The Department of Transport has been advised by Donegal County Council that it intends to begin refurbishment works at Rathmullan Pier and viaduct on the Fanad Peninsula north-east of Letterkenny.

These works are starting with immediate effect and will be ongoing for the next seven months until 30 November.

They are being carried out by marine civil engineering contractors working from a temporary compound at the head of the pier, using work vessels, a work pontoon, heavy civil engineering plant and equipment. Divers may also be employed on site from time to time.

For safety reasons, mariners are advised to avoid attempting to berth at Rathmullan Pier or pontoon as the ladders and stairway are to be removed and replaced, as well as the pontoon itself for the duration of the works.

Mariners are also advised to proceed slowly and with caution within the vicinity of Rathmullan Pier. Wave wash from vessels should be avoided.

For more details, including a map of the works area and contact information, see Marine Notice No 26 of 2024 attached below.

The European Communities (Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (SI No 110 of 2024) entered into force on 27 March 2024.

Changes to the regulations for the safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers now apply to all shipping terminals visited by bulk carriers for the loading or unloading of solid bulk cargoes, except those which are only visited by bulk carriers in exceptional circumstances.

The update also clarifies the requirements for regular verifications and unannounced inspections to be carried out by the Maribe Survey Office (MSO), and sets out the revised penalties for infringements.

For further details on the new regulations, see Marine Notice No 22 of 2024 attached below.

The Department of Transport has been notified by JD-Contractor that they will be performing out-of-service cutting and route clearance works on behalf of Nexans for CIDAC as part of the Celtic Interconnector Project.

The works will be located at various points along the planned subsea electricity cable route between the southeast coast of Ireland and the northern coast of France.

Works will begin on Wednesday 24 April and will continue for approximately 10 days, subject to weather and operational constraints.

The out-of-service (OOS) cable-cutting operations will be conducted within the cable corridor extending plus or minus 50 metres each side of planned cable centreline. The relevant waypoints can be found in Marine Notice No 20 of 2024, attached below.

The works will be conducted by the vessel MV Detector (callsign OUIV2) which will display the relevant lights and shapes during periods of restricted manoeuvrability and adhere to the International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) and all licensing requirements.

During OOS cutting operations, the vessel will keep a listening watch on VHF Channel 16 and will actively transmit an AIS signal. A listening watch will also be maintained on VTS VHF channels as appropriate. The vessel will broadcast daily, and at shorter intervals as may be required by passing traffic, the vessel position, operational information and planned operations for the next 24 hours.

Maps and coordinates as well as contact details are included in the Marine Notice below.

The Department of Transport has been advised by Dublin Array that they will be conducting geophysical, geotechnical and environmental surveys for the Dublin Array offshore wind farm project.

Site investigation operations for the wind farm and the Expert Corridor Route (ECR) between the coast of Dublin and Wicklow will take place between Friday 19 April and the end of July, subject to weather and operational constraints.

The geophysical survey will be carried out by the vessel Fugro Helmert (callsign C6FT8). During these operations, the vessel will be towing equipment at a depth of up to five metres below the surface and extending some 300 metres astern.

The geotechnical survey will be carried out by the vessel M/V Flat Holm (callsign GHLZ) at fixed stations. The environmental survey will be carried out by the vessel Ros Áine (callsign EIZG5) in daytime hours only.

All vessels will be mobilised from Dun Laoghaire and will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre, therefore all other mariners are advised to provide a wide berth and navigate with caution in the relevant area.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area, as well as contact details, can be found in Marine Notice No 18 of 2024, attached below.

Fuinneamh Sceirde Teoranta (FST) will be undertaking both a geotechnical survey and geophysical survey for the Sceirde Rocks Windfarm Project in the Western Coastal Area (Connemara/Outer Galway Bay) and Atlantic Ocean, between Monday 15 April and Monday 10 June, subject to weather and operational constraints.

These surveys follow last September’s geophysical survey and will be undertaken by the multi-purpose offshore vessel Dina Polaris (callsign CQOF), which is fitted with a geotechnical drilling rig, and the research vessel Lady Kathleen (callsign EIXT2). Both vessels will operate up to 24 hours per day and will be displaying the appropriate lights and shapes.

During operations, the vessels will be restricted in their ability to manoeuvre. Therefore, passing vessels are requested to leave a wide berth during the deployment operations. Radio transmissions will be conducted with other seafarers to notify them of the operations. The vessels will be monitoring VHF Channel 16 at all times for safety purposes.

The equipment for each survey will be deployed within the bounds of the survey areas detailed in Marine Notice No 17 of 2024, attached below.

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.

Following the first and second legs in February and March, the third leg of this year’s Irish Anglerfish and Megrim Survey (IAMS 2024) is being carried out from Friday 12 to Sunday 21 April.

Surveys will be conducted to the North and North-West Coasts of Ireland by the Marine Institute in fulfilment of Ireland’s obligations under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Leg 3 is a demersal trawl survey consisting of approximately 50 otter trawls, each of 60 minutes duration, in ICES area 6a. Fishing in 2024 will take place within a three-nautical-mile radius of the positions indicated in Appendices 1 and 2 of Marine Notice No 12 of 2024, a PDF of which is attached 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 Jackson demersal trawl during fishing operations.

The Marine Institute requests that commercial fishing and other marine operators keep a 3nm radius area around the tow points clear of any gear or apparatus during the survey period.

Further details are included in the Marine Notice below.

The Department of Transport has been advised that Next Geosolutions will perform shallow geotechnical surveys, pUXO ID surveys and KP5 Omega Loop surveys as part of the Celtic Interconnector Project cable route between the South-East Coast of Ireland and the coast of France.

The survey is expected to be completed over a 10-day period from this Wednesday 10 April, subject to weather and operational constraints.

Survey operations will be conducted within the cable corridor extending around 50m each side of the planned cable centreline.

The survey vessel NG Worker (callsign ICID) will carry out the survey works. Mariners are advised to provide a wide berth and navigate with caution in the area.

During survey operations, the vessel will keep a listening watch on VHF Channel 16 and will actively transmit an Automatic Identification System (AIS) signal. A listening watch will also be maintained on VTS VHF channels as appropriate.

The survey vessel shall broadcast daily, and at shorter intervals as may be required by passing traffic, the vessel position, operational information and planned operations for the next 24 hours. It is requested that fixed fishing gear within 1,000m of the route centreline be removed.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 13 of 2024 attached below.

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.

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.