The closure of a second coastguard station in Scotland will not endanger public safety, according to the head of the maritime agency.
Staff at Clyde coastguard in Greenock are preparing for the station’s closure today after calls were redirected to Stornoway and Belfast a month ago.
The closure is part of a number of UK Government changes to the service.
Sir Alan Massey, chief executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, was in Greenock yesterday to thank station staff.
He said: “I want to reassure the public that what we are doing will result in a better service.
“We are not going to be putting people at risk and we would not be going through with these changes if we thought they would threaten safety.”
Westminster’s Scottish affairs committee last month published a report backing calls to save the station.
The committee said the closures would leave “a major gap in local knowledge” among the remaining maritime rescue coordination centres (MRCCs).
Sir Alan said: “I can completely understand where people are coming from, but first of all, our coastguards are highly professional people.
“We have been helping them with training, with briefings and with the transfer of that knowledge.”