Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

It has been a long time coming. Royal Ulster's Opening Day will be on Saturday 1st May. Although this is an annual event, it will have its own particular difficulties this year due to the Covid restrictions. Opening Day is…

Plans announced by Belfast Harbour is to see a full refurbishment of the Victoria Terminal 1 Roll-on Roll-off ferry berth this summer. The terminal is from where Stena Line operate their Belfast-Heysham freight service. The programme of work, which represents…

The Sunday Life recently highlighted the decision by Downtown Radio Star Neil McClelland to support Lagan Search & Rescue. Lagan S&R is an independent Lifeboat covering the seaward River Lagan and Belfast Lough; It relies on the generosity and support…

Harland & Wolff, the iconic shipyard with over 160 years of maritime and offshore engineering pedigree has announced it has been awarded a contract by Saipem Limited for the fabrication and load-out of eight wind turbine generator (WTG) jacket foundations.…

Harland & Wolff, the national strategic asset, with four leading shipyards and fabrication facilities based in Belfast, Appledore, and Scotland is proud to be celebrating its 160th anniversary. Founded on April 11 1861 by Sir Edward James Harland and Gustav…

Coastguard and Lifeboat rescue teams have been extremely busy over the Easter Weekend and of course, answer distress calls without hesitation. But Belfast Coastguard Operations Centre has reported a hoax call. Both Bangor and Portaferry Coastguard Rescue Teams were tasked…

Even the weather played ball for the Return to Water at Ballyholme Yacht Club on Belfast Lough this Easter weekend. And there was no shortage of members keen to get afloat. Commodore Aidan Pounder kicked the day off with an…

 It isn't an April Fool! Thursday will be to Bangor Marina berth holders the end of a long-awaited return to their craft after a roller coaster of lockdown, opening up and lockdown again over the past year. In Harbour Master…

Scientists from NUI Galway and Seasearch Ireland are asking divers and marina users to keep an eye out for Undaria pinnatifida, commonly known as Wakame or Japanese kelp. This species was first recorded in Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland in 2012,…

Belfast Lough based Artemis Technologies, which is leading a programme to develop a new class of zero-emission high-speed vessels, has unveiled the world's most advanced marine simulator in Northern Ireland. The simulator represents a multi-million-pound investment over the past decade…

A mother and daughter were hospitalised after going overboard from a ferry in Belfast Lough on Thursday evening (25 February). As BBC News reports, the pair were rescued from the water by emergency response crews from the Stena Horizon and…

Northern Ireland's biggest sailing event, Bangor Town Regatta, scheduled for June has been cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. The Belfast Lough biennial event has sadly joined the queue of cancelled sailing events this year. Chairman of the BTR Organising…

Staff numbers at Artemis Technologies, which is leading a Belfast Lough-based consortium to decarbonise maritime, are expected to almost treble to 70 by the end of 2021 and rise to 100 by this time next year. It is part of…

Queen's Parade on the seafront in Bangor on Belfast Lough has been largely derelict for well over twenty years. But just this week the Ards and North Down Borough Council approved a £50m scheme for large scale redevelopment of the…

Bangor Coastguard has issued a warning after a surfer was spotted close to an inbound Stena ferry in Belfast Lough on Monday (25 January) as Afloat reported earlier here. As the Belfast Telegraph reports, a team from Bangor Coastguard kept…

Belfast Lough based Artemis Technologies has moved to the next phase in the development of its Artemis eFoilerTM electric propulsion system, announcing plans to launch a technology demonstrator in 2021. Announced by Artemis Technologies COO, Prof. Mark Gillan, during a…