The Mobility of Sediment Waves and Sand Banks in the Irish Sea (MOVE) Survey will be carried out from Tuesday 31 March until Monday 13 April in the south Irish Sea, according to the latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

This survey is being carried out in support of ongoing research at the Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences (iCRAG).

The survey will be carried out by the RV Celtic Voyager (callsign: EQIN) using a variety of equipment and techniques, including ADCP, multibeam sonar and sediment sampling.

Work will be performed on a 24 hour schedule and the vessel will display appropriate lights and signals.

Details of all works entailed and the survey area are included in Marine Notice No 12 of 2020, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport advises that University College Dublin intends to deploy an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) sub-surface installation off the Aran Islands this Friday 28 February, weather permitting.

The deployment will occur around 0.6 nautical miles from Eeragh Lighthouse on Rock Island, off Inishmore, in a direction of 235°. The exact location co-ordinates are 53° 08' 34.437" N, 9° 52' 14.040" W.

The one-day deployment will be carried out by the MV Madelen (Callsign: EI4990). The vessel will display appropriate lights and signals.

Navigational warnings will be issued by radio when the marker buoy deployment takes place. Yellow, spherical marker buoys, 40cm in diameter, will be used. They will flash amber every five seconds.

For more information on this deployment visit www.highwave-project.eu

The first and second leg of 2020’s Irish Anglerfish and Megrim Survey will be carried out from next weekend off the West, South West and South Coasts of Ireland by the Marine Institute, in fulfilment of Ireland’s Common Fisheries Policy obligations.

As with previous years, IAMS 2020 — which will run from Sunday 23 February to Wednesday 18 March — is a demersal trawl survey consisting of approximately 110 otter trawls (60 minutes) in ICES areas 7b, 7c, 7g, 7h, 7j and 7k.

The survey will be conducted by the RV Celtic Explorer (Callsign: EIGB) which will be towing a Jackson demersal trawl during fishing operations and will display appropriate lights and signals.

Commercial fishing and other marine operators are requested to keep a three-nautical-mile radius area around the tow points (indicated below) clear of any gear or apparatus during the survey period outlined above.

Further details of the survey, including co-ordinates of the survey stations, are included in Marine Notice No 07 of 2020, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

The HSE has issued instructions for ships entering Irish ports regarding new protocol in relation to the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection crisis.

Masters of vessels entering Irish ports are required to:

• Complete and submit a Maritime Declaration of Health, via the SafeSeasIreland portal, where:
  • A ship has called to China within the past 30 days, or 
  • Crew members or passengers have joined the ship having been in China within the past 14 days, or
  • There is suspected contact with the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), or
  • There is a suspected Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) case on-board

and

• Submit an updated Crew List and, in the case of passenger ships, a Passenger List, via SafeSeasIreland.

This information is required to be submitted whether or not there is a suspected case on-board.

Full details are included in Marine Notice No 06 of 2020, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Waterways Ireland wishes to advise all masters of vessels and water users that the lock at Ardnacrusha power plant on the River Shannon will be closed for six weeks from Monday 20 January to Monday 2 March to facilitate essential maintenance works.

The cross-border body for Ireland’s inland waterways apologises for any inconvenience caused and thanks all vessel owners for their co-operation.

Waterways Ireland marks the New Year with a Special Marine Notice providing general information for boaters and users of Ireland’s inland waterways.

Masters and owners are strongly recommended to check the Waterways Ireland website for general information about the waterways and in particular the Marine Notices section which gives current operational information about the individual navigations such as works in progress, passage restrictions and more.

This Special Marine Notice contains advice and information on water safety, registration of vessels, usage permits and lock passage, berthing details and mooring limits, events taking place on the waterways in 2020, and much more.

The full notice can be found on the Waterways Ireland website HERE.

New limits for Wexford Harbour will be set from next Wednesday 1 January, according to the latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has signed into law the Harbours Act 1996 (Limits of Wexford Harbour) Order 2019 - SI No 625 of 2019.

The statutory instrument defines the new seaward limit of Wexford town’s harbour as an imaginary line drawn from Raven Point to Rosslare Point, and the inward limit at the southern side of the Old Bridge on the River Slaney in Enniscorthy.

This change was made following consultations with Wexford County Council; the Marine Survey Office; Marine Planning-Foreshore Section of the Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government; Waterways Ireland; and Inland Waterways Association of Ireland.

The Revenue Commissioners will prepare guidance material for their website and update relevant tax and duty manuals in advance of the upcoming ban on the use of green diesel for private pleasure craft, it is understood.

That’s according to the latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport which reminds boaters that the use of marked gas fuel as a propellant by private pleasure craft will be prohibited from 1 January 2020.

However, as reported earlier this week, oil suppliers at ports around Ireland’s coast have yet to be formally updated as to what changes are required under the new legislation. Afloat.ie has more on the story HERE.

The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport reminds water users of amendments to the 2017 edition of the Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Recreational Craft.

The Code of Practice is a valuable source of information, advice and best practice operational guidance for owners, masters, operators and users of a range of pleasure and recreational craft operating in Irish coastal and inland waters.

The content of the Code is kept under review in order to ensure that it remains up to date. Since the publication of the latest edition in November 2017, a number of revisions and updates have been identified. A list of these updates is available to view at Gov.ie.

The Code of Practice is a free document and hardcopies can be obtained on request, in both English and Irish, from the Maritime Safety Policy Division of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport at [email protected].

Gov.ie and Safetyonthewater.ie also have the Code available to view or download.

For further information on the Code, see Marine Notice No 26 of 2019, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

The Marine Institute’s Fisheries Ecosystems Advisory Services (FEAS) department will undertake a survey of herring off the West and North West Coasts from 1-10 December.

This survey is the fourth in a time series that is hoped will be developed into a long-term index of spawning/pre-spawning herring in ICES area 6a S/7b, for use in stock assessments in the future.

The overall 6a survey (6a N and 6a S/7b) is part of a collaborative partnership between Ireland, the Netherlands and UK (Scotland) that aims to improve understanding of the individual stock components of herring in 6a and 7b.

Next month’s survey will be conducted by the RV Celtic Voyager (callsign EIQN) using a towed body with two split-beam transducers (38 kHz and 120 kHz). The vessel will be trackable online during the survey.

In total around 1,100 nautical miles of cruise track will be undertaken with a mixture of parallel (spaced at 7.5 and 3.5 nm) and zig-zag transects. The vessel will display appropriate lights and signals.

Night operations will involve the towing of the two split-beam transducer. Fishing will take place opportunistically during daylight hours.

Contact details and co-ordinates of the relevant survey areas are included in Marine Notice No 50 of 2019, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.