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AfloatDigi 2018 CHMarine SafetySection

Search & Rescue, Water Safety - News from the Marine Safety Agencies
Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat launched to rescue a horse reported to have fallen into the Nenagh River and carried downstream into the Lough Derg. At 12.35pm today, January 1, Lough Derg RNLI Lifeboat was requested to launch by Valentia Coast Guard following a…
#Coastguard - The Irish Coast Guard has had its busiest year since 1991, as RTÉ News reports. As of yesterday (Wednesday 30 December), coastguard teams nationwide had completed a combined total of 2,657 missions – an increase of 1% on…
The Shannon Coast Guard helicopter has medevac'ed a Spanish crewman from a trawler 120 nautical miles SSW of Mizen Head, in County Cork, one of the extreme points of the island of Ireland. 
#Coastguard - Two callouts on St Stephen's Day brought the Irish Coast Guard's total annual helicopter rescue missions to the 1,000 mark for the first time since the service began in 1991, as RTÉ News reports. Sligo's Rescue 118 had…
#Xmas - The Irish Coast Guard responded to a surprising distress call this week as a man reported falling off his sleigh over Dollymount Strand. But this was no hoax call, as the Irish Examiner reports. And the VIP, in…
#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that a Marine Institute monkfish and megrim trawl survey will be carried out off the west and southwest coasts of Ireland between 4 and…
#Coastguard - Waterford's coastguard helicopter went to the aid of three men and a dog whose boat was grounded on a sandbank near Rosslare Strand yesterday evening (Wednesday 23 December). As BreakingNews.ie reports, coastguard units from Rosslare and Carnsore joined…
The Sligo based Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 118, is helping to bring Christmas cheer to Tory Island off the Donegal coast. Nine (9) islanders who otherwise would not have got home for Christmas are this afternoon being flown from Donegal…
#Rescue - An elderly man with a suspected broken ankle was rescued from one of Northern Ireland's most popular coastal walks at the weekend, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. The injured man was on a part of the Causeway Coast…
Kilrush RNLI Lifeboat crew on the Shannon Estuary launched early this morning in gale force conditions to assist 43ft motor vessel that had fouled its propeller south of Moneypoint. At 4.59am Shannon Coast Guard tasked Kilrush RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew…
The Courtmacsherry RNLI All Weather Lifeboat under Coxswain Sean O'Farrell was called out at 11am this morning to go to the aid of a 46 ft fishing vessel that had got into difficulties 14 miles south of The Old Head…
Two volunteers representing continuing generations of lifeboat service with the RNLI will lead the annual Christmas Eve ceremony on Dun Laoghaire’s East Pier next week. Former crew-member and now Deputy Launching Authority Eddie Totterdell and his son Conor who recently…
#MCIB - A large boulder snagged in its dredge net caused a razor clam boat to capsize in Rosslare Harbour earlier this year, in an incident judged to have been "predictable" by investigators. The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has…
#Search - The search and rescue effort resumed this morning (Thursday 17 December) for a fisherman missing from a Spanish trawler off the Kerry coast since yesterday afternoon, as RTÉ News reports. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115…
The Christmas season is a time when thousands of people around the country will take to our waters to support sponsored swims for charitable causes say Irish Water Safety. This year we have a full moon on Christmas day which…
#Coastguard - The Air Accident Investigation Unit is conducting an inquiry after it emerged one of two teenagers recovered from the sea off Hook Head last weekend fell from a coastguard helicopter back into the water. The Irish Times reports…

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.