#MarineNotice - A new Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that the annual Irish groundfish survey will be take place off the northwest coast from 19-30 September.

Carried out by the Marine Institute in fulfilment of Ireland’s CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) obligations, IGFS 2015 is a demersal trawl survey consisting of a minimum of 45 fishing hauls each of 35 minutes duration.

The survey will be conducted by the RV Celtic Explorer (Callsign EIGB), which will display all appropriate lights and signal during the survey and will also be listening on VHF Channel 16. She will be towing a high headline GOV 36/47 demersal trawl during fishing operations.

The Marine Institute requests commercial fishermen to keep a 2-nautical-mile area around the tow points clear of all commercial gear during the period/. While there is no statutory provision for the loss of fishing gear, the Marine Institute will make every effort to avoid gear adequately marked, according to legislation, that may have drifted into the notified areas.

In the event that a fisherman has static gear or other obstructions within 2nm of the points listed in Marine Notice No 43 of 2015, it is the responsibility of the owner to notify the survey managers or vessel directly using the contact information provided.

Full details of the survey area are available as a PDF to read download HERE.

#MarineNotice - Mariners in the waters of Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone are advised to keep watch for debris that may fall into the sea after a pending Soyuz rocket launch between today 11 September and Monday 21 September.

Marine Notice No 42 of 2015 has co-ordinates of the area where parts are expected to fall following the launch of the Soyuz VS12 space rocket from Kourou Spaceport in French Guyana.

#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) comes into force in Ireland on 21 July 2015.

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) was adopted at the 94th International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Maritime Session on 23 February 2006 in Geneva.

The MLC seeks to ensure that the employment and social rights of seafarers are fully implemented. It will enter into force for Ireland on 21 July 2015, 12 months after the date on which Ireland’s ratification was registered with the ILO.

Details for the survey and certification of ships of 500 GT or over; inspection for compliance of ships less than 500 GT; and onboard complaint procedures are included in Marine Notice No 30 of 2015, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that a wave measuring device has been installed on the seabed at Dingle Fishery Harbour Centre.

The wave study is being carried out by the Marine Engineering Division of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and is expected to be ongoing until early September 2015, weather permitting.

For safety reasons, mariners are requested to keep a sharp lookout and to proceed slowly and with extreme caution in this vicinity. Fishermen are requested to take great care when dredging near the location of the device and keep a wide berth.

A yellow floating marker buoy with a special mark beacon has been installed to indicate the location of the device. A photograph of what the buoy looks like in the water and the co-ordinates of its placement are included in Marine Notice No 29 of 2015, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

#MarineNotice - The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that Bibby Hydromap is scheduled to carry out marine survey operations along the proposed interconnector route between Ireland and France.

Similar to the recent geophysical surveys of the same route, the marine surveys will extend from the shoreline at two locations (Ballinwilling Strand main route and Ballycroneen Beach alternative route), to the north coast of France near Roscoff.

The survey will comprise of 250 geotechnical locations between the 10-metre contours of both countries. The survey vessel will be in DP (stationary) while collecting samples and a wide berth is required.

Survey operations were expected to start on Thursday 11 June 2015 and will run until 30 July 2015, weather permitting.

Survey works will be undertaken on the survey vessel RRS Ernest Shackleton (Callsign ZDLS1). The vessel will operate on a 24-hour basis, will display appropriate day shapes and lights during survey operations and will actively transmit an AIS signal.

Survey operations will involve towing survey equipment below the surface up to 600m behind the vessel. A wide berth is requested at all times as the vessel will be restricted in her ability to manoeuvre.

All vessels, particularly those engaged in fishing, are requested to give the RRS Ernest Shackleton and her towed equipment a wide berth and keep a sharp lookout in the relevant areas.

Further details of the marine survey area are included in Marine Notice No 27 of 2015, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

#MarineNotice - In response to recommendations by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB), Marine Notice No 26 of 2015 has been issued to promote and highlight the Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Recreational Craft, as well as to underline the legal requirements in relation to the wearing and proper care of personal flotation devices, or PFDs.

It is the responsibility of owners and operators of recreational craft to ensure that a vessel is properly operated, maintained and equipped. The Code of Practice for the Safe Operation of Recreational Craft assists with this responsibility by providing safety information on legislative requirements in a simple and user-friendly way, and by giving straightforward safety advice and guidance on best practice in relation to vessel standards, equipment and operation for different types of recreational craft and their areas of operation.

The code is available free of charge on request from the Maritime Safety Policy Division (email [email protected]) and is also available to view or download from www.safetyonthewater.ie or from the DTTAS website HERE.

Requirements for the use of PFDs, meanwhile, are detailed in Marine Notices No 45 of 2012 and No 39 of 2013 as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notice from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that Osiris Projects were last week scheduled to begin marine survey operations off the south coast in the Celtic Sea.

The marine surveys will extend from the shoreline at two locations in Co Cork across the sea to the shoreline at two locations in northern France.

The survey was set to start on Monday 1 June 2015 to last for approximately three weeks, weather permitting. The survey will be conducted by the MV Proteus (Callsign 2HBL7).

The marine surveys will extend from the shoreline at Ballinwilling Strand (main route) and Ballycroneen Beach (alternative route), across the Celtic Sea, passing the Isles of Scilly, to the French coast west of Roscoff at Moguériec (main route) and Pontusval (alternative route).

The corridor width for each landing will be 250 metres from the high water mark to the 10-metre contour, then the corridor will widen to 500m as the route moves to France.

The survey vessel may be found running both along the corridor, and in the general vicinity of the survey corridor. The survey areas are small boxes which are shown in the detail plan HERE.

Survey operations will involve towing survey equipment on and below the water surface, up to 300m behind the vessel. All vessels, particularly those engaged in fishing, are requested to give the MV Proteus and her towed equipment a wide berth and keep a sharp lookout in the relevant areas.

Full co-ordinates for the relevant work areas are detailed in Marine Notice No 25 of 2015, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

#MarineNotice - The latest Marine Notices from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advise of the pre-laying of anchors in the Corrib Gas Field ahead of the arrival of the Ocean Guardian rig, and an inshore seawater sampling survey in the vicinity of the field.

Staring tomorrow and continuing for three days, Shell E&P Ireland Limited will employ the Boa Bison (Call Sign: LDPN) to pre-lay eight anchors on the sea bed in the Corrib Field prior to the arrival of the semi-submersible drilling rig.

The anchors will remain at the locations indicated HERE until the arrival of the Ocean Guardian rig (Call Sign: V7FF7) around the second week of this month, when the anchors will then be attached to the rig.

The Ocean Guardian rig is due to commence operations on well 18/25-1(P2) in the second week of June and remain on location until the end of July/early August. The rig will be listening on VHF Channel 16 throughout the project.

All vessels, particularly those engaged in fishing, are requested to give the rig a wide berth and to keep a sharp lookout in the relevant areas. Full co-ordinates of all work areas are included in Marine Notice No 22 of 2015, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

Meanwhile, an inshore seawater sampling survey is taking place in the vicinity of the Corrib treated surface water outfall diffuser, off the coast of Mayo.

The works, undertaken from the SMS Leah (Callsign MHIU8), were set to begin yesterday Tuesday 2 June and last for around three days, weather permitting. Co-ordinates of the relevant sampling areas are included in Marine Notice No 23 of 2015, a PDF of which is available to read or download HERE.

#MarineNotice - Marine Notice No 21 of 2015 from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) advises that Shell E&P Ireland Ltd will be deploying a waverider buoy in late May 2015, weather permitting, in order to help predict sea conditions for the Corrib P2 well intervention work by the Ocean Guardian (Callsign V7FF7).

The buoy size is 90cm in diameter, and is set to be deployed at co-ordinates 54°19.285’N, 011°05.544’W (WGS84) approximate, with a 100m watch circle. The water depth at this location is 336 metres.

The waverider buoy will remain on site for approximately three months. Pictured here, it is yellow in colour and will flash yellow five times every 20 seconds.

All vessels are requested to give the waverider buoy a wide berth.

#MarineNotice - Marine Notice No 8 of 2005 supplemented by Marine Notice No 16 of 2011 provided information on eight types of liferaft, which the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) accepts for use on small fishing vessels that are not required to carry a SOLAS/MED-approved liferaft.

The department now advises, in Marine Notice No 20 of 2015, that an additional liferaft has been deemed acceptable for use on such vessels. For clarity, the complete list – including the additional liferaft type now added – is shown below.

Accepted non-SOLAS/non-MED inflatable liferafts:

• DSB 4 - Person Inflatable Liferaft with “SOLAS B Pack”
• RFD Surviva 4 - Person Inflatable Liferaft with “SOLAS B Pack”
• RFD SEASAVA PRO ISO 9650 4 - Person Inflatable Liferaft with “SOLAS B Pack”
• Viking DK 4 - Person Inflatable Liferaft with “SOLAS B Pack”
• Zodiac 4 - Person Inflatable Liferaft with “SOLAS B Pack”
• EUROVINIL ISO/DIS 9650 4 - Person Inflatable Liferaft with “SOLAS B Pack”
• Sea-Safe 4 person inflatable liferaft :ISO 9650.1 group A Type 1 with “SOLAS B pack”
• Seago - ISO 9650-1 SOLAS B pack – 4 PERSON Liferaft
• Haining, Liferaft model HNF-YT IS09650-1 – with SOLAS B pack