Catalogue description Records of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency was established on 1 April 1998 by the merger of the Coastguard Agency and the Marine Safety Agency. Since 2002 it has been an executive agency of the Department for Transport (DfT).

The primary aims of the Agency are: to prevent loss of life at sea and at the coast; to continuously improve maritime safety and to protect the environment. The Agency is responsible for implementing British and International maritime law and safety policy. This involves coordinating search and rescue at sea through Her Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG), ensuring that ships meet international and UK safety standards, monitoring and preventing coastal water pollution and testing and licensing ships' officers and crew to international seafaring requirements.