RV ''Coastal Guardian'' is a dive support vessel which is owned and operated by Shearwater Marine Services of Dunoon. Her work takes her around the UK, most notably the West Coast.

History

In the late 1980s,

Abels Shipbuilders Abels Shipbuilders Ltd was a ship and boat builder in Bristol, England. In addition to boat building, the company branched out into architectural sculptures, tidal energy and marine restoration, but closed in 2016. Business Founded in 1980 ...

began to construct a series of survey vessels for the Environment Agency. ''Vigilance'' was the first of four similar vessels and delivered by David Abels for work in the

Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River S ...

in 1990. The follow on ships constructed were the ''Sea Vigil'' based on the South Coast, ''Coastal Guardian'' for the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed par ...

and ''Water Guardian'', based on the North East Coast, but spent some time in the Bristol Channel while the University of Plymouth chartered the ''Vigilance''. Ranging from 42 to 71 tonnes, and in length, they are ships operated by the Agency's

National Marine Service National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Their complement includes scientists and each are fitted for survey activities such as taking seabed samples, trawling and water sampling as methods to monitor the area's coastline, including use of Meteorological

sea surface temperature Sea surface temperature (SST), or ocean surface temperature, is the ocean temperature close to the surface. The exact meaning of ''surface'' varies according to the measurement method used, but it is between and below the sea surface. Air ma ...

equipment on a tow fish when required. ''Vigilance'' was purchased by Aspect Surveys. As of September 2013 Coastal Guardian is based in Weymouth under new ownership working commercially as a survey/diving vessel primarily in support of The Shipwreck Project. Water Guardian is now owned by MPM North West in Maryport Cumbria, renamed Susan H and refitted in April 2014 the vessel is available for survey and dive hire. Coastal Guardian is now owned and operated by Shearwater Marine Services in Dunoon, mainly used as diving support vessel Bristol Shipyards - Abels

References

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110928194500/http://www.marine.gov.uk/coastal_guardian.htm * http://marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?mmsi=235087897 * http://www.rvinfobase.eurocean.org/spec/vessel1.jsp * http://www.theshipwreckproject.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Coastal Guardian Survey ships Ships built in Bristol 1992 ships