Coastguard celebrates 30 years with week of activities

The St.Vincent and the Grenadines Coastguard Service marked its 30th anniversary yesterday.{{more}}

To commemorate the milestone, the Coastguard staged a set of activities during the week, which included a church service last Sunday at the Calliaqua Methodist Church, a donation of a flag pole to the Brighton Primary School (sponsored by CWSA), cleaning of the brass at the St.George’s Cathedral, sensitizing students throughout the country on safety tips, and a get together at the Coastguard base at Calliaqua today.

“I feel a sense of growth towards being an efficient unit, especially on the human resource side. In the earlier days, the US, British and Canadian used to do most of our training, but our training is now done mainly by using our local human resource,” said Commander Brenton Cain.

“The vision is to develop the human capacity and to make the Coastguard more effective,” he added.

Cain said the officers at the Coastguard are being prepared to operate a set of new vessels, which are being purchased for St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Coastguard Service in St.Vincent and the Grenadines was started on the December 2, 1980, when eight young graduates were recruited from secondary school and the Royal St.Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.

On January 1, 1981, these eight individuals left St.Vincent for England to pursue various maritime disciplines which included: electrical and mechanical engineering. The eight were Ricardo Theobalds, Marcus Richards, Desmond Corea, Clement Patrick, David Robin, Ralph Liverpool, Eldon Wilson and Harlon Cambridge.

The Coastguard’s first vessel, a medium range vessel named the “George Mc Intosh” was presented to St.Vincent and the Grenadines in a ceremony held on March 6, 1981, in Portsmouth, England.

The vessel was a 75ft craft and arrived in Barbados on board a larger vessel late November 1981.

The George Mc Intosh made its maiden voyage from Barbados between November 20- 21, 1981. The vessel was under the command of a Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy and crew by Sgt G. Hazell, Cpl K. Robinson, and M. Richards, along with PC D. Robin, R. Theobalds, H. Cambridge, B. May, D. Corea, and C. Patrick.

The coastguard continued to grow from strength to strength, and on October 26, 1990, the Coastguard home in Calliaqua Bay was commissioned.

The Base now provides a home for the Coastguard officers and vessels.

They were previously stationed in Port Kingstown in the back of what is now Food City.

In 1982, two additional patrol boats joined the fleet, the “Larakai” and “Brighton”. Both boats were built locally by Buhlers Yachts.

In June 1987 the Coastguard largest vessel, the “Captain Mulzac” joined the fleet. The Captain Mulzac is a 120ft Coastguard Cutter that was donated to the government of St.Vincent and Grenadines by the government of the United States.

Other vessels were added to the fleet as time went by to include the “Chatham Bay” – a 24ft Boston Whaler with enclosed cabin, and the Hairoun – a 40ft medium range vessel. In 2005 the H K Tannis was added to the fleet of vessels.

The Coastguard has developed into a self sufficient maritime unit; practically doing everything as it relates to the maintenance of its base and vessels. The unit is divided into four broad departments; Operations, Administration, Electrical and Mechanical. There is also a chippy department that is hinged to the Mechanical department. At present the Coastguard has personnel on degree programmes in the United States, Venezuela and Jamaica.

Along with its law enforcement and environmental duties, the SVG Coastguard also embarks on nation building and social intrusions progammes. Two such programmes are the Youth Developmental Summer Programme and the Food Basket outreach programme. There are also many small requests which are fulfilled from time to time in the area of First Aid mainly to tour operators and students. Swimming lessons, among others are taught.

From the inception the Coastguard was under the command of the British Navy Loan Office until 1994 when the first local commander took over. David Robin was the first local Commander, followed by Commander Tyrone James, then Brenton Cain, who is the present Commander.

The main functions of the SVG Coastguard are: Search and rescue, Fisheries Protection, Maritime Law Enforcement, Pollution Protection, and Port Security.(HN)The St.Vincent and the Grenadines Coastguard Service marked its 30th anniversary yesterday.

To commemorate the milestone, the Coastguard staged a set of activities during the week, which included a church service last Sunday at the Calliaqua Methodist Church, a donation of a flag pole to the Brighton Primary School (sponsored by CWSA), cleaning of the brass at the St.George’s Cathedral, sensitizing students throughout the country on safety tips, and a get together at the Coastguard base at Calliaqua today.

“I feel a sense of growth towards being an efficient unit, especially on the human resource side. In the earlier days, the US, British and Canadian used to do most of our training, but our training is now done mainly by using our local human resource,” said Commander Brenton Cain.

“The vision is to develop the human capacity and to make the Coastguard more effective,” he added.

Cain said the officers at the Coastguard are being prepared to operate a set of new vessels, which are being purchased for St.Vincent and the Grenadines.

The Coastguard Service in St.Vincent and the Grenadines was started on the December 2, 1980, when eight young graduates were recruited from secondary school and the Royal St.Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force.

On January 1, 1981, these eight individuals left St.Vincent for England to pursue various maritime disciplines which included: electrical and mechanical engineering. The eight were Ricardo Theobalds, Marcus Richards, Desmond Corea, Clement Patrick, David Robin, Ralph Liverpool, Eldon Wilson and Harlon Cambridge.

The Coastguard’s first vessel, a medium range vessel named the “George Mc Intosh” was presented to St.Vincent and the Grenadines in a ceremony held on March 6, 1981, in Portsmouth, England.

The vessel was a 75ft craft and arrived in Barbados on board a larger vessel late November 1981.

The George Mc Intosh made its maiden voyage from Barbados between November 20- 21, 1981. The vessel was under the command of a Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Navy and crew by Sgt G. Hazell, Cpl K. Robinson, and M. Richards, along with PC D. Robin, R. Theobalds, H. Cambridge, B. May, D. Corea, and C. Patrick.

The coastguard continued to grow from strength to strength, and on October 26, 1990, the Coastguard home in Calliaqua Bay was commissioned.

The Base now provides a home for the Coastguard officers and vessels.

They were previously stationed in Port Kingstown in the back of what is now Food City.

In 1982, two additional patrol boats joined the fleet, the “Larakai” and “Brighton”. Both boats were built locally by Buhlers Yachts.

In June 1987 the Coastguard largest vessel, the “Captain Mulzac” joined the fleet. The Captain Mulzac is a 120ft Coastguard Cutter that was donated to the government of St.Vincent and Grenadines by the government of the United States.

Other vessels were added to the fleet as time went by to include the “Chatham Bay” – a 24ft Boston Whaler with enclosed cabin, and the Hairoun – a 40ft medium range vessel. In 2005 the H K Tannis was added to the fleet of vessels.

The Coastguard has developed into a self sufficient maritime unit; practically doing everything as it relates to the maintenance of its base and vessels. The unit is divided into four broad departments; Operations, Administration, Electrical and Mechanical. There is also a chippy department that is hinged to the Mechanical department. At present the Coastguard has personnel on degree programmes in the United States, Venezuela and Jamaica.

Along with its law enforcement and environmental duties, the SVG Coastguard also embarks on nation building and social intrusions progammes. Two such programmes are the Youth Developmental Summer Programme and the Food Basket outreach programme. There are also many small requests which are fulfilled from time to time in the area of First Aid mainly to tour operators and students. Swimming lessons, among others are taught.

From the inception the Coastguard was under the command of the British Navy Loan Office until 1994 when the first local commander took over. David Robin was the first local Commander, followed by Commander Tyrone James, then Brenton Cain, who is the present Commander.

The main functions of the SVG Coastguard are: Search and rescue, Fisheries Protection, Maritime Law Enforcement, Pollution Protection, and Port Security.(HN)