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Displaying items by tag: Louth

The search for a fisherman missing after a small fishing vessel with two on board sank off the coast of Co Louth on Tuesday morning (12 December) has been called off for the night.

RTÉ News reports that a second fisherman was rescued after the incident north of Dunany Point in Dundalk Bay, and is being treated at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.

A multi-agency search and rescue operation was launched following at Mayday call at 8.45am from the fishermen’s vessel, with lifeboat and coastguard teams from Clogherhead and Greenore joining the Dublin-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 116 at the scene.

Clogherhead RNLI says the search will resume on Wednesday morning (13 December), adding: “We are thinking of the family of the fisherman at this difficult time.”

Published in Fishing

#Kitesurfing - Tributes have been paid to the Irishman who died in a kitesurfing accident in Thailand last week.

Jonathan Wogan, 43 and originally from Co Louth, was a keen kitesurfer and a regular on the waves near his home in Hua Hin, Thailand where he lived with his wife Zulee and daughter Mia.

Local media reported that rescuers attempted to resuscitate Wogan after pulling him from the sea after the incident around noon local time (7pm Irish time) on Wednesday 20 December.

The Dundalk Democrat has more on the story HERE.

Published in Kitesurfing

#MaritimeFestivals - The 2016 Carlingford Oyster Festival kicks off this evening (Thursday 4 August) on the shores of Carlingford Lough with the official opening of the event that runs till Monday 8 August.

This Saturday (6 August) is when the festivities really under way, with local restaurants offering samples of their finest seafood dishes.

Visitors will have an opportunity to try some of the Co Louth town's renowned local oysters at the Festival Oyster Tent.

There will also be guided tours of what's one of Ireland's few remaining Medieval walled towns, to coincide with Irish Walled Towns Day on Sunday 7 August.

For more on the weekend's festivities see HERE.

Published in Maritime Festivals

#Coastguard - The Howth unit of the the Irish Coast Guard responded this weekend to a vessel that lost power at the mouth of the River Boyne.

Howth's coastguard crew were undertaking helm training with a passage to the Drogheda unit to support the Drogheda Marina launch when they were notified that a ski-boat planning to join the flotilla had lost power on the Drogheda Bar.

The vessel, with four people aboard, was taken under tow - while a mother and child on a second vessel suffering from serious sea-sickness were also transferred to the coastguard boat.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Drogheda Port Company undertook dredging works in January this year on the entrance to the port on the River Boyle, following earlier works in 2010 to remove sand accumulating at Drogheda Bar.

Published in Coastguard
Shillington's Quay in Portadown is set for redevelopment thanks to a significant grant from the European Union.
The Portadown Times reports that half of the borough's £200,000 (€230,000) funding will be used for a new floating jetty and environmental improvements for the Newry Canal quay area, which was last used as a working port in the 1930s.
A total of £2.5 million (€2.9 million) has been earmarked by the EU for promoting tourism in the cross-border East Border Region, which aside from six Northern Ireland council areas also includes the Irish counties of Louth, Meath and Monaghan.
Other improvements to marine and waterway facilities include a £125,000 (€145,000) investment for the Eisenhower Pier in Bangor, on the southern side of Belfast Lough.
The Portadown Times has more on the story HERE.

Shillington's Quay in Portadown is set for redevelopment thanks to a significant grant from the European Union.

The Portadown Times reports that half of the borough's £200,000 (€230,000) funding will be used for a new floating jetty and environmental improvements for the Newry Canal quay area, which was last used as a working port in the 1930s.

A total of £2.5 million (€2.9 million) has been earmarked by the EU for promoting tourism in the cross-border East Border Region, which aside from six Northern Ireland council areas also includes the Irish counties of Louth, Meath and Monaghan.

Other improvements to marine and waterway facilities include a £125,000 (€145,000) investment for the Eisenhower Pier in Bangor, on the southern side of Belfast Lough.

The Portadown Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Inland Waterways

A number of local Search and Rescue Units were involved in the search for a Kite Surfer who was seen being pulled out to sea approximately 3 miles off Balaggan Point, Co Louth yesterday, according to SAR Ireland.

Full CH 67 Comms below.

Kilkeel, Greenore and later Clogher Head lifeboats were all involved along with a passing yacht as they raced in pursuit of what was thought to be an out of control Kite Surfer as he was spotted being pulled out across Dundalk Bay.

Clogher Head lifeboat eventually managed to catch up with the surfer who it turned out was being towed by a jetski, had a VHF handheld and was in no danger whatsoever.

All units were stood down and told to return to base.

Both Belfast and Dublin CG Co-ordinated at different intervals of this search.

Published in Coastguard

Ferry & Car Ferry News The ferry industry on the Irish Sea, is just like any other sector of the shipping industry, in that it is made up of a myriad of ship operators, owners, managers, charterers all contributing to providing a network of routes carried out by a variety of ships designed for different albeit similar purposes.

All this ferry activity involves conventional ferry tonnage, 'ro-pax', where the vessel's primary design is to carry more freight capacity rather than passengers. This is in some cases though, is in complete variance to the fast ferry craft where they carry many more passengers and charging a premium.

In reporting the ferry scene, we examine the constantly changing trends of this sector, as rival ferry operators are competing in an intensive environment, battling out for market share following the fallout of the economic crisis. All this has consequences some immediately felt, while at times, the effects can be drawn out over time, leading to the expense of others, through reduced competition or takeover or even face complete removal from the marketplace, as witnessed in recent years.

Arising from these challenging times, there are of course winners and losers, as exemplified in the trend to run high-speed ferry craft only during the peak-season summer months and on shorter distance routes. In addition, where fastcraft had once dominated the ferry scene, during the heady days from the mid-90's onwards, they have been replaced by recent newcomers in the form of the 'fast ferry' and with increased levels of luxury, yet seeming to form as a cost-effective alternative.

Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!