10 February 2010  Having first become operational on 1 June 2008, NCI Gosport has now been awarded Declared Facility Status by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. This brings to a successful conclusion many months of training by Station Manager, Richard McMinn and his team and will now see them become fully integrated into the UK Maritime Search & Rescue Service.

 Gosport already has the capability to stand daytime watches seven days a week and this provides a high value safety umbrella for the local seafaring community as well as a multitude of leisure boat owners in and around the entrance and approaches to Portsmouth Harbour, one of the busiest ports in the UK and traditional home of the Royal Navy.

The award of DFS will serve to enhance the impact of the visual safety cover that they currently provide from their vantage point in the former RN Signal Tower at Gosport’s Fort Blockhouse, which enjoys a 270º panoramic view across the Eastern Solent and up into Portsmouth Harbour.