Its responsibilities include coordinating
search and rescue (SAR) on the coastline and at sea through
HM Coastguard (HMCG), ensuring that ships meet international and UK safety standards, monitoring and preventing coastal
water pollution and testing and issuing
Merchant Navy Certificates of Competency (licences) for ships' officers and crew to
STCW requirements. The MCA is chiefly responsible for the syllabus and national training standards issued by the
Merchant Navy Training Board (based at the
UK Chamber of Shipping). The MCA also requires seafarers to be certificated by an MCA approved doctor to confirm they are of a sufficient medical standard for work at sea, known as 'ENG 1'. The MCA has three distinct "outward facing" elements — provision of
search and rescue and prevention activity through HM Coastguard, port and flag state control of shipping through a network of Marine Offices and the development of international standards and policy for shipping through the
International Maritime Organization. MCA utilises airborne assets in the form of helicopters, fixed wing aircraft and drones for SAR, and other, operations and is going to make greater use of these technologies under the UKSAR2G contract to be awarded in 2024. The MCA has now established an
automatic identification system (AIS) network around the UK coast, for real-time tracking and monitoring of shipping movements from the shore. ==Notices and guidance==