Displaying items by tag: New Police Boat

27th June 2021

Belfast Harbour Police Introduce New State-of-the-Art Policing Boat for Water Safety

Newly qualified Police Coxswains undertook their RYA Powerboat Advanced Course in preparation for deploying of the Belfast Harbour Police's first police boat, the Bowstead. The custom-built RIB boat, Afloat adds is a Redbay Stormforce 7.4, whose officers have been trained in boat-handling, seamanship, pilotage and navigational skills.

Belfast Harbour Police has welcomed the arrival of its first fully equipped Police boat which will improve water safety and crime prevention along the city's popular waterfront.

The patrol boat which forms part of a programme of investment in water safety, is named Bowstead, after John Bowstead, the first Constable appointed to police the quays in Belfast during 1824.

Bowstead will operate on waterways within Belfast Harbour, focusing on public access quays and areas popular with visitors.

A fully trained crew of Belfast Harbour Police Officers will be supporting the Harbour’s ambition to be a safe and attractive place for everyone.

The boat was manufactured by Redbay Boats in Cushendall, Co. Antrim and will also support Belfast Harbour Police’s joint operations with Lagan Search and Rescue, the PSNI and Border Force.

Published in Belfast Lough

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About World Ocean Day

World Ocean Day is celebrated annually on June 8th to highlight the important role the ocean has for our life and the planet. The focus each year is on the 30x30 campaign: to create a healthy ocean with abundant wildlife and to stabilise the climate, it is critical that 30% of our planet’s lands, waters, and oceans are protected by 2030.

One of the issues affecting our ocean is marine litter which has become a global problem for both humans and marine life. However, communities around Ireland have demonstrated their desire to be part of the solution by taking part in several beach cleaning and clean-up calls to action.

Statistics show that the number one cause of marine litter is litter dropped in towns and cities.

In 2021, the initiative changed its name from “World Oceans Day” to “World Ocean Day”. By dropping the “s”, its organisers wanted to highlight the fact that we are all connected by a large ocean. This shared ocean supports all life on the planet, by producing most of the oxygen we breathe and regulating climate. No matter where we live, we all depend on the ocean to survive.

This means that each piece of marine litter removed from a beach, river, lake, park or street in Ireland, will have a positive impact on a global scale.