Our Meteorology Section recently visited the Jersey Coastguard HQ!
For this meeting we visited the Jersey Coastguard at the Maritime Operations Centre, Maritime House.
Andrew Letto, the evening Watch Officer and his colleague Jeff, gave us a thorough explanation of their work and role within the Ports of Jersey. Much of the work is routine, but when incidents occur, they have plenty of resources to call on, including two Lifeboat services, inshore rescue craft, a small Fire Service craft and Search and Rescue helicopter services in England and France.
There is good cooperation with the French authorities. We even heard an anecdote about a small cargo vessel bound for Brittany that narrowly avoided hitting Sark, thanks to swift communication between Jersey and France, the situation was quickly addressed. The captain was later found to be under the influence and subsequently lost his license, a reminder of the importance of vigilance at sea.
The Chairman sent an e-mail to Andrew, thanking him and his colleague for a very informative visit.
Author: Frank Le Blancq – Chair of Meteorology Section
