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Save Shetland Coastguard


millie
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this is quite a serious matter folks.

 

Shetland is surrounded by sea as we know. Everything that is in your house has been brought up by or over the sea. the wildlife depends on us looking after the coast.

 

It needs our full attention, not a scan from some guy south who thinks the Isles are just a blip on the radar.

 

Sign the petition.

 

Write to those in power. will be more jobs lost, less income for the Isles.

 

#saveshetlandcoastguard

 

SP, you are correct - this is indeed a very serious matter. But in my humble opinion, it is not a matter that means too much to an islander.

The people "in power" South will come and go, at a 5-yearly election, as is their want. The European Parliament will extrapolate. Meanwhile folk in Shetland will do what they have always done. Look after folk aff. Shutdown the coastguards (all coastguards) right now....and..we (the islanders) will manage fine...as we have always done and will continue to do.

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And as a timely reminder, today is the 18th anniversary of the grounding of the Braer. Can hardly believe it has been that long, but I wonder if an incident of that scale was to occur again with no locally based Coastguard station, and no emergency towing vessel (the Braer being the reason that the tug arrived here in the first place), how much more difficult the co-ordination and subsequent actions would be.

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And as a timely reminder, today is the 18th anniversary of the grounding of the Braer. Can hardly believe it has been that long, but I wonder if an incident of that scale was to occur again with no locally based Coastguard station, and no emergency towing vessel (the Braer being the reason that the tug arrived here in the first place), how much more difficult the co-ordination and subsequent actions would be.

 

Good point - and helps me make my point above. All the resources available (or in hindsight should have been available - see Lord Whatsisname's report) made not the slightest bit of difference.

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.....and ( I may be wrong here) is it not the case that the coastguard tug expected to prevent another "Braer" pranged onto rocks outside Scalloway and caused a damn sight more scunner than the Braer did.

 

I would say that yes, you are quite wrong -

 

Braer - 85,000 tonnes of oil spilt

Anglian Sovereign - 84 tonnes of fuel spilt.

 

Slight difference me thinks

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.....and ( I may be wrong here) is it not the case that the coastguard tug expected to prevent another "Braer" pranged onto rocks outside Scalloway and caused a damn sight more scunner than the Braer did.

 

I would say that yes, you are quite wrong -

 

Braer - 85,000 tonnes of oil spilt

Anglian Sovereign - 84 tonnes of fuel spilt.

 

Slight difference me thinks

 

Certainly tonne quantity wise I agree. Scunneration quotiont? Some would say the Braer was a godsend ;)

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this is quite a serious matter folks.

 

Shetland is surrounded by sea as we know. Everything that is in your house has been brought up by or over the sea. the wildlife depends on us looking after the coast.

 

It needs our full attention, not a scan from some guy south who thinks the Isles are just a blip on the radar.

 

Sign the petition.

 

Write to those in power. will be more jobs lost, less income for the Isles.

 

#saveshetlandcoastguard

 

SP, you are correct - this is indeed a very serious matter. But in my humble opinion, it is not a matter that means too much to an islander.

The people "in power" South will come and go, at a 5-yearly election, as is their want. The European Parliament will extrapolate. Meanwhile folk in Shetland will do what they have always done. Look after folk aff. Shutdown the coastguards (all coastguards) right now....and..we (the islanders) will manage fine...as we have always done and will continue to do.

 

So Bug, how are we going to manage, if you, a friend or a member of your family are off in a boat and are overdue back? How are you going to "manage" as you always did. No coastguard to call, you have closed them all due to lack of support!!

You or yours fall down a cliff, who’s going to rescue you then, ooops all the coastguard stations are closed.

 

You need to waken up to the reality of the Government proposals!

 

In my humble opinion

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this is quite a serious matter folks.

 

Shetland is surrounded by sea as we know. Everything that is in your house has been brought up by or over the sea. the wildlife depends on us looking after the coast.

 

It needs our full attention, not a scan from some guy south who thinks the Isles are just a blip on the radar.

 

Sign the petition.

 

Write to those in power. will be more jobs lost, less income for the Isles.

 

#saveshetlandcoastguard

 

SP, you are correct - this is indeed a very serious matter. But in my humble opinion, it is not a matter that means too much to an islander.

The people "in power" South will come and go, at a 5-yearly election, as is their want. The European Parliament will extrapolate. Meanwhile folk in Shetland will do what they have always done. Look after folk aff. Shutdown the coastguards (all coastguards) right now....and..we (the islanders) will manage fine...as we have always done and will continue to do.

 

So Bug, how are we going to manage, if you, a friend or a member of your family are off in a boat and are overdue back? How are you going to "manage" as you always did. No coastguard to call, you have closed them all due to lack of support!!

You or yours fall down a cliff, who’s going to rescue you then, ooops all the coastguard stations are closed.

 

You need to waken up to the reality of the Government proposals!

 

In my humble opinion

 

Well said Mr Angry, Bug needs to be taken down a peg or two or three! :x

 

Thats was a very flippant and arrogant remark to make. "this is indeed a very serious matter. But in my humble opinion, it is not a matter that means too much to an islander"

 

I can assure you that it matters very much to an Islander go and ask these people and then you may wake up.

Any fisherman who goes to sea for work or recreation.

Any offshore oil & gas industry worker on the numerous fixed platforms, FPSOs (Floating Production Storage and offloading unit - Schiehallion, Foinaven etc) and mobile drilling rigs.

Any small pleasure craft user based locally or who is a visitor.

Any small workboat operating close inshore or slightly further afield.

Any small tour boat operator.

Any diveboat operator which are increasingly visiting the Shetland Isles

Any local person or tourist who enjoys to walk along these islands rugged and inherently dangerous coastline

Any merchant seaman regularly working in and around or passing through these waters.

any local islander or visitor who cares deeply about these islands and who may have been helped or assisted by Shetland Coastguard in the past.

 

Infact go and ask anyone in the Shetland Isles and try to tell them that it doesn't matter to them whether the local Coastguard Station is closed or not. Maybe then you will realise what you are saying is fundamentally wrong and completely unfounded.

 

So go and read the consulation document but before that please go to http://www.gopetition.com/petition/41468/sign.html and see for yourself the amount of support already. Furthermore please read some of the people's views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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thanks for your comments & support guys & gals.

 

The staff at the Shetland station had a meeting with their MP and MSP last Thursday, which was also attended by a member of the MCA Executive Board (standard practice when a serving MP visits).

 

It was a very 'interesting' meeting, and we've lots to work on, both locally and for the national effort.

 

It was also disappointing that of the dozen or more questions the MCA Exec Board member was asked he couldn't answer any of them with any conviction...

 

example, 'Considering HMCG has been working to rule for over 3 years, what data and statistics were used when drawing up the proposal and consultation document?'

 

(while working to rule, no incident figures have been passed from stations to HQ)

 

Answer: "I don't know" (remember this is a member of the executive board, he's nearly as high up in our hierachy as you can get without being Chief Exec)

 

or 'there is a lot of reliance on the local knowledge of the CROs (Coastguard Rescue Officers) in the proposal... were any of them involved or asked while the propsal was being drawn up?'

 

Answer: "no"

 

So if the good guys & gals in the coast rescue teams decided to not co-operate, the staff at the remote MOC without their detailed knowledge of the area are up a creek without a paddle :)

 

Not satisfactory. How can you make a proposal based on out of date and/or flawed data and expect it to be taken seriously?

 

geez

 

~ Q

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Guest Anonymous

Although the MCA's proposals are at the consultation stage it seems that the key decisions have already been made:

 

Lloyd's List - 12 January 2011

 

"MCA slashes coastguard jobs as rescue centres close

 

 

Loss of 228 staff and 10 stations needed to improve efficiency and save around £80m, says chief executive Admiral Sir Alan Massey

 

MORE than one in three coastguard jobs around the UK coast will be scrapped as part of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s drive to save around £80m ($124.9m) over the next four years, recently-appointed chief executive Admiral Sir Alan Massey has revealed to Lloyd’s List.

 

In a combative interview, Adm Massey insisted that coastguards themselves accept they do not work efficiently and that the impending changes should go through even if the UK government had not ordered huge across-the-board reductions to public spending last year.

 

Going public on the full details of the shake-up for the first time, Adm Massey said that the Department for Transport had ordered him to make cuts of 22% in the MCA budget by March 2015, a figure broadly in line with what is happening in similar agencies.

 

Although a few big ticket items face an immediate axe, other costs will be shed on a stepped basis rather than through adoption of a big bang approach.

 

“Going for the jugular in year one is extraordinarily difficult to achieve anyway, it would be a huge hit,†he said. “Phasing in over four years gives you much more time to plan. Anybody who tried to manage this budget would try to do the same.â€

 

With cuts of this magnitude, the MCA will have to drop some existing functions in addition to making efficiency savings, he went on. As has already been announced, emergency towing vessel cover around the coast will go when the existing contract with Klyne Tugs ends in September this year, saving about £32m by 2015.

 

Also bearing the brunt of the economy drive will be administration staff in areas like finance, human resources, regulation and policy. In line with requirements imposed centrally by the DfT, one in three such posts will be scrapped.

 

“I hope to be able to do that without our customers noticing the difference,†said Adm Massey. “But you can’t take a third out of the resources of what government departments do and expect everything to carry on as normal.

 

“Clearly some things will have to be done in a different way. I don’t doubt that some things will simply be stopped. It will be a question of prioritising.â€

 

The other, and perhaps most controversial, main area for savings will be the coastguard service. Some 228 jobs out of around 600 co-ordination posts will get the chop, a headcount reduction of 38%, while 10 of the existing 19 facilities will close. Savings are estimated at £7.5m a year, some of which will be used to improve low pay.

 

“I am by no means the first [MCA] chief executive to try to achieve modernisation of the coastguard, because it is far from ideal and pretty inefficient in the way it is laid down at the moment,†said Adm Massey.

 

“We can make far more effective use of the talents and skills of our people, and current technology, and that is what we are seeking to achieve.

 

“The coastguards would be the first to put their hands up and say ‘actually we recognise that the current set up of 18 Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres plus the London activity does not represent the most efficient way of doing things’.â€

 

Although some staff will naturally be reluctant to relocate, the case for change is recognised by employees and unions alike, Adm Massey said.

 

Under his scheme, there will be two major centres in operation round the clock, one in Aberdeen and the other in either Southampton or Portsmouth, each able to undertake the entire national workload if need be.

 

Another seven centres will act as satellites. Dover and London will be staffed 24/7, while Humber, Falmouth, Swansea, either Belfast or Liverpool and either Shetland or Stornoway will be staffed only during the day.

 

Shipping Minister Mike Penning said: “The safety of all who use our coast is paramount, but in addition to the long-overdue need to modernise the coastguard the state of the public finances is well documented and difficult decisions have to be made.

 

“Our job in government is to balance our duty to maintaining high levels of safety with our duty to the taxpayer to reduce the deficit. I am confident that the decisions we have made will not compromise safety and I would like to thank those in the MCA for their continuing hard work.â€

 

But a spokesman for seafarer union Nautilus International countered: “While we can’t dispute the significant advances in communications technology that make some of these proposals more tenable than in the past, our overriding concern is for the loss of local knowledge and expertise, which can prove critical in search and rescue operations.â€

 

Regards

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