Coast Guard students looking for place to stay this summer

The Canadian Coast Guard is looking for accommodations for its summer students in the Maritimes.

The students operate inshore rescue boats from mid-May until September.

They used to have to find their own housing for the summer. But last year, for the first time, the Coast Guard found accommodations for them.

The students work in crews of three, and they all live together for the summer.

Donny Morris, the inshore rescue boat co-ordinator for the Coast Guard, says it's important that students stay together because a search and rescue operation can happen at any time of day or night.

"We need these students very close to their station and to their boat in order to respond quickly to a mayday call," he said.

The Coast Guard asks that the accommodations are no more than 10 kilometres from the vessel.

"We need accommodations that are very close so we can get them underway quickly."

There are six stations in the Maritimes, but the Coast Guard currently only needs accommodations in Shediac, N.B. and Charlottetown.

In total, students at the six stations in the Maritimes respond to about 400 calls per summer.

The Coast Guard pays for the accommodations at all of the stations.