.
“Abi came from the helicopter like an angel. I assumed that my life was saved. I will never find the words to tell them how grateful I am.”
The media's attention is on a cruise ship offering a perpetual world cruise – but the vessel is stuck in Belfast while its owners and crew work to make it safe to sail. Once MCA surveyors are invited back on board to check the vessel, it falls to them to make the call as to whether it has met the standards required for it to leave port.
Byron Griffiths, Principal Marine Surveyor, said: “We do feel the weight of the decisions that we take. If something goes wrong we are dealing with a lot of lives. If the situation is so bad that you have to detain the vessel, it’s never a popular decision but making an unpopular decision is often part of the job.
There are more than 120 MCA surveyors based in nine Marine Offices located around the UK coastline.
Known as Survey and Inspection (S&I), it’s their job to ensure a wide variety of vessels meet legal standards to ensure they are safe to go to sea for passengers and crew.
The team’s work covers all commercially operating vessels in UK waters, including visiting foreign vessels, as well as UK vessels operating worldwide. Every year Marine Office surveyors attend thousands of vessels to undertake surveys and inspections.
Take a look at current vacancies at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency or find out more about becoming a volunteer coastguard rescue officer.
