The Maritime Incident Response Group
To address the issue of further improving maritime resilience and delivering a more formal approach to dealing with incidents of fire, chemical release and industrial accidents on vessels/structures 'at sea', the United Kingdom’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has entered into partnership with 15 coastal Fire & Rescue Services around the UK.
In January 2003 the MCA launched the ‘Sea of Change Project’. This project culminated in the formation of the UK Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG) that actively contributes to maritime & civil resilience.
The Maritime Incident Response Group was formally 'launched' by the Secretary of State for Transport at Dover on 20th April 2006 and the ‘Sea of Change Project’ was completed on the 31st March.
The day to day management of MIRG is now maintained by :
Craig Cook
MCA/Fire Liaison Manager (FLM)
Craig Cook is an Area Commander currently seconded from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (SFR) to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
His duties include responsibility for the management of the United Kingdom Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG), reporting to the Chief Coastguard.
He joined the Royal Navy in 1979 and served until 1984, joining Strathclyde Fire Brigade in 1985.
Until his secondment to the MCA he was working in SFR Strategic Planning Directorate. He supervised the team that produced Strathclyde’s first Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP).
He was also the Project Manager for the services restructure, aligning Strathclyde’s 113 stations from 4 Commands to 10 Area’s that are now coterminous with the Local Authority boundaries. He is qualified to practitioner level in the Prince2 project management methodology.
His current role is to ensure the effectiveness of United Kingdom MIRG teams in the delivery of a national integrated inter-agency response to incidents at sea.
David Cass-Williams
MIRG Training Officer
On the 7th January 2008, the MCA appointed a new UK MIRG Training Officer. David Cass-Williams, (a serving Fire Officer in Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Service), fought off tough competition for the post which attracted 19 applicants from Fire Services across the UK.
David has just completed a 3 year secondment as the Manager of the Specialist Transport Section at the Fire Service College, running firefighting and command courses for the UK’s Fire Service and the Merchant Navy.
David has been a fire officer for 20 years and prior to joining the Fire Service, he served for 8 years as a marine engineer in the Royal Navy and was involved throughout the Falklands Campaign in 1982.
He replaced former MIRG Training Officer - Nigel Bruty on 1st April 2008.
Josh Billinge
MIRG Support
Josh Billinge is the MIRG technical support link between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Fire Rescue Service. He joined the team in May 2007.
Holding qualifications in IT, business studies and graphic design, Josh comes from a technical support background specialising in database development, computer aided design, financial management and key administration.
Prior to working for the MIRG, Josh had been a finance and administration officer within the MCA’s Counter Pollution and Response branch.
Josh quickly picked up the core tasks of counter pollution response and salvage and having had first hand experience aiding in the MSC NAPOLI incident. Josh aided in the logistics of the incident along with the cost recovery claim.
He is hoping that new experiences will continue to present themselves within his role of MIRG Support.
