The UK government has announced plans to cut reduce the 18 Coast Guard stations now operating to 10, with only three running 24 hours a day.
The 24-hour stations would be Aberdeen (Scotland), Portsmouth or Southampton on the Solent and the busy port of Dover.
Swansea in South Wales, Falmouth in Cornwall, the Humber Estuary and stations in either Liverpool or Belfast and the Shetlands or Stornoway in the Hebrides would operate only during the day, along with a small riverside station on the Thames in London.
Shipping minister Mike Penning said cutting Coast Guard stations would provide more training for volunteer rescue crews, improve safety at sea in an era of larger ships, more traffic and offshore platforms.
Penning said the three 24-hour stations would be maritime operations centres capable of manning maritime incidents wherever they occur.
Critics, including many fishing operations, say the cuts will jeopardise safety.
