Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Stornoway has permanent radio access to the radio network covering the Clyde, Arran and the Ayrshire coast.
The radio sites covering the Clyde, Arran and Ayrshire coast were transferred to Belfast Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) when Clyde MRCC closed in December 2012.
As part of the pairing ‘infrastructure' there is a fixed link between Belfast and Stornoway MRCCs which enables Coastguards at Stornoway MRCC to have permanent radio access to the entire Belfast MRCC radio estate (or vice versa). In addition the MRCCs at Aberdeen or Shetland can ‘dial in' to provide further support if required.