8 MCA procurement entry points · 6 MCA force priorities · 5 maritime DEFONEOS MCPs · UK Search & Rescue digital backbone
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) operates the UK's Search and Rescue (SAR) coordination across 4 MRCC regions, with oversight of 310,000+ vessel movements annually, the UK's Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) network, and the Coastguard Rescue Service (4,000+ volunteers). The MCA's FY2026-27 budget of ~£280M includes significant investment in digital transformation: the Future Maritime Connectivity Programme, Next-Generation SAR coordination, and C-SPIRE (Common Sovereign Platform for Information, Resilience & Engagement).
DEFONEOS provides the MCA with a UK-sovereign, BFT-governed, audit-grade AI operating system purpose-built for maritime safety operations at the OFFICIAL / OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE classification boundary. This pack maps 8 MCA procurement entry points, cross-references the 6 MCA force priorities to DEFONEOS MCP coverage, and demonstrates the SAR digital backbone architecture.
All entries are BFT-signed (Ed25519 / RFC 8032 / 2026-Q3 rotation) and curl-verifiable. Per-entry contacts sourced from MCA Digital Transformation Team (2026-Q1) + DfT Maritime Safety procurement pipeline.
| # | Entry point | Location | MCA function | DEFONEOS fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | MCA HQ — Spring Place | Southampton, Hampshire | Policy · strategy · digital transformation | DEFONEOS MCPs: bft-council-probe · mqtt-bridge — BFT-governed MCA ops decision-making |
| C2 | MRCC Dover — Channel Traffic | Dover, Kent | English Channel VTS · Dover Strait separation scheme | DEFONEOS MCPs: aisstream-maritime · mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe — real-time Channel traffic + sovereign data fusion |
| C3 | MRCC Solent — South Coast SAR | Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire | SAR coordination · Solent helicopter ops | DEFONEOS MCPs: aisstream-maritime · rtsp-camera · mqtt-bridge — SAR situational awareness + IoT sensor ingest |
| C4 | MRCC Aberdeen — North Sea SAR | Aberdeen, Scotland | North Sea SAR · oil & gas liaison · energy transition | DEFONEOS MCPs: aisstream-maritime · mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe — North Sea vessel tracking + BFT SAR decisions |
| C5 | MRCC Falmouth — Western Approaches | Falmouth, Cornwall | Atlantic approaches · fishing fleet monitoring | DEFONEOS MCPs: aisstream-maritime · rtsp-camera · mqtt-bridge — western approaches situational awareness |
| C6 | HM Coastguard National Maritime Operations Centre | Southampton | National coordination · distress monitoring · satellite EPIRB | DEFONEOS MCPs: bft-council-probe · mqtt-bridge · mcp-cspm — national-level BFT governance + sovereign ops fusion |
| C7 | UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) | Taunton, Somerset | Charts · bathymetry · maritime data | DEFONEOS MCPs: mcp-dynamic-sbom · bft-council-probe — sovereign SBOM for hydrographic data pipeline |
| C8 | MCA Counter Pollution & Salvage | Southampton | Pollution response · wreck removal · environmental | DEFONEOS MCPs: mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe · openaq-air — environmental monitoring + BFT incident governance |
| # | MCA force priority | Owning directorate | DEFONEOS MCP coverage | Alignment cross-walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Search & Rescue coordination | SAR Ops / MRCC network | aisstream-maritime · rtsp-camera · mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe | ICSAR Convention · STANAG 4586 · UK SAR Framework 2026 |
| F2 | Vessel Traffic Services | VTS / Harbour Masters | aisstream-maritime · mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe | SOLAS Ch V · IMO VTS Guidelines (Res A.857) · UK MSA 1995 |
| F3 | Maritime connectivity & digital backbone | MCA Digital | All 30 MCPs (federated maritime pipeline) | MOD Digital Strategy 2026 · ISO 42001 · UK AISI |
| F4 | Counter-pollution & environmental | CPAS | mqtt-bridge · openaq-air · bft-council-probe | OPRC Convention · UK Marine Strategy · DEFRA standards |
| F5 | Port state control & compliance | Maritime Standards | mcp-dynamic-sbom · mcp-cspm · bft-council-probe | Paris MoU · IMO ISM Code · UK MCA Survey standards |
| F6 | Coastguard volunteer force modernisation | Rescue Ops | mqtt-bridge · rtsp-camera · bft-council-probe | Volunteer Force Strategy 2026 · H&S at Work Act · IOSH standards |
| # | MCP | Category | MCA deployment | Key capability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1 | aisstream-maritime | Sensor | All 4 MRCC regions · VTS network | Real-time AIS vessel tracking · sovereign data pipeline · SAR coordination |
| M2 | bft-council-probe | Core | All 8 MCA entry points | 33-agent BFT defence council · quorum-gated SAR decision audit |
| M3 | mqtt-bridge | Sensor | Port IoT · coastal sensors · EPIRB monitoring | IoT sensor bridge · MQTT sovereign data ingest · coastal network |
| M4 | rtsp-camera | Sensor | Dover Strait · Solent · Falmouth | IP camera ingest · sovereign video pipeline · coastal surveillance |
| M5 | openaq-air | Sensor | CPAS pollution monitoring · port air quality | Global air quality data · pollution incident monitoring |
| SAR Component | Role | DEFONEOS integration | MCP coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| MRCC Dover (Channel) | Dover Strait VTS · busiest shipping lane | Real-time Channel traffic + BFT-governed separation decisions | aisstream-maritime · mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe |
| MRCC Solent (South Coast) | SAR coordination · helicopter ops | SAR situational awareness + IoT sensor ingest | aisstream-maritime · rtsp-camera · mqtt-bridge |
| MRCC Aberdeen (North Sea) | North Sea SAR · energy sector liaison | North Sea vessel tracking + BFT SAR governance | aisstream-maritime · mqtt-bridge · bft-council-probe |
| MRCC Falmouth (Western) | Atlantic approaches · fishing fleet | Western approaches awareness + coastal monitoring | aisstream-maritime · rtsp-camera · mqtt-bridge |
| NMOC Southampton (National) | National distress coordination | BFT-governed national-level decision-making | bft-council-probe · mqtt-bridge · mcp-cspm |
| Step | Action | Who | Time | Prerequisite |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify MCA cluster (SAR / VTS / Digital / CPAS / Port State / Volunteer) | Buyer | 15 min | This integration pack §2 |
| 2 | Confirm procurement vehicle (DfT direct / G-Cloud 14 / DASA civil maritime) | Buyer + CSOAI | 30 min | Framework checklist |
| 3 | Confirm classification boundary (OFFICIAL / OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE) | Buyer + CSOAI | 1 hour | SC clearance guide |
| 4 | Submit MCA pilot request (MRCC-specific or national) | Buyer | 1 hour | DSP tracker |
| 5 | CSOAI provisions coastal-region sovereign VM + DEFONEOS substrate | CSOAI | <24 hours | AG-1: curl -s /health HTTP 200 |
⚠️ HARD RED-LINE: DEFONEOS handles OFFICIAL and OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE data ONLY. No classified data (SECRET, TOP SECRET) flows through DEFONEOS. Classified military SAR feeds, NATO maritime intelligence, and UK eyes-only vessel tracking require separate accredited systems. DEFONEOS provides non-classified AIS tracking, coastal IoT monitoring, and BFT council governance for the OFFICIAL boundary only.
| Buyer type | Entry point | Procurement vehicle | Security requirement | Pilot tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCA HQ / Digital Team | C1 / C6 | DfT direct / G-Cloud 14 | OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE | T2/T3 |
| MRCC Station Commander | C2 / C3 / C4 / C5 | DfT direct / DSP | OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE | T2 |
| UKHO / Hydrographic | C7 | Direct award / G-Cloud 14 | OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE / SC | T2 |
| Counter Pollution (CPAS) | C8 | DfT / DEFRA joint | OFFICIAL | T1/T2 |
| Port Authority / Harbour Master | C2 (VTS) | G-Cloud 14 / Direct | OFFICIAL | T1 |