THE Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and BT will invest more than £2m in a communications network for the Tees coastline.

The new communications structure will link the MCA station in Stockton with offices across the country though a permanent connection with Internet access and e-mail facilities.

"The new communications structure will develop a more seamless organisation, enabling us to operate more efficiently and bringing the services of what used to be the coastguard and the Marine Safety Agency closer together," said Maurice Storey, MCA chief executive.

Britain's coastguard services, responsible for search and rescue, and the MCA, in charge of sea worthiness and sea pollution monitoring, were merged in 1998. The MCA has 38 offices spread across the UK.

Mr Storey said that as an emergency service it is vital that all the different parts of the MCA can communicate effectively and securely to ensure safe, clean seas around the cost. BT's solution ensures a truly joined-up service and reflects the MCA's drive towards a more dynamic organisation.

Remote workers, such as marine ship surveyors, who check the seaworthiness of ships, will also benefit from improved connectivity and data availability.

Ship registers and ship location information, which is essential in emergency situations, such as conflicts or oil spills, will be more widely and instantly available.

BT will also provide an Intranet and host a website. This will increase the transfer speed of data between all connected sties and provide access by all MCA stations in the country to databases held in the Southampton headquarters and in Cardiff. The website will also allow MCA to promote itself externally.