Some coast guards, such as the Irish Coast Guard, have only a very limited law enforcement role, usually in enforcing maritime safety law, such as by inspecting ships docked in their jurisdiction. Most coast guards operate ships and aircraft including helicopters and seaplanes that are either owned or leased by the agency in order to fulfil their respective roles. For example, the United States Coast Guard is a specialized military branch with law enforcement authority, whereas the United Kingdom's Her Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a civilian organisation whose primary role is search and rescue. The coast guard may, varying by jurisdiction, be a branch of a country's military, a law enforcement agency, or a search and rescue body. Īmong the responsibilities that may be entrusted to a coast guard service are:ĭuring wartime, some national coast guard organisations might have a role as a naval reserve force with responsibilities in harbor defenses, port security, naval counter-intelligence and coastal patrols. In 1845 the Coastguard was subordinated to the Admiralty. The Treasury agreed and (in a memorandum dated 15 January 1822) directed that the preventative services, which consisted of the Preventative Water Guard, cruisers, and riding officers should be placed under the authority of the Board of Customs and in future should be named the 'Coastguard'. In 1821 a committee of inquiry recommended that responsibility for the Preventative Waterguard be transferred to the Board of Customs.

This was the origin of the Coastguard's life saving role. The mortar fired a shot with a line attached from the shore to the wrecked ship and was used for many years. The Coastguard was also responsible for giving assistance to shipwrecks.Įach Waterguard station was issued with a Manby mortar, which had been invented by Captain George William Manby in 1808. At the time, due to high UK taxation on liquors such as brandy, and on tobacco etc., smuggling of such cargoes from places such as France, Belgium, and Holland was an attractive proposition for many the barrels of brandy and other contraband were landed from the ships on England's beaches at night in small boats and later sold for profit, as later depicted in the Doctor Syn series of books by Russell Thorndike. The predecessor of the United Kingdom's modern Her Majesty's Coastguard was established in 1809 as the Waterguard, a department of the HM Customs and Excise authority, which was originally devoted to the prevention of smuggling.

The HM Coastguard station at Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland

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