The final Marine Notice of 2023 draws attention to and provides information regarding the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM Convention).

These 2023 regulations give effect to the Convention in Ireland and the specific compliance requirements that apply to particular vessels in the immediate term and with effect from 29 February 2024.

Under these regulations, all ships are required to manage their ballast water and sediments to a certain standard, according to a ship-specific ballast water management plan, and to carry a ballast water record book.

Ships of 400 gross tonnes and over are also required to carry an international ballast water management certificate.

The regulations apply to all Irish ships and to foreign-flagged ships under port state control.

For further details, see Marine Notice No 83 of 2023, attached below.

The Marine Survey Office (MSO) of the Department of Transport is seeking applications from interested parties who wish to act as Recognised Security Organisations - RSO (Ports) for the period from January 2024 to 31 December 2028.

The authorisation will cover work as an RSO in relation to both Regulation EC 725/2004 on enhancing ship and port facility security and Directive 2005/65/EC on enhancing port security.

The closing date for receipt of completed applications is 3pm on Tuesday 16 January 2024.

Requirements and conditions for application are set out in the annex of Marine Notice No 82 of 2023, attached below.

Completed applications should be returned to the Marine Survey Office by post, or by email to [email protected].

The Department of Transport has been made aware of a Safety Recall Notice for AWG fire hose nozzles by the EU Commission’s Safety Gate rapid alert system.

The affected nozzles are type HS 10, HS 12, HS 16 and HS 20, country of origin Germany, marked with batch number “EN15182-1/3 2015” on the nozzle cap and “55” marked inside the orange tube.

They were most likely supplied during weeks 24 to 37 in
2015.

According to the EU notice, the product is defective and does not comply with the requirements of the Marine Equipment Directive or with the European Standard EN 15182- 1.

The notice adds that the nozzle is not robust enough to withstand working pressure of 16 bar and may burst. As a result, the user may be injured due to bursting or suffer burns when extinguishing a fire.

For more details on the safety recall, see Marine Notice No 81 of 2023 attached below.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage has issued a direction regarding activities requiring prior ministerial approval within the site of the proposed special protection area (SPA) for seabirds in the North-West Irish Sea.

As reported earlier this year on Afloat.ie, the proposed new SPA will cover over 230,000 hectares extending out from Dublin Bay to as far north as Dunany Point in Co Louth, and will increase Ireland’s percentage of marine waters protected under the EU Birds and Habitats directive to over nine per cent.

The list of Activities Requiring Consent relating to the SPA includes the following:

• Reclamation, including infilling.
• Blasting, drilling, dredging or otherwise removing or disturbing fossils, rock, minerals, mud, sand, gravel or other sediment.
• Introduction, or re-introduction, of plants or animals not found in the area. (Consent is not required for the planting of crops on established reseeded grassland or cultivated land.)
• Undertaking scientific research involving the collection and removal of biological material.
• Any activity intended to disturb birds, including by mechanical, air, gas, wind-powered or audible means.
• Developing or consenting to the development or operation of commercial recreational/visitor facilities or organised recreational activities.
• Undertaking active acoustic surveys in the marine environment.

Observations in relation to the classification of the site may be submitted by interested parties and must be supported by scientifically based ornithological criteria.

Any objections to the classification of the site as a SPA or the Ministerial Direction may be lodged with the National Parks and Wildlife service.

The closing date for receipt of any observations or objections is 19 February 2024 and further details are included in Marine Notice No 80 of 2023, attache below.

The Department of Transport has issued a reminder regarding several circulars in relation to compliance with Chapter IV of the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) as it pertains to radio communications and distress alerts.

These circulars detail the following:

• Guidance for the Reception of Maritime Safety Information and Search and Rescue Related Information as required in the GMDSS
• Flow Chart: GMDSS Operating Guidance for Ships in Distress Situations
• Procedure for Responding to DSC Distress Alerts by Ships
• Guidance on Distress Alerts

The guidance set out in these circulars will come into effect on 1 January 2024 and mariners are requested to ensure that they comply with the relevant procedures.

Each of the above circulars is included as an appendix to Marine Notice No 77 of 2023, attached below.

The European Union (Registration of Persons Sailing on board Passenger Ships) Regulations 2019 (SI No 677 of 2019), transposing Council Directive 98/41/EC as amended by Directive 2002/84/EC, entered into force on 19 December 2019.

It requires the reporting of persons on board passenger ships via SafeSeasIreland or via a vessel’s Automatic Information System (AIS).

A transitional period up to 19 December 2023 was provided for in the directive and regulations which allowed the reporting of persons on board to continue via the operating company’s passenger registrar located ashore.

The requirements affect all seagoing passenger ships on international voyages and a number of domestic passenger ships.

As the transitional period will end shortly, the requirements for reporting of persons on board passenger ships from 20 December 2023 onward are set out in Marine Notice No 76 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport has been advised that a geophysical survey, remotely operated vehicle (ROV) diving and an offshore survey of gas pipeline landfalls in Scotland’s Brighouse Bay and Ross Bay, Kirkcudbright and Ireland (Loughshinny and Gormanston) will take place between Tuesday 14 November and the end of December, subject to weather and operational constraints.

Survey works on the Irish Sea gas interconnector will begin in Scottish waters on 14 November before moving into Irish waters on Sunday 19 November.

The survey vessels will conduct a geophysical, ROV and offshore survey of the pipeline landfalls. These shallow water surveys will extend to a depth of approximately 10m below the lowest astronomical tide (LAT) at each location.

The surveys will be conducted by the vessels AMS Panther (callsign 2EHC2) and 4Winds (callsign PCPE) which will work on a 24-hour basis, the former near-shore to some 10m below chart datum and the latter outside that.

During the surveys and ROV diving operations, the vessels will be displaying the relevant day shapes and night lights and will be monitoring VHF Channels 12 and 16.

Due to ROV operations being operated from the vessel, all other passing vessels are requested to leave a wide berth during the operations and operate at minimum speed to reduce vessel wash.

Coordinates and a map of the survey areas as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 75 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport has been advised that the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) intends to undertake a geophysical survey campaign on the proposed offshore wind farm’s cable corridor area off the coast of counties Dublin, Meath and Louth.

This campaign will start on Wednesday 22 November and will continue for a period of two weeks, subject to weather and operational constraints.

It will be undertaken by SEP Hydrographic and will involve the deployment of a hull-mounted (multibeam echo sounder and high-frequency sub-bottom profiler) and towed geophysical sensors (side-scan sonar, magnetometer and medium-frequency sub-bottom profiler) within the nearshore part of the cable corridor area.

Survey work will be confined to nearshore area of the proposed cable corridor area, a total area of approximately 2.5 sq km. The survey area extends to landfall near Bremore. All operations will be within the 12-nautical-mile limit.

The survey will be conducted by the survey Vessel Ros Áine (callsign EIZG5) on a 12-hour (daylight operation) basis. As the survey vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre when surveying, due to the deployment of the towed survey sampling equipment for the duration of the survey activities, other vessels are kindly requested to keep a wide berth. The Ros Áine will display appropriate lights and signals.

Coordinates and a map of the survey area as well as contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 74 of 2023, attached below.

The Department of Transport advises that the manufacturer Paroc Group Oy, a subsidiary of Owens Corning, has issued a product safety recall for certain forms of deck and bulkhead insulation that it produces.

This recall follows independent testing where it was found that the products failed to meet the requirements for the respective Marine Equipment Directive 2014/90/EU (MED) fire integrity tests.

It is understood that the supply of these products in newbuild ships in Ireland has been limited but it is possible that it may have been installed by third-party suppliers for repair and modification purposes.

If you have non-installed stock of Paroc Marine’s Navis Mat, Navis Slab and Navis Wired Mat insulation products, as detailed in Marine Notice No 72 of 2023 attached below, please inform Paroc as soon as possible.

If any such product is installed on board a vessel, the supplier should be contacted and a remedial action plan agreed with the Marine Survey Office as a matter of urgency.

Any queries in relation to this Marine Notice should be addressed to [email protected].

Following a recent MCIB report into a serious deck accident aboard a fishing vessel in Dingle Bay last year, the Department of Transport has published a Marine Notice reminding mariners of the dangers of fishing alone.

The MCIB report explains how a lone fisherman on the 9.9-metre An Portán Óir was shooting lobster pots on Friday 14 October 2022 when his leg became entangled in the pot ropes and he remained trapped until he was rescued around four hours later.

It was established that the lack of a personal locator beacon (PLB) was a contributing factor, and that the fisher’s severe pain experienced in the incident could have been alleviated if he had access to a knife.

In response to the report’s recommendations, the Marine Notice reminds owners and operators of fishing vessels of the dangers associated with fishing alone and of the importance of always wearing an approved personal flotation device/lifejacket and a personal location beacon while on deck. Personal locator beacons should be registered.

In addition, lone fishers are recommended to have a suitably protected knife on their person while on deck during fishing operations, especially during potting operations. Knives may also be secured at strategic locations on deck to be available quickly in case of entanglement.

Lone fishers are recommended to carry out a personal risk assessment before each voyage, to remind themselves of the potential risks and to take mitigation measures as required.

More information can be found in Marine Notice No 71 of 2023, attached below.