The Department of Transport has been advised by Asso.subsea that trenching and boulder clearance operations will take place in the Irish Sea on behalf of the Celtic Interconnector Designated Activity Company (CIDAC).
The operations will be undertaken along the planned route of the Celtic Interconnector Project offshore cable route between the South-East Coast of Ireland and the coast of France.
Works are anticipated to take place between this Wednesday 21 August and Tuesday 1 October, subject to weather and operational constraints.
The trenching will be conducted by the trenching support vessel Aethra (callsign SVDM6). Due to the deployment of towed survey equipment from the vessel for the duration of the survey activities, the survey vessel will be restricted in its ability to manoeuvre and as such other vessels are kindly requested to keep a wide berth.
Aethra will display appropriate lights and signals, will keep a listening watch on VHF Channel 16 and will actively transmit an AIS signal. A listening watch will also be maintained on VTS VHF channels as appropriate.
The trenching vessel will broadcast daily, and at shorter intervals as may be required by passing traffic, the vessel position, operational information, and planned operations for the following 24-hour period. Mariners are advised to keep continuous watch on VHF Channel 16 when navigating the area.
Further information including a map, coordinates and contact details can be found in Marine Notice No 47 of 2024, attached below.
