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Displaying items by tag: Greenlink Interconnector Project

Following cable lay operations set to conclude this weekend, Greenlink Interconnector Ltd will perform cable burial and trenching activities along the planned interconnector route.

These activities will be undertaken between Saturday 13 April and Thursday 20 June, subject to weather and operational constraints.

Operations will take place along the planned interconnector route between the landfall location near Baginbun Beach in Co Wexford and the middle of the Irish Sea. Coordinates and maps can be found in Marine Notice No 21 of 2024, attached below.

The works will be performed by the trenching support vessel Symphony (callsign LXTT). This vessel will have a trenching vehicle deployed or a remotely operated vehicle for survey activities deployed over the side.

As the work vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre, all other vessels operating within this area are requested to keep a wide berth and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash. The work vessel will be listening to VHF Channel 16 and can set any other channel as required.

For further details, including contact information, see the Marine Notice below.

Published in News Update

Following the recent pre-lay grapnel run, Greenlink Interconnector Ltd will be conducting offshore and nearshore operations for its electricity interconnector from Friday 22 March to Sunday 14 April, subject to weather and operational constraints.

Beach-pull operations in the nearshore are to be undertaken within around one nautical mile of Baginbun Beach. The cable lay operations following the beach pull operations, involving divers, will take place along the planned interconnector route from the landfall location at Baginbun Beach towards the middle of the interconnector route.

The operations will be conducted by three survey vessels: the multicat Forth Warrior (callsign 2JHR8), Connector (DP3) (callsign LXEV) and CRC Voyager (callsign MBZZ7).

These vessels carrying out the works will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre, therefore all other passing vessels are requested to keep a wide berth and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash. The vessels will display the appropriate lights and shapes if applicable (two black spheres and in the middle a black diamond shape, in a vertical line) and will monitor VHF Channel 16 at all times.

Coordinates and a map of the work area as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 16 of 2024 attached below.

Published in News Update

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Greenlink Interconnector Ltd is proposing to develop an electricity interconnector to allow for offshore cable installation and burial at a later stage.

A pre-lay grapnel run (PLGR) will be performed along the planned interconnector route to ensure clearance of debris from this Friday 15 March to next Tuesday 19 March, subject to weather and operational constraints.

During the PLGR, a grapnel shall be deployed on the planned cable route and dragged over the seabed. Whenever an increase in tension is recorded or in any case at five-kilometre intervals, the grapnel will be recovered cleaned and inspected. Afterwards, the grapnel will be redeployed to the seabed. The operation will be repeated until the complete route of about 80km has been finished.

The PLGR operations will take place along the planned interconnector route from the landfall location at Baginbun Beach towards the middle of the interconnector route.

Operations will be performed by the Forth Warrior (callsign 2JHR8). The vessel will have the PLGR grapnel deployed on the bow roller.

As the vessel will be restricted in its ability to maneuver, all other vessels operating within this area are requested to keep a wide berth and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash. The vessel will be listening to VHF Channel 16 and can set any other channel as required.

Coordinates and a map of the work area as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 15 of 2024, available to read or download HERE.

Published in News Update

Greenlink Interconnector Ltd (GIL) is proposing to develop an electricity interconnector between the southeast of Ireland, from Great Island in Co Wexford, to southwest Wales at Pembroke.

As part of these proposals, a pre-construction survey is expected to be carried out from today, Saturday 16 July to Tuesday 2 August, weather permitting.

The survey works will be conducted by the Geo Ocean V (callsign: 5BWE3), a multi-disciplined offshore survey vessel with hybrid propulsion fitted for geophysical and geotechnical survey work.

The vessel will have stern deployed equipment and will be restricted in manoeuvrability. All other vessels operating within this area are requested to keep their distance and pass at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

Throughout operations the Geo Ocean V will display all appropriate lights and shapes and will be listening to VHF Channel 16 but can set any other channel as required.

For coordinates and a map of the survey location as well as contact details, see Marine Notice No 45 of 2022 attached below.

Published in News Update

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.

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