Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on the Shannon Navigation that an Inland Fisheries Ireland fish stock survey will take place on Lough Ree from Tuesday 7 to Saturday 25 June.

Survey nets will be set in up to 100 locations on Lough Ree depending on weather and other factors. All nets will be marked with orange buoys and identified with “IFI Survey” markings.

IFI vessels will be operating by day and night on the inland waterway during the survey.

Masters of vessels are requested to maintain a sharp lookout while underway on Lough Ree and to give all marked buoys a wide berth.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels on the Shannon Navigation that the Heritage Boat Association will be celebrating its 21st anniversary with a rally in Ballinasloe Harbour from Saturday 28 May to Monday 6 June.

Masters of vessels are advised that up to 30 heritage vessels will be moored in Ballinasloe during the 10-day rally. For more see the Facebook event page HERE.

Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels and water users on the Shannon Navigation that Tarmonbarry Bridge and Lock in Co Longford will be closed from Tuesday 10 to Friday 13 May for further emergency repair works.

An alternative route via the Camlin River is available. Masters of vessels and water users are advised to check their airdraft prior to undertaking the passage on this inland waterway due to the low bridge on the N5 road.

Update 11/5: Waterways Ireland says Tarmonbarry Bridge and Lock have now been reopened to navigation. Essential maintenance works are continuing at Tarmonbarry Bridge and some minor delays may be experienced.

Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels and waterway users of the Shannon Navigation of an interruption to the power supply to the floating jetties at Shannonbridge in Co Offaly from tomorrow, Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 April to facilitate essential repairs and maintenance works.

Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels and water users on the Shannnon Navigation that Rooskey Lifting Bridge and Rooskey Lock will be without power supply tomorrow, Friday 15 April from 9am until 4pm due to a notified ESB power supply interruption in the village.

Construction of a new pedestrian and cycleway bridge across the Shannon Navigation in Athlone will commence on Tuesday 3 May, Waterways Ireland confirms.

The greenway bridge is funded from a €8.1 million allocation to the Galway-to-Dublin Greenway and will be built some 50 metres upstream of Athlone town bridge.

The navigation channel in the vicinity of the in-water works will be restricted to a width of 15 metres from 3 May. Both sides of the navigation channel will be buoyed with temporary makers.

Large barges, workboats and other equipment will be operating in the navigation from Wansboro’s field (upstream of the railway bridge) to Athlone town bridge.

Masters of vessels are advised to proceed with additional caution in the vicinity of the works and to follow the instructions of safety craft and personnel in the area.

Phase 1 of the project commencing in May involves the installation of a cofferdam which will take around four weeks to complete. Waterways Ireland says it will advise details of further phases in due course.

Waterways Ireland advises masters of vessels and water users on the Shannon Navigation that Tarmonbarry Lock in Co Longford is closed until further notice due to emergency repair works.

An alternative route via the Camlin River is available. Masters are advised to check their air draft prior to undertaking passage on this inland waterway due to the low bridge on the N5 road.

Waterways Ireland reminds masters of vessels on the Shannon Navigation and Shannon-Erne Waterway that the winter mooring period for these inland waterways ended last Thursday 31 March.

Shannon Navigation Bye-Law No 17(3) now applies, such that vessels should not berth in the same harbour for longer than the statutory period of five consecutive days nor more than a total of seven days in any one month.

New lock opening hours have been introduced on the Shannon Navigation as the 2022 boating season gets under way.

The new times have been agreed and implemented following a lock-keeping review process. The primary objectives of this review were to:

• improve the work/life balance of the lock/bridge keepers;
• help future-proof lock keeping on the Shannon Navigation;
• increase operational efficiency within the region; and
• continue to provide a high level of service to vessels travelling on the navigation.

As of last Monday 14 March, locks on the Shannon Navigation will be open from 9.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and 9.30am to 6pm on Sundays. From next Friday 1 April to the end September, weekday and Saturday hours extend by an hour to 7.30pm.

In October, weekday and Saturday hours will be 9.30am to 6.30pm. And for the winter season from 1 November this year to 13 March 2023, hours will be reduced to 9am to noon on weekdays and Saturdays, and 9am to 11am on Sundays.

Opening times for Portumna Bridge have also changed. Until and including next Thursday 31 March, the bridge will open six times on weekdays and Saturdays (10am, 11am, 12.40pm, 2.30pm, 4.30pm, 5.30pm) and five times on Sundays (10am, 12.30pm, 2.30pm, 4pm, 5pm).

From Friday 1 April to the end of September, there will be an additional opening at 6pm on weekdays and Saturdays, and 11am on Sundays.

And over the winter season from 1 November, there will be only three openings on weekdays and Saturdays (9.30am, 10.30am, 11.30am) and two on Sundays (9.30am, 10.30am).

As the boating season commences, Waterways Ireland reminds masters of vessels and waterways users that COVID-19 continues to be present within the population, and urges continued vigilance and appropriate precautions to prevent its spread while using the inland waterways.

In this context, Waterways Ireland says toll-free passage will continue for the 2022 boating season on the Shannon Navigation.

Waterways Ireland advises all masters of vessels and water users on the Shannon Navigation that essential repair works will be carried out to the floating moorings in Carrick-on-Shannon from this coming Wednesday 23 March. There will be restricted access to the jetties while these repair works are ongoing.