Topic: U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Two senior U.K. officers have been drafted to help the Cayman Islands create a new coastguard and border protection agency.

Officers from the United Kingdom Coastguard arrived in the Cayman Islands this week to review the country’s search and rescue capabilities. The police came under fire earlier this year when three men and two boys, ages 9 and 11, went missing at sea and emergency searchers did not deploy until the next morning.

The U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency will lead a review of the Cayman Islands’ search and rescue capability, Overseas Territories Minister Baroness Joyce Anelay announced in a visit to the police Joint Marine Unit this week. The review will look at the staff, personnel and equipment required to ensure safety and security on Cayman’s waters.

U.K. Overseas Territories Minister, Baroness Joyce Anelay, made what is believed to be the first speech given by anyone in her position to the Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly on Tuesday morning, during a whirlwind tour of all three Cayman islands. The baroness visited the Sister Islands Monday, stating she could not have “chosen a more beautiful starting point” for her first trip to a British Overseas Territory.