As part of the ongoing move to centralise operations, Holyhead Coastguard has been connected to the NMOC
Holyhead Coastguard has been successfully linked up with the National Maritime Operations Centre (NMOC) in Hampshire, it has been announced.
The Welsh search and rescue coordination centre has been connected into the NMOC this week, following an upgrade in its technology and systems.
This upgrade will allow Holyhead to take on all operations in the Merseyside area following the closure of Liverpool Coastguard, which is scheduled for January 2015.
Graham Clark, Maritime Operations Controller at Holyhead Coastguard, said: “The new national Coastguard network will be able to oversee and assist with operations around the whole of the UK.
“Here at Holyhead CGOC we’re now part of this network, so we can call upon help from our fellow Coastguards elsewhere in the country, and also in turn help them out if needed.”
He added that the number of lifeboats and helicopters in the two regions will remain unaffected by the changes.
The transformation of the Coastguard is due to be completed before the end of 2015 and will see ten local stations reporting into the NMOC in Hampshire, and eight stations made obsolete as a result.
