Trial operations of remotely piloted uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) are planned to take place in the Dundalk Bay area from this week until mid November.

Subject to weather and operational constraints, the operations will run for a period of four weeks from Thursday 20 October.

The XO-450-type USVs from Greenore-based Xocean will be engaged in survey activities for the proposed Oriel Wind Farm in the Irish Sea some 22km off the coast of Dundalk in Co Louth.

This is a non-invasive survey, Xocean says, and no contact with the seabed or any other infrastructure is planned during survey operations.

The USVs will send real-time images and situational awareness data over satellite to a team of operators keeping watch and controlling the vessel remotely 24/7.

Although the vessels are uncrewed, they are constantly monitored and controlled, and piloted remotely using 360-degree cameras and other navigational aids.

Each USV is equipped with AIS, navigation lights and a sound signal, an active radar reflector and a yellow-painted superstructure to make it conspicuous to other marine traffic.

All other vessels operating within the affected area are requested to avoid contact with any USV and be aware of the operational area during this period. A Radio Navigation Warning will be in place during operations.

Contact details, relevant coordinates and a map of the survey area are included in Marine Notice No 71 of 2022, attached below.

The Department of Transport advises that a new online ship radio licence and EPIRB registration system is being implemented as of Monday 17 October.

This system replaces the paper form and email application processes and is be available at the online portal for the Irish Maritime Radio Licence System (IMRAD).

A ship radio licence is required under national and international legislation to certify that a vessel may operate approved radio communication equipment on specific maritime radio frequency bands and is also necessary for the assignment and recording of unique vessel radio communication maritime identifiers such as callsigns and MMSI numbers.

The registration of EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) carried on board Irish vessels is also mandatory.

These licensing and registration processes are coordinated internationally to protect maritime safety-related communications worldwide and to facilitate and support distress, safety and search-and-rescue operations.

This new online system provides users with a convenient means to fulfil these licensing and registration obligations.

In addition to the regulatory requirements, the effectiveness of maritime radio equipment including EPIRBs for search-and-rescue communications depends upon correct identification, encoding, programming and registration of devices.

The Irish Coast Guard relies upon the information contained in this system for search-and-rescue operations to quickly identify vessels and to obtain emergency contact information. This information is also used to quickly resolve inadvertent distress alert activations so that search-and-rescue resources are deployed effectively and not to false alerts.

It is therefore essential that up-to-date and accurate vessel and contact details are recorded in this system. The information is also provided to the ITU international MARS database system for notification to other maritime administrations worldwide.

For full details see Marine Notice No 70 of 2022, attached below.

Update: the survey has been rescheduled for 4 November-8 December 2022 and Marine Notice No 69 of 2022 withdrawn.

Following this past week’s deployment of metocean instrumentation, the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) intends to undertake a geotechnical site investigation campaign on the proposed offshore wind farm area off the coast of north Co Dublin, Meath and Louth.

This campaign will involve the deployment of seabed borehole drilling and cone penetration test (CPT) equipment for continuous sampling and is expected to be completed between next Monday 17 October and Sunday 20 November, subject to weather and operational constraints.

It will be confined to the proposed NISA area, which forms an irregular shape spanning 32km north-south and 14km east-west at its widest point. At its closest location, near Rush in Co Dublin, the survey site is 7.4km from the coastline.

The survey will be conducted on a 24-hour basis by the Fugro Synergy survey vessel (callsign C6XR3).

As this vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre when surveying, due to the deployment of the seabed sampling equipment for the duration of the survey activities, other vessels are kindly requested to keep a wide berth.

An onboard fisheries liaison officer will be available to discuss operations throughout the duration of the survey campaign.

The vessel will display appropriate lights and signals. Mariners are also advised to keep continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 when navigating the area.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 69 of 2022, attached below.

Marine data company Partrac is planning a new deployment of metocean instrumentation for the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) over a three-day period from Monday 10 October.

These will replace the instruments deployed in January this year, as previously reported on Afloat.ie, on a schedule subject to weather and operational constraints.

The survey campaign will be undertaken within the proposed NISA offshore wind farm array area. This forms an irregular, approximately rectangular shape, spanning 31km north-south and 14km east-west at its widest point. At its closest location, near Rush in Co Dublin, the array area is approximately 7.4km from the coastline.

Deployments will be carried out from the AMS Retriever (callsign MEHI8) which will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre. All other vessels are requested to leave a wide berth during the deployment operations. Radio transmissions will be conducted with other seafarers to notify them of the operations.

Coordinates of the deployments as well as characteristics of the metocean buoys and contact details are included in Marine Notice No 68 of 2022, attached below.

Various works are taking place this month to facilitate the development of the Braymore Wind Park in the north Irish Sea.

A geophysical survey was scheduled to start last week to be completed by early November, subject to weather and operational constraints, to provide site investigation information for the proposed Braymore Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) Array.

The Braymore WTG Array area is located some 18km from Dunany Point in Co Louth at its most northerly point and Braymore Point in Co Dublin at its most southerly.

Operations will be conducted on a 24-hour basis by the Roman Rebel (callsign 2ICA5) and on a 12-hour basis by the Lady Kathleen (Callsign EIXT2). The vessels will display appropriate lights and signals.

Due to the deployment of towed survey equipment, the survey vessels will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre when surveying.

All other vessels operating in their vicinity are requested to keep their distance and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash. Mariners are advised to keep continuous watch on VHF radio channel 16 when navigating the survey area.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area, as well as contact details, can be found in Marine Notice No 66 of 2022, attached below.

Meanwhile, three surface buoys, three guard buoys and one sub-surface mooring are to be deployed at the wind farm site for a metocean and passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) survey campaign.

The deployments are expected to be completed over a two-day period from this Wednesday 5 October, subject to weather and operational constraints. The devices will remain deployed for a period of 12 months.

These operations will be conducted by the Damen Shoalbuster 2409 versatile multi-purpose and shallow draft tug AMS Retriever (callsign MEHI8).

During operations, the vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre and all other vessels are requested to leave a wide berth during the deployment operations. Radio transmissions will be conducted with other seafarers to notify them of the operations.

Characteristics of the buoys, as well as contact details, coordinates and a map of the deployment area, are included in Marine Notice No 67 of 2022 as attached below.

Operators of the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) offshore wind farm will shortly undertake a subtidal benthic ecology survey campaign on its proposed export cable route area, off the coast of north Co Dublin and Co Meath.

Similar to the campaign this past summer, it will involve the deployment of benthic grab, water quality sonde and drop-down video equipment from a survey vessel within the bounds of the proposed NISA Export Cable Route area.

It is expected to be completed between next Wednesday 28 September 2022 and Wednesday 5 October, subject to weather and operational constraints.

As with the concurrent geophysical survey, the campaign will be confined to the proposed NISA Export Cable Route area. This area forms an irregular shape spanning 11km north-south and 18km east-west at its widest point. The survey area has two landfall areas close to Balbriggan in north Co Dublin.

The benthic survey campaign will be conducted by the survey vessel Husky (callsign 2EQI7). An onboard fisheries liaison officer will be available to discuss operations throughout the duration of the survey campaign.

The survey vessel will display appropriate lights and signals. All other vessels operating within this area are requested to keep a wide berth and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash. Mariners are advised to keep continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 when navigating the area.

Contact details, coordinates and a map of the survey area are included in Marine Notice No 64 of 2022, attached below.

Operators of the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) offshore wind farm are undertaking a geophysical survey campaign on its proposed export cable route area, off the coast of north Co Dublin and Co Meath.

This campaign is expected to run from next Monday 12 September to continue until Wednesday 12 October, subject to weather and operational constraints.

The survey campaign will be confined to the proposed NISA Export Cable Route area. This area forms an irregular shape spanning 11km north-south and 18km east-west at its widest point. The survey area has two landfall areas close to Balbriggan and surveys will proceed as shallow as around three metres of water depth.

The survey will be conducted by the vessels Geo Focus (callsign PCOS) and Ros Áine (callsign EIZG5) in depths of greater than and less than 10m respectively, both working on a 24/7 basis.

The survey will utilise multibeam echosounders, sub-bottom profilers, side-scan sonar, magnetometer, both hull-mounted and towed. Typically, the towed cable lengths will be about four times the water depth while acquiring survey data.

Both vessels will display appropriate lights and signals. Mariners are advised to keep continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 when navigating the area.

As the survey vessels will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre when surveying, due to the deployment of the towed survey equipment, all other vessels operating within this area are requested to keep a wide berth and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

Contact details, coordinates and a map of the survey area are included in Marine Notice No 63 of 2022 amended, attached below.

This article was edited on Thursday 8 September to reflect the published amenment to the Marine Notice.

DP Energy Ireland Ltd is undertaking geophysical surveys at the proposed Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park off Cork and Waterford, outside the 12-nautical-mile limit.

Works were set to begin on Friday 2 September and last for five days, subject to weather, carried out from the ILV Granuaile (callsign EIPT) on a 24-hour basis.

The reconnaissance geophysical survey is being performed using a hull-mounted multibeam echosounder (MBES) and towed seismic system (maximum towed length 60m), running widely spaced lines across the array investigation area.

Communication on marine band radio VHF Channel 16 will be conducted with other ships and vessels to notify them of the operations.

In addition, ILV Granuaile is restricted in its ability to manoeuvre during this operations and will display appropriate shapes and lights. All other vessels operating within this area are requested to keep their distance and pass at a minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area as well as contact details are included in Marine Notice No 60 of 2022, attached below.

DP Energy, one of Ireland’s leading developers of renewable energy projects, is planning to carry out a geophysical survey beyond the 12 nautical mile limit at their proposed Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park off the coasts of Cork and Waterford.

The survey, which will cover approximately 900 Km2, will begin on 8th September and will take place for a period of five days. The work will be undertaken by Hydrographic Surveys of Crosshaven onboard the Commissioners of Irish Lights vessel, ILV Granuaile, a multifunctional ship which is equipped to operate in difficult sea conditions.

The Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park is a 1,000 MW (1GW) offshore wind project which will use floating platform technology anchored to the seabed. Once operational, the proposed wind farm will generate enough clean renewable energy to power the equivalent of nearly one million homes. Delivery of this scheme, planned to be operational by 2030, will significantly contribute to Ireland’s Climate Action Plan target of 7 Gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030 and the longer-term target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

To develop the Inis Ealga Marine Energy Park project, DP Energy has partnered with global energy leader Iberdrola, one of the world’s largest renewable energy producers. Iberdrola has substantial experience in offshore wind development and, importantly, shares DP Energy’s commitment to a sustainable and ethical approach to development.

The upcoming survey of the Inis Ealga Marine Park location will provide valuable information on the make-up of the seabed and this will be used to inform the project design, siting of turbines and construction methods for the proposed park. The results will also assist in the preparation of specifications for additional future geophysical and geotechnical surveys.

Adam Cronin, Head of Offshore at DP Energy, outlines the processes that will be used:

“The equipment we are planning to use includes a hull mounted multibeam sonar and sub bottom profiler. This survey will provide information about the seabed make-up at various depths. We will be able to image the sediment and rock layers beneath the surface of the seabed giving us crucial information on sediment layers for design. The data obtained from the surveys will be utilised in the design of the project and the design will be in the public domain as part of the Development Consenting process.”

Commenting on the announcement Dave Ward, Commercial Manager at Commissioner of Irish Lights said: “Granuaile is a key asset of Irish Lights in delivery of its navigation safety service around the coast of Ireland. Irish Lights can provide a range of services, statutory and commercial to support local partners in the transition to offshore renewable energy. We are pleased to support DP Energy to enable and harness Irish natural resources in offshore wind, in order to drive the establishment of an indigenous Irish supply chain while underpinning marine based employment.”

Headquartered in Buttevant in North Cork and operating across the world, DP Energy is committed to using the most sustainable and environmentally responsible methods in all of their energy developments. Currently, DP Energy has a 5,000+ megawatt (MW) portfolio of wind, ocean and solar energy projects in development stages across Ireland, Australia, the UK and Canada.

In addition to the Inis Ealga project, DP Energy, in conjunction with Iberdrola, has also submitted Foreshore Licence applications for Clarus Offshore Wind Farm, off the coasts of Clare and Kerry (floating) and Shelmalere Offshore Wind Farm, off the coasts of Wicklow and Wexford (fixed).

A geophysical survey is set for the Irish Sea off the Wicklow coast to provide site investigation information to facilitate the development of the Arklow Bank Wind Park.

The survey work was anticipated to get under way by Wednesday 31 August and be completed by the end of October, weather permitting.

This survey campaign will be confined to the proposed Phase 2 of the Arklow Bank Wind Park, according to Marine Notice No 58 of 2022.

The Arklow Bank area is located around 3-7 nautical miles off the coast of Co Wicklow and consists of a north-south-trending sandbank around 12nm in length and sub-parallel to the coastline between Ardmore Point and Kilmichael Point.

Operations will be conducted by the Roman Rebel (callsign 2ICA5) and Lady Kathleen (callsign EIXT2).

As these survey vessels will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre when surveying, due to the deployment of the towed survey equipment, all other vessels operating within their vicinity are requested to keep their distance and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

Work will be conducted on a 24-hour basis on the Roman Rebel with 12-hour operations on board the Lady Kathleen. Both vessels will display appropriate lights and signals.

Mariners are advised to keep continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 when navigating the area.

For contact details, plus coordinates and a map of the survey area, see the attached Marine Notice below.

Ocean Infinity is set to begin a subsea survey of two World War II-era shipwrecks off the southwest coast this week.

The SS Songa was a Norwegian-flagged cargo steamer that was torpedoed by a Nazi U-boat in January 1940. All of its crew were rescued and landed between Kinsale and Crookhaven.

The SS Parthenon, meanwhile, was a Greek-flagged steamer that was part of a convoy of ships sunk in an attack by a ‘Wolfpack’ of Nazi submarines in November 1942. Six of its 29 crew were lost.

Survey operations are scheduled to begin Monday 29 August and continue for some 11 weeks until Wednesday 16 November, weather permitting, at Latitude 49° 23' N, Longitude 11° 34' W.

The work will be conducted by the vessel Deepsea Worker (callsign 5VIP2). The vessel will use appropriate lights and shapes and can be contacted on VHF Channel 16 to provide details as required.

Contact information and a map of the survey area can be found in Marine Notice No 57 of 2022, attached below.