Waterways Ireland advises masters that the winter mooring period for public harbours on the Shannon Navigation and Shannon-Erne Waterway will commence on Wednesday 1 November and will end on 31 March next year.

Masters wishing to avail of winter mooring are required to pay the winter mooring fee of €63.50 prior to 1 November. Online registration must be made on the Waterways Ireland website.

The steps in the winter mooring process are as follows:

1. Apply online for winter mooring at a specific harbour.
2. Receive email approval/rejection/alternative location of application.
3. Follow link on approval email when received to pay winter mooring fee online.

Masters are reminded that Bye-Law 17, the ‘five consecutive days/seven days in one month’ rule, continues to apply for masters not availing of winter mooring.

Waterways Ireland will be disconnecting its electricity supply points and water supply at public moorings for the winter period (November–March). Both services will be reinstated prior to the commencement of the 2024 boating season.

Owners should note that vessels are moored in public harbours at the owners risk at all times and may be directed to other harbours as operational exigencies require.

In other news, the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways advises that two green conical aids to navigation — No 1248 upstream of Parteen Weir and No 500 upstream of Lanesboro Bridge — are currently off station. Mariners are requested to exercise care when navigating in these area.

Meanwhile, in Dromod Harbour in Co Leitrim the pump-out station is now fully operational.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on and users of the Shannon Navigation that diving operations will be taking place at Tarmonbarry Wier from Monday 25 September for a period of approximately one week.

Alpha Flag (Divers Flag) will be flown to indicate the presence of divers in the water. The cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways asks masters of vessels to please proceed with additional caution in the area.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels and waterway users of the Shannon Navigation that an ESB contractor will be carrying out repairs on the Ardnacrusha tailrace bridge at Parteen from Monday 18 September for a period of six weeks.

The works involve repairing some of the deteriorated structure from a pontoon. Masters of vessels using the Ardnacrusha tailrace during the repair works should contact the contractor on 087 6494454 prior to entering the tailrace in order to coordinate safe passage.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on and users of the Shannon Navigation that the Quest Lough Derg event takes place around Killaloe, Co Clare and Ballina, Co Tipperary on Saturday 9 September.

To accommodate the event, the Shannon Navigation will be closed from noon on Friday 8 to Saturday 9 September at 7pm.

A floating pontoon will be placed across the Shannon Navigation some 100 metres upstream of Killaloe bridge. The pontoon will be lit during the hours of darkness and safety boats will be in the area while the pontoon is in place. No vessel or craft should come within 50 metres of the pontoon while it is in position.

The slipway at Ballina will be closed while the pontoon is being constructed. Construction will take place from Tuesday 5 to Friday 8 September and the pontoon will be dismantled on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 September.

There will be restricted access to the Waterways Ireland jetties and pump-out facility in Killaloe from 3pm on Friday 8 to 7pm on Saturday 9 September. Mooring space will be available upstream of the pump-out facility.

The flow gates on the Killaloe Canal will be manned from 6am to 7.45am on Saturday 9 September to facilitate anglers and smaller vessels that wish to proceed upstream or downstream on Saturday morning while the pontoon is in place.

Some 1,500 athletes will move along the Waterways Ireland jetties and cross the flow-gate walkway in the morning and will return by the same route in the afternoon of Saturday 9 September 2023. Care should be taken when using the jetties and flow-gate walkway as there will be significant pedestrian traffic in these areas.

The kayaking element of Quest Lough Derg will take place at Twomilegate, Co Clare. Masters are requested to take heed of advice and directions from safety craft monitoring the event and to proceed at slow speed and with minimum wash in the vicinity of Twomilegate and Killaloe during the event.

The cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways says it thanks its customers for their cooperation.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels and waterway users on the Shannon Navigation that the Rooskey Dry Dock facility is closed for use by the public from Monday 21 August until 1 August 2024 to facilitate upgrade works.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels and waterways users on the Shannon Navigation that there will be diving activities taking place in the river around Tarmonbarry Bridge, lock and quay on Thursday 17 August.

The bridge and lock will remain open but delays may be expected. Masters of vessels can divert via the Camlin River if desired.

The cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways also advises that two additional temporary green markers have been placed on the east side of Long Island, south of Athlone, to prevent boating traffic veering off the main navigation channel.

Masters of vessels are requested to proceed with additional caution in the area as high-water levels and fast flows continue to exist.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on and users of the Shannon Navigation that Uisce Éireann will be installing an outfall downstream of Killaloe and Ballina from next Monday 21 August to the end of September.

A work barge will be launched from the carpark adjacent to the Waterways Ireland building in Killaloe and will operate south of the bridge adjacent to the Ballina wastewater treatment plant for the duration of the works.

The outfall will extend from the Ballina plant into the river for a distance of 90 metres.

Two temporary special markers will be installed to mark the limits of the in-river works area downstream of Killaloe and Ballina. A permanent navigation marker will be installed when the works are completed.

Masters of vessels should proceed with additional caution in the vicinity of the works, adds the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways.

Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels on the Shannon Navigation that Dromod Harbour in Co Leitrim will be without power supply on Wednesday 9 August due to a notified ESB power supply interruption from 9.30am to 4pm.

This planned power outage will affect the service block and pump-out facilities during this time, the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways adds.

A woman has died after a fire on a boat in Carrick-on-Shannon this morning (Monday 7 August).

RTÉ News reports that emergency services were alerted this morning to the blaze in the popular tourism destination on the Shannon Navigation.

According to the Irish Independent, the deceased was a highly respected female garda who was based in south Dublin.

Waterways Ireland advises masters and owners of vessels on the Shannon Navigation that Connaught Harbour in Portumna will be closed from this Thursday 10 August for a period of one month to facilitate works in the area.

The area of closure will be from the inner wall of the slipway towards Connaught Harbour, the cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways adds.

Masters of vessels currently moored in Connaught Harbour are requested to remove their vessels from the harbour before Thursday 10 August. Vessels remaining in the harbour after this date will be removed by Waterways Ireland.