The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has issued a direction regarding activities requiring prior ministerial approval within the site of the proposed special protection area (SPA) for seabirds in the North-West Irish Sea.

As reported earlier this year on Afloat.ie, the proposed new SPA will cover over 230,000 hectares extending out from Dublin Bay to as far north as Dunany Point in Co Louth, and will increase Ireland’s percentage of marine waters protected under the EU Birds and Habitats directive to over nine per cent.

The list of Activities Requiring Consent relating to the SPA includes the following:

• Reclamation, including infilling.
• Blasting, drilling, dredging or otherwise removing or disturbing fossils, rock, minerals, mud, sand, gravel or other sediment.
• Introduction, or re-introduction, of plants or animals not found in the area. (Consent is not required for the planting of crops on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land.)
• Undertaking scientific research involving the collection and removal of biological material.
• Any activity intended to disturb birds, including by mechanical, air, gas, wind-powered or audible means.
• Developing or consenting to the development or operation of commercial recreational/visitor facilities or organised recreational activities.
• Undertaking active acoustic surveys in the marine environment.

Observations in relation to the classification of the site may be submitted by interested parties and must be supported by scientifically based ornithological criteria.

Any objections to the classification of the site as a SPA or the Ministerial Direction may be lodged with the National Parks and Wildlife service.

The closing date for receipt of any observations or objections is 19 February 2024 and further details are included in Marine Notice No 80 of 2023, attache below.

The Department of Transport has issued a reminder regarding several circulars in relation to compliance with Chapter IV of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) as it pertains to radio communications and distress alerts.

These circulars detail the following:

• Guidance for the Reception of Maritime Safety Information and Search and Rescue Related Information as required in the GMDSS
• Flow Chart: GMDSS Operating Guidance for Ships in Distress Situations
• Procedure for Responding to DSC Distress Alerts by Ships
• Guidance on Distress Alerts

The guidance set out in these circulars will come into effect on 1 January 2024 and mariners are requested to ensure that they comply with the relevant procedures.

Each of the above circulars is included as an appendix to Marine Notice No 77 of 2023, attached below.

The European Union (Registration of Persons Sailing on board Passenger Ships) Regulations 2019 (SI No 677 of 2019), transposing Council Directive 98/41/EC as amended by Directive 2002/84/EC, entered into force on 19 December 2019.

It requires the reporting of persons on board passenger ships via SafeSeasIreland or via a vessel’s Automatic Information System (AIS).

A transitional period up to 19 December 2023 was provided for in the directive and regulations which allowed the reporting of persons on board to continue via the operating company’s passenger registrar located ashore.

The requirements affect all seagoing passenger ships on international voyages and a number of domestic passenger ships.

As the transitional period will end shortly, the requirements for reporting of persons on board passenger ships from 20 December 2023 onward are set out in Marine Notice No 76 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport has been advised that a geophysical survey, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) diving and an offshore survey of gas pipeline landfalls in Scotland’s Brighouse Bay and Ross Bay, Kirkcudbright and Ireland (Loughshinny and Gormanston) will take place between Tuesday 14 November and the end of December, subject to weather and operational constraints.

Survey works on the Irish Sea gas interconnector will begin in Scottish waters on 14 November before moving into Irish waters on Sunday 19 November.

The survey vessels will conduct a geophysical, ROV and offshore survey of the pipeline landfalls. These shallow water surveys will extend to a depth of approximately 10m below the lowest astronomical tide (LAT) at each location.

The surveys will be conducted by the vessels AMS Panther (callsign 2EHC2) and 4Winds (callsign PCPE) which will work on a 24-hour basis, the former near-shore to some 10m below chart datum and the latter outside that.

During the surveys and ROV diving operations, the vessels will be displaying the relevant day shapes and night lights and will be monitoring VHF Channels 12 and 16.

Due to ROV operations being operated from the vessel, all other passing vessels are requested to leave a wide berth during the operations and operate at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

Coordinates and a map of the survey areas as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 75 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport has been advised that the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) intends to undertake a geophysical survey campaign on the proposed offshore wind farm’s cable corridor area off the coast of counties Dublin, Meath and Louth.

This campaign will start on Wednesday 22 November and will continue for a period of two weeks, subject to weather and operational constraints.

It will be undertaken by SEP Hydrographic and will involve the deployment of a hull-mounted (multibeam echo sounder and high-frequency sub-bottom profiler) and towed geophysical sensors (side-scan sonar, magnetometer and medium-frequency sub-bottom profiler) within the nearshore part of the cable corridor area.

Survey work will be confined to nearshore area of the proposed cable corridor area, a total area of approximately 2.5 sq km. The survey area extends to landfall near Bremore. All operations will be within the 12-nautical-mile limit.

The survey will be conducted by the survey Vessel Ros Áine (callsign EIZG5) on a 12-hour (daylight operation) basis. As the survey vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre when surveying, due to the deployment of the towed survey sampling equipment for the duration of the survey activities, other vessels are kindly requested to keep a wide berth. The Ros Áine will display appropriate lights and signals.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 74 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport advises that the manufacturer Paroc Group Oy, a subsidiary of Owens Corning, has issued a product safety recall for certain forms of deck and bulkhead insulation that it produces.

This recall follows independent testing where it was found that the products failed to meet the requirements for the respective Marine Equipment Directive 2014/90/EU (MED) fire integrity tests.

It is understood that the supply of these products in newbuild ships in Ireland has been limited but it is possible that it may have been installed by third-party suppliers for repair and modification purposes.

If you have non-installed stock of Paroc Marine’s Navis Mat, Navis Slab and Navis Wired Mat insulation products, as detailed in Marine Notice No 72 of 2023 attached below, please inform Paroc as soon as possible.

If any such product is installed on board a vessel, the supplier should be contacted and a remedial action plan agreed with the Marine Survey Office as a matter of urgency.

Any queries in relation to this Marine Notice should be addressed to [email protected].

Following a recent MCIB report into a serious deck accident aboard a fishing vessel in Dingle Bay last year, the Department of Transport has published a Marine Notice reminding mariners of the dangers of fishing alone.

The MCIB report explains how a lone fisherman on the 9.9-metre An Portán Óir was shooting lobster pots on Friday 14 October 2022 when his leg became entangled in the pot ropes and he remained trapped until he was rescued around four hours later.

It was established that the lack of a personal locator beacon (PLB) was a contributing factor, and that the fisher’s severe pain experienced in the incident could have been alleviated if he had access to a knife.

In response to the report’s recommendations, the Marine Notice reminds owners and operators of fishing vessels of the dangers associated with fishing alone and of the importance of always wearing an approved personal flotation device/lifejacket and a personal location beacon while on deck. Personal locator beacons should be registered.

In addition, lone fishers are recommended to have a suitably protected knife on their person while on deck during fishing operations, especially during potting operations. Knives may also be secured at strategic locations on deck to be available quickly in case of entanglement.

Lone fishers are recommended to carry out a personal risk assessment before each voyage, to remind themselves of the potential risks and to take mitigation measures as required.

More information can be found in Marine Notice No 71 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport has been advised that the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) intends to undertake a geotechnical site investigation campaign on the proposed offshore wind farm area and cable corridor, off the coast of north Co Dublin, Meath and Louth.

This campaign will be undertaken by N-Sea and Geoquip Marine and will involve the deployment of seabed borehole drilling, cone penetration testing (CPT) and vibrocores from survey vessels at specific locations within the NISA OWF and cable corridor area detailed below.

The campaign will start on Wednesday 1 November and will run for a period of four weeks, subject to weather and operational constraints.

Surveys will be confined to distinct locations within the proposed wind farm array and cable corridor area, a total area of approximately 125 sq km. This wider area forms an irregular shape spanning approximately 16km north-south and 25km east-west at its widest points. The survey area extends to landfall near Bremore. All operations will be within the 12-nautical-mile limit.

The survey area is bounded by points listed and set out in the map included in Marine Notice No 69 of 2023, which is available to download below.

Surveys will be conducted by the Noordhoek Pathfinder (callsign PBYN) and Geoquip Seehorn (callsign 5BSW5) on a 24-hour basis. As the survey vessels will be restricted in their 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.

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

Further details, including contact information, can be found in the Marine Notice attached below.

The annual Irish Groundfish Survey (IGFS) for 2023 will be carried out by the Marine Institute off the North West, West and South Coasts of Ireland from Tuesday 31 October to Saturday 16 December.

The IGFS is a demersal trawl survey consisting of approximately 170 fishing hauls of 30-minute duration each in ICES areas VIa, VIIb, VIIg and VIIj.

Fishing will take place within a two-nautical-mile radius of the positions indicated in the appendices to Marine Notice No 68 of 2023, which can be downloaded below.

The survey will be conducted by the RV Celtic Explorer (callsign EIGB) which will display appropriate lights and signals. The vessel will be towing a high headline GOV 36/47 demersal trawl during fishing operations.

The Marine Institute requests that commercial fishing and other marine operators keep a two-nautical-mile area around the tow mid-points clear of any gear or apparatus during the survey period outlined above.

Further details can be found in the Marine Notice attached below.

The Department of Transport has been advised of the deployment of a metocean data buoy by University College Dublin west of Inishmaan, some 6.6 nautical miles off Eeragh Lighthouse on Rock Island.

This deployment is scheduled to take place from Sunday 22 October for a period of up to seven days, subject to weather and operational constraints.

It will be carried out by the MV Chateau-Thierry (callsign EIHK6) which will display appropriate lights and signals.

Navigational warnings will be issued by radio when the marker buoy deployment takes place. A yellow special mark plastic buoy, IALA category 3 and 2.5m in diameter, will be used with a navigation light flashing white every 20 seconds at 4.1 meters above the surface.

Coordinates and a map of the deployment area, as well as contact details, can be found in Marine Notice No 65 of 2023, attached below.