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Displaying items by tag: Subsea

Fugro, a Dutch geotechnical, survey, subsea, and geoscience services provider, will be carrying out marine operations on behalf of TE Subsea Communications LLC (TESubCom) for the HAVFRUE Subsea Cable System Project. The project is scheduled to begin on Saturday 20th January 2018 and last for approximately 14 days (weather permitting).

Havfrue (Norwegian for Mermaid) is the brand name for the wider cable system, of which Aqua Comms will own and operate a large proportion. It is the first subsea cable system to connect Northern Europe and the US in almost twenty years. The project was commissioned by a consortium of companies that includes Bulk Infrastructure, Facebook and Google.

photo fugro 63989The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has been advised that Fugro (pictured above) will be carrying out marine operations on behalf of TE Subsea Communications LLC for the HAVFRUE Subsea Cable System Project

Irish Submarine cable supplier and operator Aqua Comms has joined forces with TESubCom, a company specializing in fiber optic cable deployments and marine services, to prepare the groundwork for a transatlantic cable network connecting New Jersey in the US with Ireland and Denmark. At present, Aqua Comms operates Ireland’s first dedicated subsea fibre-optic network connecting New York, London and Dublin.

Aqua Comms will also market and sell capacity services on its portion of the Havfrue cable system under the brand name America Europe Connect-2 (AEC-2) as complementary to its existing transatlantic cable, America Europe Connect-1 (AEC-1), running between New York and Killala in Co Mayo. The AEC-2 cable system will complete a ring-based network connecting the US, Ireland, the UK and Denmark.

Whereas the AEC-1 cable comes ashore in Killala, Co. Mayo, the AEC-2 cable loks like it is set to come ashore in Westport Co. Mayo, which lies on Clew Bay.

cable googleThe AEC-2 Cable run into Clew Bay, Co. Mayo Source: Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

This system is due to come online in the fourth quarter of 2019. TESubCom has already launched the cable route survey operations.

The network will connect Dublin to Manchester and the North Sea Connect cable linking Stellium-operated data centre in Newcastle, England to Esbjerg in Denmark, creating a circular network connecting each of the above mentioned locations to one another.

Survey operations for the link to Ireland will be conducted on a 24 hour basis. Throughout survey operations the vessel will be displaying the shapes and lights prescribed in the International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) Rule 27, to indicate that the survey vessel is restricted in its ability to manoeuvre.
The vessel that will undertake the project is the MV Fugro Discovery (Callsign: 3EKE6). A listening watch will be maintained on VHF Channel 16, and the vessel will actively transmit an AIS signal.

Published in News Update

#Subsea - The Irish Times has more details on the new transatlantic subsea internet cable Hibernia Express, work on which got underway this past March.

Clearance and pre-laying work continued this month in the Celtic Sea to prepare for the arrival of the 4,600km fibre optic cable in Cork Harbour in the coming weeks.

Once connected to the new Cork Internet Exchange (CIX), it will be the first modern telecommunications cable of its kind to link North America and Europe in well over a decade.

And its speed and capacity – offering the lowest latency between New York and London – will be a boon for businesses that depend on the fastest possible and most robust data connections.

Combined with the shorter Ireland-France Subsea Cable, it's also set to make Cork a leading global internet switching centre, eliminating the need for Ireland's internet traffic to go through the UK before the rest of the world, as TechCentral reports.

Published in Cork Harbour
Tagged under

#HiberniaExpress - The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport advises that TE SubCom, on behalf of Hibernia Express, is carrying out a route clearance operation and a pre-lay grapnel run along the Hibernia Express cable route using the M/V Ile d’Aix (Callsign FICI) and M/V Atlantic Guardian (Callsign HO6566.

The operations, which follow earlier work on the same subsea cable route in March, commenced on 17 and 13 May 2015 respectively are expected to last until the end of June 2015, weather permitting.

The vessels will be towing grapnels astern at a distance depending on water depth, and as such, will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre.

All vessels are requested to give these operation a wide berth. The project vessels will be listening on VHF Channel 16 throughout the project.

Details of co-ordinates for both vessels' work areas are included in Marine Notices Nos 18 and 19 of 2015, available to read or download HERE and HERE.

Published in Marine Warning

Royal Irish Yacht Club - Frequently Asked Questions

The Royal Irish Yacht Club is situated in a central location in Dun Laoghaire Harbour with excellent access and visiting sailors can be sure of a special welcome. The clubhouse is located in the prime middle ground of the harbour in front of the town marina and it is Dun Laoghaire's oldest yacht club. 

What's a brief history of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The yacht club was founded in 1831, with the Marquess of Anglesey, who commanded the cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo being its first Commodore. 

John Skipton Mulvany designed the clubhouse, which still retains a number of original architectural features since being opened in 1851.

It was granted an ensign by the Admiralty of a white ensign with the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Ireland beneath the Union Jack in canton.

Many prominent names feature among the past members of the Club. The first Duke of Wellington was elected in 1833, followed by other illustrious men including the eccentric Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Sir Dominic Corrigan the distinguished physician, Sir Thomas Lipton, novelist, George A. Birmingham, yachtsman and author, Conor O'Brien, and famous naval historian and author, Patrick O Brian. 

In the club's constitution, it was unique among yacht clubs in that it required yacht owners to provide the club's commodore with information about the coast and any deep-sea fisheries they encountered on all of their voyages.

In 1846, the club was granted permission to use the Royal prefix by Queen Victoria. The club built a new clubhouse in 1851. Despite the Republic of Ireland breaking away from the United Kingdom, the Royal Irish Yacht Club elected to retain its Royal title.

In 1848, a yachting trophy called "Her Majesty's Plate" was established by Queen Victoria to be contested at Kingstown where the Royal Irish Yacht Club is based. The Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland at the time, George Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon suggested it should be contested by the Royal Irish Yacht Club and the Royal St. George Yacht Club in an annual regatta, a suggestion that was approved by both clubs with the Royal St. George hosting the first competitive regatta.

The RIYC celebrated its 185th Anniversary in 2016 with the staging of several special events in addition to being well represented afloat, both nationally and internationally. It was the year the club was also awarded Irish Yacht Club of the Year as Afloat's W M Nixon details here.

The building is now a listed structure and retains to this day all its original architectural features combined with state of the art facilities for sailors both ashore and afloat.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's emblem?

The Club's emblem shows a harp with the figure of Nice, the Greek winged goddess of victory, surmounted by a crown. This emblem has remained unchanged since the foundation of the Club; a symbol of continuity and respect for the history and tradition of the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

What is the Royal Irish Yacht Club's ensign?

The RIYC's original white ensign was granted by Royal Warrant in 1831. Though the Royal Irish Yacht Club later changed the ensign to remove the St George's Cross and replace the Union Jack with the tricolour of the Republic of Ireland, the original ensign may still be used by British members of the Royal Irish Yacht Club

Who is the Commodore of the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

The current Commodore is Jerry Dowling, and the Vice-Commodore is Tim Carpenter.

The RIYC Flag Officers are: 

What reciprocal club arrangements does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have?  

As one of Ireland's leading club's, the Royal Irish Yacht Club has significant reciprocal arrangements with yacht clubs across Ireland and the UK, Europe, USA and Canada and the rest of the World. If you are visiting from another Club, please have with a letter of introduction from your Club or introduce yourself to the Club Secretary or to a member of management staff, who will show you the Club's facilities.

What car parking does the Royal Irish Yacht Club have at its Dun Laoghaire clubhouse?

The RIYC has car parking outside of its clubhouse for the use of its members. Paid public car parking is available next door to the club at the marina car park. There is also paid parking on offer within the harbour area at the Coatl Harbour (a 5-minute walk) and at an underground car park adjacent to the Royal St. George Yacht Club (a 3-minute walk). Look for parking signs. Clamping is in operation in the harbour area.

What facilities does the Royal Irish Yacht Clubhouse offer? 

The Royal Irish Yacht Club offers a relaxed, warm and welcoming atmosphere in one of the best situated and appointed clubhouses in these islands. Its prestige in yachting circles is high and its annual regatta remains one of the most attractive events in the sailing calendar. It offers both casual and formal dining with an extensive wine list and full bar facilities. The Club caters for parties, informal events, educational seminars, themed dinners and all occasions. The RIYC has a number of venues within the Club each of which provides a different ambience to match particular needs.

What are the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Boathouse facilities?

The RIYC boathouse team run the launch service to the club's swinging moorings, provide lifting for dry-sailed boats, lift and scrub boats, as well as maintaining the fabric of the deck, pontoon infrastructure, and swinging moorings. They also maintain the club crane, the only such mobile crane of the Dun Laoghaire Yacht Clubs.

What facilities are offered for junior sailing at the Royal Irish Yacht Club?

One of the missions of the Royal Irish Yacht Club is to promote sailing as a passion for life by encouraging children and young adults to learn how to sail through its summer courses and class-specific training throughout the year. 

RIYC has an active junior section. Its summer sailing courses are very popular and the club regularly has over 50 children attending courses in any week. The aim is for those children to develop lifelong friendships through sailing with other children in the club, and across the other clubs in the bay.
 
Many RIYC children go on to compete for the club at regional and national championships and some have gone on to represent Ireland at international competitions and the Olympic Regatta itself.
 
In supporting its young sailors and the wider sailing community, the RIYC regularly hosts junior sailing events including national and regional championships in classes such as the Optmist, Feva and 29er.
 
Competition is not everything though and as the club website states:  "Many of our junior sailors have gone on the become sailing instructors and enjoy teaching both in Ireland and abroad.  Ultimately, we take most pleasure from the number of junior sailors who become adult sailors and enjoy a lifetime of sailing with the club".