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Displaying items by tag: LiveStreaming@ Sea

RV Celtic Voyager of the Marine Institute, Ireland's national agency for marine research, development and innovation, has been working in south Dublin Bay this week, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 31.4m ship to be replaced next year by a Spanish newbuild, to be named the RV Tom Crean (52.8m), has since the start of this week carried out ship-based training albeit for 'land-based' marine biology students given the lock-down restrictions.

Despite that, Dr. Simon Berrow and Mr. John Boyd of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) have been 'live-streaming' from on board the RV Celtic Voyager to their students at home.

According to a tweet on the M.I. website, the work has been an excellent run down of what's involved in offshore surveys. As close as the real thing as you can get, less the swell and the rain! 

The scene was observed by Afloat as the RV Celtic Voyager was in a south Dublin Bay prior to returning to the temporary base of Dun Laoghaire Harbour this afternoon. According to Met.ie, gale force 8-9 winds forecast tonight on the Irish Sea and Storm Force 10 off Wicklow Head and further south. 

Already in port at Carlisle Pier, the UK registered, Spanish owned trawler Magan D which had been adrift that arrived at the weekend. Also berthed but since yesterday, Dublin Array's proposed wind-farm project related ship, Fugro Mercator having been busy on geophysical surveys.

The GMIT has a Marine and Freshwater Research Centre where among the specialist research staff is Dr Simon Berrow, responsible for Marine mammals, seabirds and Environmental impact. Also on board, Mr. John Boyd's specialising in fisheries, seagoing operations and maritime training.

The vessels six day (at 'sea') training programme is scheduled to end this Saturday.

While today, the M.I. other larger research vessel, RV Celtic Explorer (65.5m) is working in waters considerably further offshore in the North Atlantic Ocean.

Afloat tracked RV Celtic Explorer some 400 nautical miles offshore of the western seaboard to the ship's homeport of Galway.

The deployment of the vessel is to support an Ocean & Climate survey across south Rockall Trough with the vessel due back to its homeport in around a month's time.

Published in Marine Science

Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

© Afloat 2020