HM Coastguard: Staff
(asked on 1st September 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people are employed by HM Coastguard.
The number of people who have died in UK coastal waters in each of the last ten calendar years:
Calendar year | Confirmed fatalities |
2017 | 477 |
2018 | 491 |
2019 | 493 |
2020 | 473 |
2021 | 487 |
2022 | 518 |
2023 | 571 |
2024 | 529 |
2025 | 539 |
2026 (January to August only) | 379 |
HM Coastguard currently has approximately 662 employees.
The total number of search and rescue incidents for the last ten calendar years is:
Calendar year | Total SAR incidents |
2017 | 23,107 |
2018 | 24,432 |
2019 | 29,088 |
2020 | 30,543 |
2021 | 32,613 |
2022 | 33,468 |
2023 | 31,162 |
2024 | 31,141 |
2025 | 32,155 |
2026 (January to August only) | 25,237 |
The number of people estimated to have been successfully rescued by HM Coastguard in each year for which HM Coastguard holds consistent records is:
Year | Total |
2019 | 30,383 |
2020 | 35,945 |
2021 | 61,612 |
2022 | 79,546 |
2023 | 59,446 |
2024 | 62,364 |
2025 | 64,618 |
2026 (January to August only) | 28,865 |
HM Coastguard does not hold data on the average cost of each callout to which HM Coastguard responds.