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#COASTGUARD - Representaives of Italy's coastguard will give an account of its handling of the Costa Concordia tragedy at an international conference in Dublin next month, The Irish Times reports.

The Italian coastguard has been invited to deliver the keynote address at Search and Rescue 2012, which is being hosted in Ireland for the first time.

It is expected that this address will include a detailed account of the sinking of the cruise liner Costa Concordia last month.

At least 17 people have died and 12 are still missing after the ship ran aground on the western Italian coast. One Irish couple were among the thousands rescued from the stricken vessel.

Meanwhile, attendees at the conference - which is being hosted in the year of Ireland's charing of the EU coastguard network - will also witness demonstrations of the Irish Coast Guard's rescue helicopter fleet at Weston Airport in Leixlip.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds has been charged with preparing the grounds for a permanent secretariat to be run by EU coastguard officers.

Published in Coastguard
Ireland is bidding to bring the proposed Europe-wide coastguard secretariat to Dublin, The Irish Times reports.
Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds is in charge of setting up the new office as chair of the EU Heads of Coast Guard network, many functions of which it is expected to assume.
The secretariat - which will meet in Dublin while the particulars of its compositoon are worked out - aims to share search and rescue resources across the EU, as well as assist in pollution response, patrolling of fisheries and maritime security.
One of Reynolds' main tasks is to "draw up procedures for improved co-operation between European coast guards" and those of non-EU members Norway, Iceland and Russia.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Ireland is bidding to bring the proposed Europe-wide coastguard secretariat to Dublin, The Irish Times reports.

Irish Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds is in charge of setting up the new office as chair of the EU Heads of Coast Guard network, many functions of which it is expected to assume.

The secretariat - which will meet in Dublin while the particulars of its compositoon are worked out - aims to share search and rescue resources across the EU, as well as assist in pollution response, patrolling of fisheries and maritime security.

One of Reynolds' main tasks is to "draw up procedures for improved co-operation between European coast guards" and those of non-EU members Norway, Iceland and Russia.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastguard

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!