Members of the Baltic Exchange joined local residents and officials to celebrate the official opening of the National Coastwatch Institution’s (NCI’s) newest watch station in Lepe Country Park on the coast of southern England.

NCI Stone Point, a satellite station of NCI Calshot Tower, provides critical operational watchkeeping in the area, covering the central and western Solent and the Isle of Wight. The station was initially set up in May 2019 on a trial basis to address local concerns that the western Solent was not visible from existing NCI stations. Realising the benefits the station brought to the area, along with additional ‘Eyes along the Coast’, a permanent facility was set up in mid-2022 and watchkeeping activities began in July 2022.

You can find out more about NCI Stone Point here.

Baltic Exchange is proud to be one of the sponsors of NCI Stone Point and to play our part in ensuring vital safety activities continue in this area of the United Kingdom. Members of our team joined Hampshire County Councillor Alexis McEvoy and NCI Stone Point Sector Manager Bryan Young, as well as other sponsors, for the official ribbon cutting ceremony at the end of September.

There are currently more than 60 NCI stations around the UK, manned by over 2,600 active volunteers providing eyes and ears along the coastline, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility.