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AfloatDigi 2018 CHMarine SafetySection

Search & Rescue, Water Safety - News from the Marine Safety Agencies
A decision was made to transfer the casualty onto the Ballyglass RNLI lifeboat from the fishing vessel where they were then brought back to shore
In the early hours of Sunday, January 7th, Ballyglass RNLI, located in north-west County Mayo, was called to the aid of an injured fisherman. The volunteer crew was alerted by Malin Head Coast Guard to launch their all-weather lifeboat at…
The mission was carried out by the Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard Helicopter R115
In a joint operation between the Marine Rescue Sub-Centre in Valentia and the UK Coast Guard, a casualty from a merchant vessel was successfully rescued from 120 miles off the South West Coast. The mission was carried out by the…
Skerries RNLI shore crew recovering the inshore lifeboat
Skerries RNLI were tasked on Saturday morning (30 December) following a call to Dublin Coast Guard reporting that a kitesurfer was in difficulty off Portrane beach. The Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Louis Simson was launched by s shortly after 11.30am.…
The inshore lifeboat Jean Spier approaches the 20ft cruiser reported aground west of Garrykennedy Harbour on Saturday 30 December
On Saturday 30 December, Valentia Coast Guard requested Lough Derg RNLI to launch to investigate whether anyone was in trouble aboard a 20ft cruiser reported aground west of Garrykennedy Harbour. At 3.30pm the inshore lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Eleanor…
A simulated Major Incident Exercise will take place in January on the University of Limerick north campus as Paramedic Studies students, emergency personnel from Limerick Fire and Rescue Service, National Ambulance Service and the Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) of the Irish Defence Forces (bomb squad) accompanied by An Garda Siochána responded to a highly realistic training exercise
A swift water rescue in the River Shannon is one of several situations which students will have to respond to at a major incident exercise at the University of Limerick. Loading a stretcher onto an Irish Coast Guard helicopter while…
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Powered primarily by kind donations, its search and rescue service has saved lives for 200 years
The RNLI has declined to accept proceeds from a foxhunting event which was due to take place today (Dec 31) in Dungarvan, Co Waterford. As first reported by The Waterford News and Star and then The Daily Telegraph, the event…
The yacht in difficulty off Lambay Island prior to rescue by the Howth RNLI lifeboat
The volunteer lifeboat crew of Howth RNLI launched their All-Weather Lifeboat yesterday (Friday, 29 December) to reports of a yacht with two people on board that was being blown offshore and unable to make its way back to safety. Shortly…
Arranmore RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat at sea in the background with three dolphins in the foreground
“On the application of the local residents, the RNLI committee decided to open a lifeboat establishment on Arranmore Island. The site for the boathouse and slipway was kindly granted by the landed proprietor Lieutenant F Charley, and the expense of…
The year in figures August was the busiest month in 2023. The 44 Coast Guard Units were mobilised on 1,278 separate occasions. Coast Guard Helicopters conducted 796 missions. Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboats were tasked on 850 occasion Community inshore…
The annual ceremony has become a Christmas Eve tradition for the Dublin lifeboat station. Both Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s inshore and all-weather lifeboat launched and the volunteer lifeboat crew laid the wreaths off the east pier in view of the public. 
Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew gathered at noon on Christmas Eve, with around 200 people, at the end of the East Pier to lay wreaths at sea and remember 15 of their lifeboat colleagues who lost their lives…
The Medevac of the casualty from the vessel off the Galway coast
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has said that boarding and disembarking risk assessment and associated policies and procedures should “immediately be reviewed” after the serious injury of a diver working on salmon farms off the Galway coast. The 33-year-old…
Organisers of Christmas Day or New Year swims are advised to have suitably trained personnel in attendance and to appoint a Safety Officer
The Coast Guard, Water Safety Ireland and the RNLI have issued a joint appeal for the festive season, urging people to be mindful of the potential risks with their chosen activity and attend to their personal safety in planning and…
Tom MacSweeney
Cork maritime journalist and Afloat.ie columnist Tom MacSweeney contributes this week to 200 Voices, the special podcast series marking 200 years of the RNLI. Also featuring in the series this week is MacSweeney’s erstwhile colleague when he was marine correspondent…
The RNLI Christmas Eve 2022 ceremony at the East Pier, Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay
At noon on Christmas Eve (Sunday, 24 December) Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew will gather at the end of the East Pier to lay wreaths at sea and remember 15 of their lifeboat colleagues who lost their lives…
Caitríona Lucas died after the boat she was crewing on capsized off the Clare coast
Former head of the Irish Coast Guard, Chris Reynolds, has claimed that staffing cuts by the Department of Transport were contributory factors in the death of Caitriona Lucas and the Rescue 116 helicopter crash, which claimed four lives. As The…
Karl O’Neill, Anthony Chambers and Jason Chamber
Christmas is a time for family and, for many, a time for sharing stories of times and generations past. For the Chambers family from Portrush, on Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast, these stories often involve saving lives at sea. Jason Chambers…

Every Year Ireland's Search & Rescue Services deliver emergency life saving work on our seas, lakes and rivers.

Ireland's Water Safety Agencies work hard to provide us with the information we need to keep safe, while enjoying all manner of water based activities.

There's no better fun than getting out on the water but being afloat is a responsibility we all need to take seriously.

These pages detail the work of the rescue agencies. We also aim to promote safety standards among pleasure boaters, and by doing so, prevent, as far as possible, the loss of life at sea and on inland waters. If you have ideas for our pages we'd love to hear from you. Please email us at [email protected]

Think Before You Sink - Wear a Lifejacket

Accidents can happen fast on water and there may not be time to reach for a lifejacket in an emergency therefore don't just carry a lifejacket - wear it; if it's not on you, it can't save your life.

Irish Water Safety's Safe Boating Alert:

Check condition of boat and equipment, hull, engine, fuel, tools, torch.

Check the weather forecast for the area.

Check locally concerning dangerous currents and strong tides.

Do not drink alcohol while setting out or during your trip.

Carry an alternative means of propulsion e.g. sails and oars or motor and oars.

Carry a first aid kit on board and distress signals (at least two parachute distress rockets, two red hand flares).

Carry a fire extinguisher, a hand bailer or bucket with lanyard and an anchor with rope attached.

Carry marine radio or some means of communication with shore.

Do not overload the boat - this will make it unstable.

Do not set out unless accompanied by an experienced person.

Leave details of your planned trip with someone ashore - including departure and arrival times, description of boat, names of persons on board, etc.

Wear a Lifejacket at all times.

Keep an eye on the weather - seek shelter in good time.

In Marine Emergencies, call 999 or 112 and ask for Marine Rescue.

Lifejackets Checklist

Ensure Cartridges have not been punctured and are secured firmly.

Ensure all zips, buckles, fasteners and webbing straps are functioning correctly and adjusted to fit the user.

Check that fitted lights are operating correctly.

Ensure that Automatic Inflation devices are fully serviced and in date.

Check that the valve or lifejacket is not leaking.