#Diving - The Irish Times reports that an Irishman has died in a diving accident in Thailand.

Twenty-nine-year-old Colin Callanan from Cork drowned off the island of Koh Tao off the east coast of the South East Asian country on Friday 12 April.

The exact circumstances surrounding his death have not yet been announced.

Callanan was diving in his spare time while on a work trip to the country. He had been based in Perth, Australia for the last six years, and was employed by an air conditioning firm since 2010.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#News - TheJournal.ie is reporting news of the tragic drowning of a man and a young child off West Cork in the early hours of this morning (6 March).

The bodies of the man and the three-year-old girl were recovered by emergency teams after the Goleen unit of the Irish Coast Guard was tasked to the area following a missing person's report.

Coastguard volunteers found the child on the beach but attempts to resuscitate her were unsuccessful. The body of the man was later discovered in the shallows by the Baltimore RNLI lifeboat.

It's being suspected that the man and the young child entered the water.

TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

KEEPING A LIFEBOAT UNDER WRAPS

Keeping a lifeboat design under wraps is some achievement, but that's what an Irishman did with the design for the first RNLI lifeboat to be named after an Irish river. In fact, at the age of 24 he designed the hull form in his spare time!

Four years after his original design, the Shannon class was introduced to public view this week at RNLI headquarters.

Peter Eyre, from Derry, could take justifiable pride because he is an RNLI Naval Architect.

'I kept the design under wraps in the early stages. After a while my boss could see I was working on something and encouraged me to continue. My job was to find the design by working with other naval architects, not to design it. I was the youngest in the team and before long I had designed the new lifeboat hull.

I'm chuffed it was named after an Irish river and the strong connection the boat now has with Ireland. I think the moment it first goes out on a service will be the high point of my career. It's a great legacy to be a part of. When the first life is saved I think that's when it will really hit home.'

Peter has a strong commitment to the RNLI, ever since he was just 14-years-old and the family's 30ft. cruiser racer yacht was dismasted in rough seas and Force 7 winds.

"We were escorted back to shore by the volunteer lifeboat crew. We were so relieved," he recalls.

This is the first time that the RNLI has named a class of lifeboat after an Irish rive.

"It is very fitting considering that Peter has been so fundamental in its design," said Owen Medland, RNLI Training Divisional Inspector for Ireland. "All of the crews who have tested the new lifeboat have been thrilled with its speed, manoeuvrability and the improved crew safety features. We don't know yet which Irish lifeboat stations will receive a Shannon class lifeboat, but the Shannon is designed to replace the majority of Mersey and some Tyne class lifeboats. We look forward to seeing the Shannon here in the near future.'

UK stations will be the first to get the new boat for which the RNLI has launched a €6m. fundraising campaign across the UK and Ireland.

• To make a donation visit: www.rnli.org/newlifeboatappeal

 

NEW FACE OF ABERDEEN

The amount of foam which swept into Aberdeen in Scotland from the gales that hit the UK and caused a lot of flooding during the week was astonishing.

As the photograph here shows, it looks like the area close to the seashore was covered in snow.

Capt.Rowan MacSweeney, my son, is serving on offshore oil rig supply work at present and told me:

"Monday night was a lively night about these parts. We were 4.5nm out from Aberdeen breakwaters because the port closed. Top gust on our anenometer 70 knots and we got swells of 13metres in the bay. Check out the photo one of the lads I know from another boat took the morning after of the foam created by the storm. Pretty unusual."

Indeed it is.

 

RULING ENDS 'DARK AGES'

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The tanker Exxon Valdez which became notorious after spilling 750,000 barrels of oil into Prince William Sound in Alaska on March 24, 1989, is to be broken-up on Alang Beach in India following assurances given to India's highest court that it would not contain hazardous substances. This was needed after the Court made a ruling which environmentalists have hailed as ending the 'dark ages' of breaking up ships containing hazardous materials on beaches. There have been increasing protests about this practice because of the health, safety and environmental risks involved, particularly for low-paid workers without protection equipment. The Court ruled that vessels sent for shipbreaking will be subject to international rules based on the Basel Convention about hazardous wastes, meaning that shipowners will in future have to remove these materials before the ships are approved for breaking-up on Indian beaches.

 

FIRST NORWEGIAN CRUISE

The first cruise direct from Cork to Norway has been announced. Lee Travel and Royal Caribbean International will run two 12-day cruises on June 3 and September 9 next year aboard the Independence of the Seas departing from Cork Port's cruise terminal at Cobh. There will be a capacity for 200 passengers to join in Cork Harbour, according to Lee Travel with prices from €1,699 per person, based on 2 adults sharing an inside stateroom. Fly/Cruise price includes flights back to Dublin/Cork. The Norwegian cruises will take in fjords, glacial inlets, castles, the Norwegian countryside and Oslo.

Declan O Connell, Managing Director of Lee Travel, said there is a demand for such a service from Cork. "We are confident that these cruises will be popular and that Royal Caribbean will sail more ships out of Cobh for many years to come."

 

GAS FERRIES

Norway is also to the fore in another cruise ship development. The first cruise ferries in the world to be powered by natural gas are under construction in a Bergen shipyard for the Norwegian shipping company, Fjord Line. They will be 170-metres long, powered by Rolls Royce LNG-based engines. The company says they will be the most environmentally-friendly cruise ships on the seas, the first to begin sailing next May out of Bergen in Norway and the second a few months later.

 

WORK-RELATED DROWNINGS

The Irish Water Safety Association has recorded 22 work-related drownings in the Republic in the past five years of which 17 were in fishing, 1 while transporting freight over water, 1 each in quarrying and construction and 2 in agriculture. The figures were released this week, coinciding with the National Ploughing Championships and following the tragic Northern Ireland drownings in the farm slurry tank, as a reminder that safety is needed at all times. The Association has also pointed out that children are naturally curious about water: "Each year too many young children are involved in preventable aquatic accidents - forty children have drowned in the last ten years."

 

FIRST MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON BURIED AT SEA

The first man to walk on the moon has been buried at sea. NASA said Neil Armstrong's cremated remains were buried in the Atlantic Ocean during a ceremony aboard the USS Philippine Sea. The space agency didn't give the location of the ceremony. The ship's homeport is Mayport, Florida. Neil

Armstrong was a Navy fighter pilot before joining the space programme. He died in Ohio in August at the age of 82. His burial followed at sea followed a memorial service in Washington.

 

RUSSIAN SPECIAL

The Russian Navy is to build a new type of search-and-rescue ship which will be launched in 2014. It will have submersible rescue vessels aboard. This is because of the number of Russian submarines which have got into difficulties in past years.

 

CHINESE FIRST

China's first aircraft carrier has entered service. The 300m (990ft) Liaoning - named after the province where it was refitted - is a refurbished Soviet ship purchased from Ukraine. the carrier has no operational aircraft and will be used for training. The Chinese Government said the vessel, which has undergone extensive sea trials, will increase its capacity to defend State interests.

 

TANKER DESTROYED COMMANDER

The Commander of a U.S. Navy destroyer was removed from command after his vessel was involved in a collision. The USS Porter was operating near the Straits of Hormuz when struck on its starboard side by the 300,000-tonne tanker Otowasan. Nobody was hurt in the incident .The tanker suffered only superficial damage, but the destroyer was severely damaged according to reports and sailed to the United Arab Emirates for repairs. The destroyer's Commander, Martin Arriola, was removed from command there and replaced.

 

MAIDEN GROUNDING

A cargo ship has ran aground on its maiden voyage from Southampton to the Channel Islands. The 295ft. £8.8m Huelin Renouf Dispatch hit an isolated rock one and a half miles south-west of Alderney and issued a distress cal, responded to by the RNLI Roy Barker One which was on the scene within 15 minutes. Damage to the Dispatch was assessed and it was found that water was coming in at the stern. The vessel had a crew of eight. The leak was contained and the 2,500-ton ship was floated off the rock then sailed to Falmouth at half-speed where it went into dry dock.

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#NEWS UPDATE - The Irish Times reports that the body of a retired schoolteacher was recovered from the sea off Castletownbere in West Cork on Friday in the second tragedy the area has seen this week.

Sixty-six-year-old Pearse Lyne drowned after his fishing boat capsized in poor weather off the Beara Peninsula.

A search operation was launched around 1.30pm after a cliffwalker spotted the upturned vessel near the Dzogchen Buddhist retreat, and the body of the father of four and former national school principal was discovered some 90 minutes later in the water near Pulleen harbour.

The sad incident occurred just says after farmer and poet John O'Leary drowned off Cod's Head when the Enterprise sailing dinghy he was sailing with his teenage son Christopher capsized.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney paid tribute to O'Leary as well as Quilty fishermen Michael Galvin and Noel Dickinson, who drowned earlier this week off the Clare coast.

Meanwhile, in Dongeal a diver was rescued after getting into difficulty in Lough Salt on Thursday evening, according to the Donegal Democrat.

The Donegal native was one of two divers in the lough at the time, and is believed to have experienced buoyancy issues while some 50m below the surface.

He was taken to Letterkenny General Hospital and later transferred to Craigavon for treatment for decompression sickness. The man is now recovering.

His diving partner, an Italian national living in Ireland, made it to shore unharmed.

#condolences – Minister Simon Coveney today expressed his deep condolences to the families of Michael Galvin and Noel Dickinson who tragically lost their lives earlier this week. The funeral took place today in the village of Quilty in Co. Clare. Minister Coveney today called to the homes of both men to express his sympathy with their families on his own and on the Government's behalf.

"This has been a particularly tragic week at sea for Co. Clare and for Co. Cork. Poet and farmer John O'Leary tragically drowned off Beara Peninsula, Michael Galvin and Noel Dickinson have drowned in a fishing accident off Co. Clare and now today we have more tragic news of another drowning near Castletownbere in West Cork."

"My heart goes out to all of the families who are struggling to deal with the loss of their loved ones. This has been a shocking and tragic week in a year that has seen so much loss and sadness at sea."

#ISLANDNATION – The effect of six-on/six-off hours of watchkeeping on accidents at sea, boat hooks aboard lifeboats, 67 children drowned in 10 years, a traditional beauty in Cork Harbour and the astonishing discovery beneath the Arctic ice are my topics this week.

SIX-ON SIX-OFF WATCHES AND SEAFARER FATIGUE

Seafarer fatigue and tiredness have been blamed as contributory factors in shipping accidents. Though seafarers and accident investigators have regularly drawn attention to the issue, much of this has been anecdotal. The six-on/six-off watch system has come in for criticism as the cause of stress and tiredness. The Nautical Institute, the professional body for seafarers, says that for the first time scientific proof has established that tiredness levels are the "real issue that seafarers and accident investigators have known it to be for years."

The evidence is in the EU-funded Horizon Project co-ordinated by Warsash Maritime Academy, part of Southampton Solent University with partners in Sweden and elsewhere, which measured the effects of different watch-keeping regimes. It provides advice to relevant authorities on how to address the issues and a fatigue projector tool developed for risk mitigation processes.

BOAT HOOKS AND LIFEBOATS

Stephen McNulty, Achill lifeboat mechanic

"There are two boat hooks on the lifeboat. The starboard one is blue and the port is white and they are the only items on the modern boat which remains as a tradition from the past."

When Stephen McNulty, Achill Lifeboat's Mechanic told me that, I learned something new about maritime tradition. I love visiting lifeboat stations. They are very special places with a strong sense of community spirit, the foundation base for the lifeboat service. I was being shown around the Achill Trent class boat, Sam and Ada Moody, on the pontoon at Cloghmore in Achill Sound, an area of magnificent coastal scenery with the highest cliffs in Ireland. Achill lifeboat crews have received eight awards for gallantry.

Achill lifeboat - white pole on port side

"I saw you looking at the boat hooks and thought you mightn't know their background," Stephen McNulty chuckled as he saw me looking more closely at them and wondering why I hadn't noticed them before on other boats!

"Traditionally on the old rowing lifeboats, when the boats were wood and the men were steel, the oars were blue on the starboard and white on the port side," he said. "It continues the tradition in the way we have them aboard today and they remind us of what those in the past did for the saving of life and the challenges they faced."

67 CHILDREN DROWN IN 10 YEARS

The Irish Water Safety Association has drawn attention to the start of summer holidays for primary school children in a few weeks, "many of whom may lack an awareness of how to stay safe when playing near or on the water."

John Leech, CEO of the Association and a former Naval Service Officer, is a man I have known for many years whose dedication to the concept of safety on the water has driven awareness of wearing lifejackets on leisure craft and urging fishermen to wear personal buoyancy at sea.

"Sixty-seven children aged fourteen and under drowned in Ireland in the last ten years. Responsible parental supervision guarantees child safety yet tragic drownings occur every year when children escape the watchful eye of guardians."

The Water Safety Association's "PAWS" programme (Primary Aquatics Water Safety) is a component of the primary school curriculum teaching children how to stay safe around water.

TRADITIONAL BOATS

The beauty of traditional boats was evident in Cork Harbour when the beautiful craft pictured here sailed past while I was on the water on Bank Holiday Monday. Many more traditional craft will be on the harbour waters next weekend, June 15, 16, 17 when the annual Crosshaven Traditional Sail is held, organised by a local committee in association with Crosshaven Vintners. It is always a great weekend to meet and talk with the owners of traditional boats who are so outgoing with information about their boats, conveying the pride and dedication which are an essential ability of the owners of traditional craft.

The beauty of traditional boats in Cork Harbour

Pat Tanner is the event Co-ordinator with the experienced sailor, Dave Hennessy, as Officer of the Day. Boats can register on arrival at Crosshaven Pier. For everyone who turns up, afloat and ashore, adults and children, they are running a "Mad Fish Headgear Competition" – 'Let everything nautical go to your head.'

ASTONISHING ARCTIC DISCOVERY

Scientists from Stanford's School of Earth Sciences in the USA have reported the discovery of a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath the ice of the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic, which they say challenges long-held assumptions about the Arctic's ecology. The scientists from Stanford's School of Earth Sciences in the USA were researching aboard a Coast Guard icebreaker 200 miles west of the Alaskan coast. It seems the phytoplankton, seen for an estimated 60 miles, are thriving because the Arctic sea ice has been thinning for years, a result of global climate change. Phytoplankton are the crucial diet for many marine organisms. They make up the base of the entire Arctic food chain, supporting fish, walrus, seabirds and more. The ice was between two-and-a-half and four feet thick where the phytoplankton cells were growing and at least four times greater than in open water.

This NASA Aqua satellite image from 2003 shows clouds of phytoplankton off of Greenland's eastern coast (AFP/NASA/File)

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#MCIB - The families of two fishermen found dead at sea off the Skerries last April may never uncover the circumstances that led to their demise. But the official report into the incident indicated that the absence of lifejackets was a significant contributing factor.

Ronan Browne (26) and David Gilsenan (41) were reported missing on the evening of 1 April after failing to return from a trip tending to lobster pots.

Their vessel, Lady Linda, was found the following morning upturned in an oil slick off Clogherhead with no sign of the crew.

It wasn't until a week later that their bodies were discovered caught in the vessel's fishing gear some five miles east of Clogherhead, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

Post-mortem results found that both men died from drowning, with Gilsenan also showing signs of hypothermia.

With no eyewitnesses to the incident, the report by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) indicated a number of possible causes from eqiupment malfunction or shifting of lobster pots on deck, to the wave height and weather conditions on the day, which were reportedly deteriorating when the boat left port.

It also said that Browne and Gilsenan "were lifelong friends, both men were experienced and qualified marine engineers in the fishing vessel industry. Both men were experienced in boat handling and fishing and had worked together on many occasions."

But the report emphasised the lack of personal flotation devices (PFDs) on board, and noted that emergency equipment was stored under the deck and not easily accessible.

The MCIB's recommendations include a review of the code of practice for fishing vessels under 15m to establish "revised stability critera" and ensuring that all boats are fitted with automatic radio beacons that deploy upon capsize.

In a separate incident, lack of proper maintenance led to an unlicenced boat taking on water off Co Kerry last August.

The Claire Buoyant was carrying one crew, five passengers and 21 sheep from Beginish Island to Ventry when the vessel began to lose stability.

Skipper Eoin Firtear - who the MCIB described as having "limited sea-going experience" - and his five passengers were rescued by passenger ferry. All sheep were jettisoned overboard, with 18 eventually recovered.

The report reminded that the carriage of livestock should only be undertaken in appropriately certified vessels.

#DROWNINGS – On average three people drown every week in Ireland* and with St. Patrick's Day festivities approaching, Irish Water Safety is appealing to all members of the public to ensure that they wear a well maintained and correctly fitting lifejacket when angling and for all water-based activities.

There is an increased risk of water related accidents and tragedies this coming long-weekend as the number of people taking to activities in and around water will increase.

Drowning is often as a result of excessive alcohol consumption and the number will only decrease when the public takes responsibility to protect themselves, family and friends from the dangers around waterways. This weekend will entice people to enjoy recreational boating, angling, surfing, diving and walks by waterways nationwide however water temperatures are still cold and people will risk cold shock and hypothermia due to sudden or prolonged periods in water.

Whilst the forecast is unsettled over the weekend, many people will take to boating and other activities where it will be crucial and perhaps lifesaving that a lifejacket, with crotch strap, be worn. It is also critical that adults supervise children at all times around water.

Information on how to ensure that you have a correct lifejacket that is fit-for-purpose is available at Irish Water Safety's website.

*Based on a ten-year average (to 2010) of 150 drownings per annum, giving 2.88 drownings per week, brought to the nearest decimal place.

#WATER SAFETY - A 27-year-old Irish tourist had died after drowning in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The tourist and a colleague, who have not yet been named, had reportedly entered the Yarra River in central Melbourne around 9pm intending to swim across. Some minutes later screams were heard from the water.

"At first I thought they were joking, I think most people did," said David Brearley, a barman at the nearby Riverland bar who had warned the pair not to attempt the crossing - but responded to the calls for help and swam out into the river.

Brearley was able to take one man to the shore where he was treated by paramedics. But the other man was lost despite the assistance of other bystanders.

His body was discovered some three hours later floating near a bridge close to the incident.

Paramedic Susie Dean praised Brearley's actions as "absolutely heroic", noting that there is "a very strong current in the Yarra".

The Sydney Morning Herald has more on the story HERE.

#MCIB - The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has called for better safety awareness among leisure boat users in its report into the deaths of two men off Helvick Head in Co Waterford in May 2010.

John O'Brien and Pat Esmonde were lost overboard from their small RIB on 23 May 2010, and their remains were recovered two days later. Post-mortems confirmed that both died by drowning.

The report does not conclude exactly how the incident occurred. But accounts from eyewitnesses who sighted the men in the minutes before state that neither was wearing a lifejacket, despite the legal requirement to do so - and despite O'Brien having no seafaring experience and Esmonde being unable to swim, as confirmed by their families.

The MCIB also noted that while there were two lifejackets aboard the vessel, they were for emergencies and not suitable for constant wear as per the requirements for the vessel class.

Other safety issues highlighted include the kill-cord on the engine, which was not being used, and the fact that the initial distress call was made by mobile phone and not VHF radio.

Though neither had any bearing on this specific incident, the MCIB warned in particular that mobile phone calls are closed in nature, whereas VHF distress calls can be heard and answered by any vessel in the vicinity.

The board recommends that the Minister for Transport "undertakes a highly visible information poster campaign on piers and launching areas relating to lifejackets, VHF radio and emergency contact details" and also reminds boaters of their legal obligations.

The full report is available to download as a PDF from the MCIB website HERE.