HM Coastguard (Swanage) - About Us

HM Coastguard responds to Search and Rescue (SAR) incidents that occur within the UK SAR region. This region covers some 1.25 million square nautical miles of sea and over 10.5 thousand nautical miles of coastline.

The Swanage Team is one of 402 Coastguard Rescue Teams (CRTs) in the UK currently having 13 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers who are on call 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Our new station at the North Beach Car Park was opened on the 6th February 2009, replacing the old station built in 1842 at Peveril Point. The new premises give us better facilities and road access to our patch, which has just about every type of terrain possible, from sand and mud to 375ft cliffs.


The northern boundary starts at Middlebere Farm on the shores of Poole harbour (the Worlds 2nd largest natural harbour), taking in Wytch Farm, Europes largest onshore oil field. Out of the harbour by the Chain Ferry and along into Studland and the World famous Old Harry Rocks, the starting point of the World Heritage Site known as the Jurassic Coast which follows the coastline into Devon. Into Swanage and across the treacherous Peveril Ledges leads into Durlston Bay and round to Anvil Point, finally ending at our border with the St Albans team at Dancing Ledge. 

There are three types of Coastguard Team, Rope, Search and Mud.  The Swanage Team is classified as both a Rope Rescue and Enhanced Search team having specialist equipment to deal with these types of maritime emergencies.As well as our specialist skills the team is principally the eyes and ears of the Operations Room in Weymouth (Known as Portland Coastguard Rescue Coordination Centre) and often members will be watching and passing vital information back to the centre during a rescue.The team has two main types of callouts. 

Initial Response Team (IRT), this is a two person team normally sent out to investigate an incident or give assistance until further rescue units arrive, or

The Back up Response Team (BURT), this is the reminder of the team and will be used on rope rescues or searches.