“Installation of Rescue 21 across the nation represents a quantum leap forward in command, control and communications. By closing coastal coverage gaps and capturing more accurate data from radio transmissions, the system offers an essential tool in maritime security, search and rescue and marine environmental protection.”
— Admiral Thad W. Allen, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard
Rescue 21 is the United States Coast Guard’s advanced command, control and communications system. Created to improve the ability to assist mariners in distress and save lives and property at sea, the system is currently being installed in stages across the United States.
Learn more about Rescue 21 >>
The Coast Guard recently announced acceptance of Rescue 21 at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans, bringing total system deployment to 12 regions. Rescue 21 coverage is scheduled to expand rapidly throughout 2008, to include coverage in Florida, the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf Coast, and the Pacific Northwest. Approximately one Sector a month is scheduled to become operational until November 2008. The deployment of the Rescue 21 system will continue over the next several years, ultimately extending coverage to all U.S. coastal waters, overseas islands (Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico), the Great Lakes and Alaska. Implementation Schedule >>
Coast Guard Sector Seattle received two distress calls via VHF channel 16 from a 7-year-old boy in Maple Valley, Wash., Sunday. In the first call, received at noon, the boy stated that he was drowning. At 6 p.m. he made a second call saying his boat had a hole in it and was sinking. Read more>
July 3, 2008 - The Coast Guard received a call from Cary Skrzat, the couple's 16-year-old daughter, at 2:11 p.m. today reporting that her parents had fallen off their 25-foot boat and had drifted out of sight. The couple's four children remained aboard the boat. Read more>>
June 19, 2008 - The Coast Guard First District Command Center, Boston, received recreational boat Canyon Bound’s 406 megahertz EPIRB, emergency distress electronic beacon signal via a SARSAT satellite. Coast Guard Sectors Long Island Sound, Delaware Bay and New York also received “Mayday” calls stating the vessel was taking on water. All Coast Guard Sectors issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast informing mariners of an imminent Search and Rescue (SAR) event. Read more>>
Rescue 21 Fact sheet (pdf)
Rescue 21Alaska Fact Sheet (pdf)
C4IT Fact Sheet (pdf)
Implementation Schedule (pdf)
Rescue 21System Making Pugent Sound Waters Safer
BoatUS Reaches Milestone 50,000 Radio Registrations
New Technology Will Speed Rescues
Rescue 21 Saves Two After Boat Sank
Six Rescued from Sailboat off Shinnecock Inlet
New Communication System Comes of Age
78-year-old Man on Life Raft Rescued After Fishing Boat Sinks
Boaters Rescued in Fog Off Wildwood
Chilmark Allows Peaked Hill Tower
Chilmark On Board with USCG Rescue 21 Antenna
Chilmark Faces More Spending on Education
Rescue 21 Performs as Promised (Courtesy BoatUS)
Coast Guard seeks taller communications tower at Peaked Hill
Coast Guard's new technology can locate endangered boaters quickly