Command and membership of the Coast Guard

(1) The Governor-General, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister, shall appoint an officer in whom the command of the Coast Guard shall be vested (hereinafter called “the Commandant”) and, subject to the terms of such appointment, such officer shall have overall command of the (2) For the purposes of executing the duties and functions of the Coast Guard, the Commandant may with the approval of the Minister10 (a) determine the material requirements necessary for the operation of the Coast Guard, including the order in which ships, aircrafts, surface craft, weapons and other operating facilities are constructed, maintained, repaired or overhauled; (b) organize, train, equip, prepare and maintain the Coast Guard in a state of alertness, readiness and preparedness to discharge any duties or perform any function imposed or conferred upon it by or under this Act; (c) make appropriate recommendations necessary to fulfil current and future requirements of the Coast Guard in areas of manpower, materials, weapons, facilities and services, including without limitation the determination of quantities, military performance requirements and the priority timetables and places in which such requirements will be needed; (d) maintain water patrols; (e) establish or cause to be established, and maintain, operate or discontinue the maintenance, operation or repair of shore establishments for the Coast Guard; (f) assign ships, aircrafts, vehicles, aids to navigation, equipment, appliances and supplies to Coast Guard units or shore establishments, as the case may be, or transfer any of the foregoing from one unit or shore establishment to another; 11 (g) authorize the carrying on of scientific investigations or experiments for and on behalf of the Coast Guard in respect of plans, devices and other inventions related to the performance of any maritime function, and cooperate and coordinate such activities with governmental agencies, non- governmental agencies, private parties and other entities; (h) authorize the carrying on of any studies or investigations that may be of assistance to the Coast Guard in the performance and discharge of any of its powers, duties or functions; (i) collect, or cause to be collected, and publish and distribute, or cause to be published and distributed, information concerning the maritime operations of the Coast Guard; (j) design or cause to be designed, or construct or cause to be constructed, or accept as a gift, or otherwise acquire any aircraft, ship, weapon, small craft, patrol boat or other thing needed by the Coast Guard in discharging or performing any of its powers, duties or functions, and repair and maintain or cause to be repaired and maintained, or equip and operate or cause to be equipped and operated such aircraft, patrol boat, other small craft, vehicle, ship, weapon or other thing as aforesaid; (k) acquire or accept as a gift or otherwise and maintain and repair or cause to be maintained and repaired any aid to navigation, appliance, equipment and supplies needed by the Coast Guard in discharging or performing its duties, powers and functions; 12 (l) equip, operate, maintain, supply and repair shore establishments and units of the Coast (m) establish, equip, operate and maintain shops, depots, docks and yards for the manufacture, construction and repair of aids to navigation, equipment, apparatus, ships, vehicles and aircraft which are not normally or economically obtainable from private contractors, and for the maintenance and repair of any other property or machinery used by the Coast Guard; (n) rent or lease, for periods not exceeding five years at any one time, such real properly under the control of the Coast Guard as may not be required for immediate use and deposit any monies obtained there to the credit of the Consolidated Revenue Fund; CAP. 229. CAP. 221. (o) establish, install, operate, maintain, repair, purchase or lease, subject to the Belize Telecommunications Act, and the Electricity Act, such telecommunications lines and electricity lines and cables as may be necessary for the operations of the Coast Guard and arrange for the acquisition by the Coast Guard of such facilities, apparatus, equipment, structures, appurtenances, accessories and supplies used for, or useful in connection with, the installation, operation, maintenance, or repair of such lines and cables; and (p) establish, install, operate, maintain and repair radio transmission and receiving stations for the purposes of the Coast Guard. 13 (3) The Coast Guard shall also be comprised of such other officers as may be transferred thereto on the commencement of this Act from the Belize Defence Force, the Belize Police Department, the Customs and Excise Department, the National Fire Service, the Department of Border Management and Immigration, the Belize Port Authority or the Fisheries Department, or who may be appointed to the Coast Guard by the Services acting pursuant to a recommendation of the Coast Guard Board established under section 8. (4) Officers of the Coast Guard appointed pursuant to sub- section (3), shall be in such numbers as to achieve organizational hierarchy within the Coast Guard Service and may include Commanding Group Commanders, Patrol Commanders, Captains of the Port and Boarding Officers. (5) All powers, duties and functions conferred upon the Coast Guard shall be vested in the Commandant unless provided otherwise in this Act or any Regulations made thereunder, and the Commandant may, in executing such powers, duties and functions, delegate them or any of them to any of the officers appointed pursuant to sub-section (3). (6) The Minister may make Regulations setting out the hierarchical structure of the Coast Guard, and providing therein the duties of any of the officers referred to in sub-section (4).