Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Mizzen Basin

#MarineNotice - CGG, on behalf of Fastnet Oil & Gas, is scheduled to carry out a full 3D seismic survey at Mizzen Basin in the Celtic Sea off the south-west coast beginning this month.

Details of this survey - as part of Fastnet's option on the Deep Kinsale Prospect - were previously reported on Afloat.ie but some details have been amended since.

The survey is expected to run for 35 days, subject to weather.

For full details - including co-ordinates of the work areas - see Marine Notice No 22 of 2013, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Published in Marine Warning

#Oil&Gas - Fastnet Oil & Gas has been awarded a new licensing option in the North Celtic Sea off the Cork coast.

The East Mizzen option covers a number of blocks in the Mizzen Basin, plus the western end of the North Celtic Sea Option, covering a tittle area of 1,155 sq km and contiguous with the previously awarded Mizzen option.

The 18-month option requires the reprocessing of a minimum of 400km of existing 2D seismic data, which has indicated the presence of light oil in some areas.

Fastnet managing director Paul Griffiths commented: "We are delighted to have added to our inventory of material prospective structures in the Mizzen area ... This has allowed us to capitalise on the interest being shown by the industry in our farm-out process in this particularly under-explored, yet highly prospective, basin.

"It has also allowed us to maximise the value of our on-going 3D seismic acquisition by creating 'running room' for potential farminees that have identified the Mizzen Basin as a new emerging shallow water exploration province offshore Ireland."

Earlier this year, as reported on Afloat.ie, Fastnet executed its exclusive option agreement to farm into its nearby Deep Kinsale Prospect, with plans to drill the prospect in 2014.

Published in Coastal Notes

Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

© Afloat 2020