coastguard

Governmental organization whose members patrol a nation's seacoast to prevent smuggling, assist distressed vessels, watch for oil slicks, and so on. In the UK, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has responsibility for all civil maritime search and rescue operations around the UK coastline and up to 1,000 mi into the North Atlantic.

.BTXT:

HM Coastguard was formed to prevent smuggling after the Napoleonic Wars. In 1994 it became an Executive Agency under the Department of Transport, and in 1998 merged with the Marine Safety Agency to become the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

.UTXT:

The US Coast Guard, created in 1915, has wide duties, including enforcing law and order on the high seas and navigable waters. During peacetime, it ihas been administered under the Department of Transportation, and in time of war under the Department of the Navy. Since 2003 it has come under the Department of Homeland Security.

In July 2001, the US Coast Guard announced that the number of boating deaths in the USA had fallen to the lowest level in 40 years, despite a record number of registered boats. The recorded fatalities for 2000 were 698, a drop of 5% from 1999, while the number of registered boats increased by 20,000 over that period to 12.9 million. Records began in 1960, and the worst recorded year was 1973 with 1,754 deaths.

.ATXT:

The Coastwatchers of Australia 1919, a volunteer civilian organization, were originally formed to maintain a defensive watch on the home coast, but in World War II won distinction in an active role from 1942 in New Guinea and the Pacific Islands against the Japanese forces.