Rescue Services: Helicopters
Commons · Question 12330 · Tabled 23 Jun 2026 · Department for Transport · Official record
Answered 1 Jul 2026
Question
Asked by Brian Leishman
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many merchant seafarers have been winched to safety from commercial vessels in (a) territorial and (b) international waters on the UK Continental Shelf by HM Coastguard Search and Rescue helicopters in each
Answer
Answered by Keir Mather, 1 Jul 2026
The winching systems on search and rescue (SAR) helicopters have a limit on their load capacity which has been further reduced by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) imposed limit for the carriage of ‘human external cargo’. The Maritime and C...