The MCA in Belfast logged 449 incidents

Last year the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Belfast dealt with 449 incidents, with 115 people rescued and 22 people losing their lives.

In 2005 there were 404 incidents, with 311 people rescued and 13 lives lost.

Across the UK 17,185 incidents were reported to the Coastguard, up slightly on the previous year.

Some 4,809 people were saved and 23,113 assisted.

Chief Coastguard Peter Dymond said a range of factors contributed to the small national rise in the number of incidents reported, including a high profile campaign by the agency to raise awareness.

"The ready availability of mobile phones now makes it easier to alert the Coastguard; and the exceptional summer weather in 2006 drew more people to the coast," he said.

"However, we are concerned by the increase in maritime deaths. As part of our accident prevention strategy, we have already put in place several long-term initiatives and we will continue to seek better preventative measures."

He said the number of hoax calls had risen again and this resulted in the "misuse of front-line rescue units".

"This is a waste of public money, leads to unnecessary risk and diverts resources that might be required for a real incident," he said.

"We will continue to work with the other emergency services to trace these calls and provide evidence to the police for prosecutions."