Less then a month ago the Naval Service detained a Northern Irish registered fishing vessel the Lynn Marie seven miles east off Bray Head. Onboard was a crew of 4 UK nationals who were taken into custody to the Gardai after the trawler was escorted by the CPV L.E. Orla to Dun Laoghaire Harbour. To read more about this detention click here.

Ironically the L.E. Orla was a former Royal Naval vessel, HMS Swift (P241) which was deployed on her first assignment to the Hong Kong Patrol Squadron for a four-year period. In 1988 Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party Government disposed HMS Swift and HMS Swallow (P242) to the Irish Naval Service. The pair were built by Hall Russell Shipyard of Aberdeen as part of an eight 'Peacock' class coastal patrol vessel (CPV).

The 'Peacock' pair were commissioned into the Naval Service and renamed L.E. Orla (P41) and L.E. Ciara (P42) in a ceremony attended by An Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey at the Naval Base in Haulbowline, Cork Harbour.

This weeks' detention is the second conducted by the Naval Service in 2011. Last year the Naval Service carried out 1,666 vessel boardings which resulted in 70 warnings and eight detentions.

Ireland's free provision of air-sea rescue services to Northern Ireland could be in jeopardy if the Bangor coastguard centre is closed, a DUP MP has warned.

In today's Belfast Telegraph, Strangford's Jim Shannon said that loss of the cross-border relationship would "most certainly end in loss of life".

Shannon reiterated that the Bangor centre is not only responsible for Northern Ireland's coastline but also its inland waterways and loughs, and mountain areas such as the Mournes.

Merseyside MP Bill Esterson is also quoted as warning that his local coastguard staff "don't feel equipped to look after Northern Ireland" if services are consolidated in Liverpool.

Shipping Minister Mike Penning gave his assurance that coastguard staff would not be victimised if they submit their views to the open consultation, which has been extended to 5 May.

The BBC News website has video of a new Olympic-style slalom course on the River Lagan for canoeists to test their skills.

The professional facility was constructed at Shaws Bridge by local enthusiasts who have been training on the Lagan for some years, originally using little more than bailing twine and old brush staffs to mark out the course.

"When I look at the course today I think it's a huge achievement," Irish international Hannah Craig told BBC Newsline.

It is hoped that the new canoe slalom course will help broaden the sport's appeal in Northern Ireland.

Click HERE to view the video on the BBC News website.

UK Shipping Minister Mike Penning's praise of staff at Northern Ireland's only coastguard station has been described as 'hollow' by a DUP MLA.

Penning had described his meeting with staff at the Bangor coastguard centre, which is threatened with closure under new streamlining plans, as "a breath of fresh air".

But the DUP's Peter Weir told the Community Telegraph that his praise "rings a little hollow as it is the minister who created the problem in the first place".

He added: "“We cannot be allowed to be the only part of the UK to be without this facility, and the Secretary of State should be making it clear to his colleagues that he feels so strongly about this that he considers this a resigning matter."

North Down Mayor John Montgomery (DUP) also complained that neither he nor his councillors were informed of the minister's flying visit, which had been rescheduled after a previous cancellation.

"Is the Shipping Minister running scared of North Down councillors?" he asked.

UK Shipping Minister Mike Penning described his meeting with Bangor coastguard staff last week as "a breath of fresh air", BBC News reports.

Last Wednesday Penning met staff at Northern Ireland's only coastguard centre, which is threatened with closure under plans to streamline the UK's coastguard station network.

Minister Penning admitted to BBC News that Bangor was not on the original list of centres marked for closure.

"It was a decision made by myself and the secretary of state and we were honest about that," he said, adding that there was now "acceptance of the people in the frontline that there has to be change and there has to be modernisation".

The minister said no date had been set for a final decision on which stations would be closed.

Meanwhile, the Community Telegraph reports on confusion among the public following the meeting with Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) officials in Bangor on 3 March.

Ian Graham of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents coastguards, said: “They didn’t really answer any of the questions from the public adequately."

He added that statistics they used in a slideshow to illustrate rescue incident start time were "misleading" as "a lot of rescues can last for hours".

Bangor locals came face-to-face with officials from the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) over the proposals to close Northern Ireland's only full-time sea rescue base.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that MCA bosses were loudly heckled when they tried to offer justifications for the closure of the Bangor station.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the UK's network of coastguard centres will be scaled back to just three 24-hour stations and a handful of daytime-only centres for the whole of Britain and Northern Ireland.

Supporters of the station said they felt let down at the “bad deal” and “shabby” proposals presented by the MCA and Shipping Minister Mike Penning, who added Bangor to the closures list at the last minute.

BBC News reports that more than 100 people attended the meeting in Bangor on Thursday evening, including members of the public, MLAs, councillors and MPs.

Bill McFadyen, the MCA's regional director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, admitted at the meeting that he was not handed a copy of the proposals until after they had been finalised.

He added: "Of course we will still maintain a high level of service here in NI as we move forward in whatever direction comes out of the consultation."

The Belfast Telegraph has more in the story HERE.

Lesser Spotted Ulster's Joe Mahon was on hand to launch the first comprehensive free visitor's guide to the inland waterway's Lagan Canal recently, the Ulster Star reports.

The new guide provides information on the canal's storied history and its abundance of wildlife from Belfast to Lough Neagh.

Lagan Canal Restoration Trust manager Cathy Burns said: “For the first time this guide offers visitors details of all there is to see and do along the canal.

"We hope that it encourages many more visitors and local people to take the opportunity to get out and experience the hidden gem that is the Lagan Canal."

A Guide to the Lagan Canal, Past, Present and Future is available to download online at lagancanaltrust.org.

Belfast coastguard responded to two requests assisting the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team on Saturday, BYM Marine & Maritime News reports.

The first followed reports of an injured walker in the Glen River Valley around 2pm. Helicopter assistance was stood down due to adverse weather conditions and the walker was stretchered off the mountain.

The second request came after 4pm, after a woman had fallen in a gully at the top of Slieve Begg. Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter R116 was dispatched along with the South Down Coastguard Rescue team to locate the woman, who suffererd lower leg injuries and was airlifted to hospital in Newry.

Alan Pritchard, watch manager at the NI coastguard control centre at Bangor, urged the public to take care when out on coastal, river or mountain walks.

He also reminded people to dress sensibly for the weather and the terrain, and let others know of their whereabouts in case of distress.

Proposals to close Northern Ireland's only coastguard control centre "will not diminish safety" at sea, according to the head of the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

The Irish Independent reports that Vice-Admiral Sir Alan Massey insisted coastal emergency services would be "enhanced" under plans to streamline the British coastguard station network.

Nineteen stations will be reduced to just two 24-hour centres - in the south of England and at Aberdeen on Scotland's east coast. Five day-only centres would also be retained, with one located at either Liverpool or Bangor.

The MCA chief executive said that local knowledge could be enhanced by centres providing services over a larger area.

But a union representative accused the MCA of proposing a skeleton service that could put lives in jeopardy.

Ian Graham of the NI branch of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which represents staff at the Bangor centre, said: ""All the knowledge that people in the station have will be lost forever and that will put everyone who uses the sea and inland waterways at risk."

The Irish Independent has more on the story HERE.

Local people will voice their opposition to the proposed closure of Northern Ireland's only coastguard rescue base at a public meeting with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) next month, the Belfast Telegraph reports.

Supporters of the Bangor facility, which provides 24-hour cover for the NI coastline, have also demanded "concrete answers" from UK Shipping Minister Mike Penning, who is due to visit the country next week.

“If he comes here with a positive attitude and says the decision to target our Coastguard was wrong, that’s the outcome we’re hoping for," said Strangford MP Jim Shannon. “If not, then he’s got a fight on his hands. We will take this to Westminster if necessary."

MCA representatibes will meet Bangor MLAs and community leaders on 3 March at the Marine Court Hotel to discuss the proposals.

The Belfast Telegraph has more on the story HERE.