Coast Guard or Coastwatch?

The ALP want a US style Coast Guard and whereas images of cutters like the USCG Cutter Hamilton (pictured) might make us feel grown up and a significant player in the world all such thoughts would disappear when the first payment fell due. Peter Reith, when Minister for Defence had this to say more than two years ago when Kim Beazley first raised the coast Guard issue. You can read the ALP policy on the Coast Guard issue in their Policy Paper – 007 – 27 November 2002 Although mentioned in this election build up, the ALP have yet to update their site with more recent considerations. Try as I could I couldn’t find a picture of our Coastwatch cutters. If the debate continues could we have some please – Mr Coastwatch PR man. I know they won’t be as big and as flash as the US Cutters but they sound OK to me. Our cutters are 38 m long versus the US 250m plus versions. The division of Customs that handles Coastwatch vessels is the National Marine Unit (NMU) The NMU fleet comprises eight vessels: ACV Roebuck Bay ACV Holdfast Bay ACV Botany Bay ACV Hervey Bay ACV Corio Bay ACV Arnhem Bay ACV Dame Roma Mitchell ACV Storm Bay. All ACVs are surveyed under the Uniform Shipping Laws Code (USLC) to class 2B standards with a 200 nautical mile (NM) offshore capability. Bay-class vessels have an operational fuel load of 25,000 litres and are powered by two MTU 1050-kilowatt diesel engines. This provides endurance in excess of 1000 nautical miles at 20 knots and considerably more at lower speeds. Each ACV has two 6.4m tenders capable of carrying two crew and four passengers. Each tender is powered by twin 90 hp outboards and has a cruising range of 150 nautical miles. Tenders are deployed from an ACV via compensated davits on the port and starboard sides aft. The standard crew for an ACV patrol consists of eight Customs Marine Officers. These officers come from a diverse range of backgrounds and spend 22-30 days at sea per six week roster cycle. Southern ocean crew will work under modified conditions and will generally spend around 40 days at sea. A variety of training is undertaken to ensure crew are skilled to operate as a safe and professional team. Training includes: occupational health and safety at sea Bay-class operation operational safety and defensive skills statutory Federal and State marine qualifications other Customs specific training. More than two years ago I was sailing off the West Australian coast and while at the Monte Bello Islands a Coastwatch plane (pictured above) come over and demanded all sorts of answers such as yacht’s registered name and home port, who was on board, last port, next port, ETA next port and what did we know about the other yacht nearbye that they couldn’t raise on radio. I was impressed. Days later we witnessed Coastwatch operatives conducting training with heli fast-rope inserts onto a small rock way out in the ocean. I’ve been there, done that, am critical and they looked professional to me. The Australian Coastwatch service has a website here and the National Marine Unit here Coast Watch is a uniquely Australian answer and currently under the umbrella of Australian Customs. Why change that?. If the ALP think Coast watch is not working properly then why not just boost Coatswatch? Canada are looking at our system and ask; ‘Australia’s Coastwatch ? What Can Canada Learn?’ Read that here. It’s a short piece Could someone tell me why we shouldn’t just develop and improve Coastwatch. Why do the ALP insist on a Coast Guard when we already have one? Is it just a name change or do they want it under the umbrella of Defence? All sounds like books for kids to me – the wrong angle of approach.