#Coastguard - Two helicopters from the Irish Coast Guard's new long-range rescue fleet were dispatched in a multi-agency response to a sunken fishing trawler off the Isles of Scilly in the early hours of this morning (Tuesday 19 May).

As TheJournal.ie reports, the coastguard's Rescue 115 from Shannon and Rescue 117 from Waterford were both tasked to respond to the emergency 75 miles west of the islands off the tip of Cornwall in south west England – themselves some 150 nautical miles south of Waterford.

Luckily the trawler's skipper and five crew were picked up from their liferaft by passing Irish trawler Cu Na Mara, on which they are expected to reach Castletownbere this afternoon.

TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

#Coastguard - All water-based emergency calls to 999 or 112 will be relayed directly to the Irish Coast Guard, as The Irish Times reports.

The new measure – first considered by then Transport Minister Leo Varadkar in July 2013 – comes in the wake of recommendations from the report on the Tit Bonhomme tragedy off West Cork in January 2012, which took the live of five fishermen.

It was found that two mobile phones were used to call for help when the trawler's VHF radio failed, but the calls were handled by two separate centres with no co-ordination between them, and relayed separately to the coastguard and Gardaí.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

#IslandNews - A hillwalker in the Aran Islands was lucky to survive a 45-foot fall from a cliff top with only a broken leg, as The Irish Times reports.

The 21-year-old woman had been walking near the Wormhole on Inis Mór yesterday afternoon (Wednesday 8 April) when she was seen falling into the water.

A member of the local Irish Coast Guard unit said she was "very lucky" that whatever broke her fall meant she was spared more serious injury, or even death.

Local people walking in the area also went to her aid till she was airlifted to Galway for treatment.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

#Coastguard - Shannon-based Rescue 115's "milestone" year has been highlighted by the operator of Ireland's coastguard helicopter fleet.

In an interview with Aviation Today, CHC general operations manager Chris Hodson said 2014's "significant number of missions" was down to the introduction of state-of-the-art, long-range Sikorsky S92 helicopters across Ireland's four bases.

And in particular, the 310 missions flown by the Shannon chopper for the Irish Coast Guard were "quite an accomplishment for the crew".

Hodson said it was "a real milestone to have one aircraft on one base complete so many missions out into the North Atlantic."

This year, meanwhile, the focus is on providing the helicopters in Shannon, Dublin, Waterford and Sligo with night vision capabilities to enhance rescue efforts under cover of darkness.

Aviation Today has more on the story HERE.

#Rescue - Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 was dispatched yesterday morning (18 February) for a medevac of an injured fisherman.

As the Irish Independent reports, the casualty was on a Russian fishing vessel some 200 miles off the southwest coast, heading towards Castletownbere.

The operation comes just a week after another Russian crewman was airlifted from a factory ship off Cork after sustaining a hand injury.

The latest incident is believed to relate to a bleeding ulcer, and the casualty was expected to be transferred to the mainland for treatment by yesterday afternoon.

#Coastguard - A dog trapped on cliffs at Balscadden Bay was said to be "in good form" after he was rescued by volunteers with Howth Coast Guard yesterday afternoon (Sunday 4 January).

The dog, who became trapped while exploring the wilderness east of Howth village, was found on a ledge some four metres above the beach and was lowered to safety after the coastguard team used a ladder to reach him.

It marked a happy end to a weekend with dark beginnings as Howth Coast Guard recovered a body off the north end Dollymount Beach on Saturday 3 January.

These two callouts mark the first of 2015 for the North Dublin-based unit of the Irish Coast Guard, which had a busy 2014 going by this video review of the year.

#Coastguard - The Irish Coast Guard has reported another record year for both missions flown and lives saved, according to the Irish Examiner.

Among the stats announced by the rescue service for 2014 is a 72% increase in the number of people saved, in tandem with a drop in the total number of people who required coastguard assistance.

This is partly due to the expansion of the air ambulance service first trialled in Shannon last year - with that region's Rescue 115 helicopter breaking the 300-mission mark.

But severe storms early in the year, the warm summer months and growth in coastal tourism also contributed to a heightened demand for the coastguard's rescue teams.

In particular, calls to rescue surfers nearly doubled this year on 2013's figures.

The Irish Examiner has much more on the story HERE.

#ChineseLanterns - With Halloween celebrations kicking off this evening as soon as the sun goes down, Bundoran RNLI has a timely reminder for anyone considering lighting Chinese lanterns.

A simple courtesy call to the Irish Coast Guard to let them know in advance of any release of lighted lanterns into the sky will hopefully avoid any false alarm launched by coastguard and lifeboat rescue teams who could easily mistake the lights for distress flares.

#Coastguard - As the Facebook post above shows, the Irish Coast Guard has officially named the Shannon-based helicopter with the call sign Rescue 115 as Banríon na Spéire, or Queen of the Sky.

The search and rescue chopper, which was delivered to Shannon in February 2012, was the first of the coastguard's new fleet of Sikorsky S92 aircraft to go into service.

#Coastguard - Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has met with cabinet approval to the re-organisation of maritime safety and marine emergency which will combine the Irish Coast Guard (ICG) and Marine Survey Office (MSO).

According to today's Irish Times, the plan involves establishing a new body, the Irish Maritime Administration (IMA), which will direct the ICG and MSO.

The ICG is primarily responsible for emergency response to incidents on water, while the MSO monitors safety standards on boats and in ports.

However, the overhaul to allow for more civil servants involved in policy will have staff implications on the technical side, according to sources.

The ICG's radio station staff will be reduced from three-man to two-man watches, as 46 watch officer positions have fallen to 39. Retired staff may have to be hired on an ad-hoc basis, if budgets permit.