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Seismic Survey Under Way In Porcupine Basin Till July

20th April 2017
The Geo Coral was one of four C-class vessels to join the CGG hydrographic fleet in 2013 The Geo Coral was one of four C-class vessels to join the CGG hydrographic fleet in 2013 Credit: CGG

#MarineNotice - Geoscience company CGG is currently conducting a 3D seismic survey off the South West Coast of Ireland in the Porcupine Basin.

The three-month survey was scheduled to begin on Tuesday 11 April and will continue till Saturday 15 July. The vessels involved will be the Geo Coral (Callsign LACA8), Bourbon Tern (Callsign 5BDQ4), Marianne G (Callsign 3FTA9) and Stormbas 2 (Callsign V4EM2).

The Geo Coral is towing a multi-sensor streamer including 14 streamers with a 100m separation of an 8km length and a depth of 12 metres.

Yellow tail buoys will be towed at the end of each streamer, approximately 8.7km (4.7nm) behind the Geo Coral. Each tail buoy will have a light flashing Morse code 'U' with an interval of approximately 7 seconds.

There will be regular safety message broadcasting on VHF Channel 16 by the Geo Coral and accompanying vessels Marianne G and Stormbas 2 throughout the project. Seismic activity will be protected by support and chase vessels.

All vessels, particularly those engaged in fishing, are requested to give the Geo Coral and the towed equipment a wide berth and keep a sharp lookout in the relevant areas. In case of any doubt, call the Geo Coral on VHF Channel 16 and a safe course to follow will be given.

Full details of co-ordinates for the survey area are included in Marine Notice No 13 of 2017, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in News Update
MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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