Irish Coast Guard News

Three rescue craft came to the aid of a disabled cargo ship adrift in heavy seas and in danger of hitting the rocks off the Irish coast.The Antigua Barbuda-flagged general cargo vessel Lily B reported to MRCC Dublin Tuesday afternoon that it had lost power off the Waterford Harbor, southeast of Ireland.The Irish Coast Guard called upon three Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats from Dunmore East, Kilmore Quay and Rosslare to aid the drifting vessel until a tug could arrive.Dunmore East's Trent…

Ireland's Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport published a new plan establishing a national framework and strategy to coordinate marine pollution preparedness and response in the waters of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The National Maritime Oil & HNS Spill Contingency Plan (NMOSCP) addresses all oil and HNS pollution whether it originates from ships, harbors, offshore units or oil/HNS handling facilities and land-based sources.Additionally the NMOSCP is consistent with the relevant International Conventions to which Ireland is a party.

An abandoned cargo ship landed on the coast of Ireland this week after more than a year drifting alone at sea.The Irish Coast Guard said it responded to a merchant vessel aground near Ballycotton, Cork on Sunday, only to discover there was no one was on board.It turns out that the mysterious vessel is the 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged Alta, which had been left crewless and adrift on the other side of the Atlantic when the U.S. Coast Guard rescued all 10 crew members on board after the vessel lost power while en route from Greece to Haiti in September 2018.At the time of the rescue, the U.S.

One person died and three were missing after a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter crashed off the coast of Ireland during a rescue operation, the Irish Coast Guard said on Tuesday. The search-and-rescue helicopter, which was assisting another aircraft with a medical evacuation from a fishing vessel, lost contact at around 0100 GMT, it said in a statement. A spokesman for U.S.-based Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, said the firm was working with the helicopter's operator to gather information on the possible cause of the crash. Sikorsky in January issued a service notice saying the tail rotor and bearing assemblies of the S-92 should be checked following an incident with the tail rotor during a landing on a rig off Scotland on Dec. 28.

The Irish Coast Guard coordinated a successful Marine Search and Rescue demonstration on Saturday 16th July. The exercise in Moville Co Donegal involved some of Ireland’s principal Search and Rescue resources. Participants included Donegal based volunteer Coast Guard units, the Sligo based Coast Guard Rescue Helicopter, Naval ship LÉ Orla,  Air Corps Casa, RNLI’s new Shannon Class All Weather Lifeboat, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, UK Maritime Coastguard Agency, Irish Water Safety, Mountain Rescue Ireland and the Civil Defence. The event included a series of water based safety demonstrations: “Prevention and adherence to basic safety is the key element in minimising loss of life at sea and on our waterways”, concluded SARs Manager Gerard O’Flynn.

Five fishermen men were rescued from a life raft overnight after their fishing vessel Kairos sank 75 miles west of the Isles of Scilly. UK Coastguard received two distress calls just after 23:45 yesterday, including an EPRIB from the Kairos that gave a GPS location for the vessel. Falmouth Coastguard coordinated the search that involved two Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue helicopters, RNLI St Mary’s lifeboat, fishing vessels and two commercial vessels that were in the area. The five crew were recovered from the life raft to the vessel Cu Na Mara and are currently making their way to Castletownbere in Ireland. All crew are said to be safe and well.

Europe has launched the first satellite of its multibillion-euro 'Copernicus' Earth observation project that will supply valuable images in the event of natural disasters, ocean oil pollution, or even a plane crash. The Sentinel-1a satellite, which blasted off into Earth's orbit from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana, carries a 12-metre-long (40-foot-long) radar antenna and has two 10 metre-long solar panels, and is now orbiting the planet at 693 km (439 miles) above the earth.

Irish Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has today opened the newly-built Coast Guard Station in Killybegs which provides the voluntary crew with top-class accommodation and training facilities. It’s the third new Coast Guard building opened by Minister Varadkar since the election, and a fourth new premises will open at Doolin in the next few months. Minister Varadkar is hoping to open at least one new Coast Guard facility every year for the life-saving Coast Guard volunteers. Minister Varadkar also confirmed that the Coast Guard has commenced a new round of recruitment for radio officers for its three monitoring stations in Dublin, Valentia and Malin.

Members of the public have been urged to heed the advice of the Irish Coast Guard as Met Éireann has issued an orange weather warning. Southerly gales will develop overnight on all Irish coastal waters and on the Irish Sea, gradually veering southwest to west later tonight and tomorrow and increasing gale to storm force. Frequent heavy showers are expected with some thunder, sleet and snow for a time, mainly on higher ground. Also expected is a high coastal flood risk, due to the combination of very high spring tides, extremely high waves (greater than 10 m). The Coast Guard strongly advises the public not to go out on exposed coasts, cliffs, piers, harbor walls, beaches, promenades or any other coastal areas during the inclement weather. Huge waves can be whipped up by high seas.

Latest weather bulletin informs of west to southwest gale force 8 to storm force 10 winds continuing overnight and Monday morning on all coasts of Ireland and on the Irish Sea. Winds will further reach violent storm force 11 at times between Slyne Head and Malin Head. Today's storm will not be unlike the conditions brought by Storm Christine at the beginning of this month. "Wind-wise it'll be similar, and other meteorological parameters are similar. All the potential is there for it to be similar," a Met Éireann spokesperson said.

Global newswires are flooded with reports that an abandoned cruise vessel, Russian-registered Lyubov Orlova, dubbed the “rat-infested ghost ship,” is nearing the western shores of Europe after being set adrift early last year.The vessel has reportedly been drifting in the Atlantic Ocean since it was cut free while in tow from Canada to the Dominican Republic almost a year ago among problems with scrapping arrangements.The U.K.’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said in a statement that it has received no word of Lyubov Orlova sightings since April last year.And while media organizations have been circulating stories that the “ghost ship” laden with diseased cannibal rats is inching closer to shore…

The Irish Naval Service patrol ship LÉ Aisling stood by the tanker 'Hellespont Charger' in rough weather at the request of the Irish Coast Guard until the arrival of the tugboat after the chemical tanker with 22 crew on board lost power on its main engines 400 miles west of Loop Head, reports Ireland's RTE News. The tanker with 15,000 tonnes of caustic soda on board was taken in tow by the tug Thrax towards the River Shannon where the cargo is desined for the Aughinish Alumina plant there. Irish Naval Service vessel LÉ Aisling: Photo Irish Coast Guard Source: RTE News

The tanker, carrying a 15,000-tonne cargo of caustic soda with 22 crew on board, lost power to its main engines 100 nautical miles off Loop Head while bound for Aughinish in the Shannon Estuary, reports 'The Irish Times'. The tanker, Hellesport Charger, registered in the Marshall Islands, was on a voyage from Corpus Christi in Texas in the western Gulf of Mexico to Aughinish in the Shannon Estuary when it lost power. Sea conditions are said to be rough with a six-metre swell and winds of up to force eight. The ship is not, however, believed to be in danger.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar officially launched the Coast Guard’s new state-of-the-art S92 search and rescue helicopter for the Dublin region in Weston Airport. This is the fourth Sikorsky S92 helicopter base to come into operation for the Coast Guard and means all four Coast Guard bases now have upgraded helicopters. The new S92 helicopters replace the Sikorsky S61 which was in use until recently at the Coast Guard bases in Dublin, Shannon, Sligo and Waterford.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar unveiled an Action Plan to improve Maritime Safety and Marine Emergency Response Services, including an overhaul of operations within the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport. The Action Plan will set up a new, over-arching maritime safety section inside the Department - the Irish Maritime Administration - which will bring together the Irish Coast Guard and the Marine Survey Office. Speaking after Cabinet approved the Action Plan…

Four RNLI lifeboats were launched to aid the sinking 42 metre Dutch training vessel 'Astrid', wrecked on rocks inside the Sovereign Islands at Ballymacus Point near Kinsale in Cork. All 30 people on board were brought to safety when Kinsale lifeboat transferred all the casualties from the sinking ship onto Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboat and a local vessel. They were then taken to Kinsale. Both Kinsale and Courtmacsherry RNLI lifeboats were called out to go to the immediate aid of the sail training vessel that had got into difficulties on the western entrance to Kinsale Harbour in Cork.

In 2011, the Irish Coastguard placed a contract with Delta Power Group (builder of Delta RIBs) to supply 12 highly specified RIBs as part of a five year program of replacements and updates in its extensive fleet of search and rescue craft. Three 9.00m Delta RIBs, fitted with shockwave seating and Yamaha F225 Outboard motors, have already been delivered in 2011. As a follow-up to this delivery, the next installment in the contract is for seven slightly smaller RIBs – namely, one x DELTA 7.00m X, two x DELTA 7.50m Xs and four x DELTA 8.00m Super Xs. The demanding delivery schedule requested was just three months, with tests and trials throughout  January, 2012.