ILV Granuaile is launched into the Danube (photo: Hart Fenton & Co Ltd)

ON A HUMID Saturday morning in Galatz Shipyard, Romania, a milestone in the new ship project was reached. At 1030 hours on 14 August 1999 Philippa Maclaran, wife of the Chairman of the Commissioners of Irish Lights, cut the ribbon and named our new ship Granuaile. As the champagne bottle broke on the bow, the ship slid sideways down the ways into the Danube.

The ship was towed to a lay-by berth and preparations for her tow from Galatz Shipyard to the Netherlands commenced immediately. Much of the heavy machinery and electrical components had been fitted on board during building in Romania, to avoid steel cutting and re-working at Frisian Shipyards. The launching also marked the end of the heavy steel construction.

On Saturday 21 August she left Galatz Shipyard and was towed through the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Bay of Biscay to Frisian Shipyard in Harlingen, the Netherlands, where she arrived on Thursday 9 September. She was manoeuvred onto a syncrolift and moved into one of the large covered building sheds for completion of outfitting. Work in Frisian Shipyards is progressing swiftly. There are around 125 specialists working on board daily on the electrical, ventilation, mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, painting, and joinery work for the completion of the vessel.

The ship will be a state of the art Aids to Navigation Vessel fitted with equipment of the highest quality. The integrated bridge system is from Kelvin Hughes and incorporates two arpa radars (X and S band). The radar systems are fully integrated to the dual fuel electronic chart display systems. A range of other navigation and hydrographic systems are fitted, and displayed on various screens in the navigation desks.

Kongsberg Simrad have provided the dynamic positioning system and this, together with the Irish Lights developed Q-Star quality control positioning system, will make buoy positioning even more accurate than the high standards which are achieved at present.

The ship is diesel-electric, powered by five MAN & BW eight cylinder engines which are connected to a fuel-efficient power management system.

Rudders are a thing of the past, as the vessel's propulsion system consists of two 360° azimuth propellers and a 360° Gill Jet bow thruster which, together, provide a high degree of precision manoeuvrability.

New buoy mooring handling technology is being incorporated on the large main deck. An automatic chain stopping device, called a Karm fork, will provide a safe system of securing buoy moorings. The Karm fork catches and holds the chain at the desired point without the crew having to fit retaining slips to secure it, as is the present practice.

The ship is also fitted with five buoy pockets. The forward pocket is a working pocket for use when carrying out two-year checks and other necessary work to buoys at sea. The remaining pockets allow the safe carriage of four tail-tube buoys on board. The conical buoy entry-guides fitted to the tops of the pockets are removable. When they are removed the after deck is totally flush, to facilitate various other tasks for which the vessel will be employed.

The 20 tonne Liebherr crane has independent runner control and constant heave tensioning facilities. Automatic level luffing is another of the many necessary features incorporated in the crane for safer operations.

Over the past number of years we have learnt, through the various derricks and cranes carried on our tenders, that many of the hazards associated with crane operations are caused by their design. To make crane operations safer on our new vessel the crane hooks and associated swivel pieces are of lightweight high tensile steel, so that counterweights are not necessary on the runners.

On the main deck there are two 15 tonne capstans for buoy moorings, two 5 tonne tugger winches, and a 50 tonne towing winch. There are also two mooring capstans at the aft end of the deck.

The ship has a helipad forward, with dedicated helicopter re-fuelling facilities underneath the pad. Many of our ship's operations depend upon boat work. Apart from the rescue boat she carries an 8 metre 22 knot water-jet propelled rigid inflatable boat with twin inboard diesels. This boat is highly manoeuvrable and will be ideal for working at rock station landings and for buoy work.

Those who knew and who served on board our ilt Atlanta will recognise that the two timber workboats are replicas of the Atlanta's starboard boat. The boats are being built in the Orkney Islands and are powered by Ford Mermaid diesel engines. They can carry removable 400 gallon oil and water tanks in their forward well, if necessary. Portable electric winches have also been incorporated to handle buoy moorings in shallow water which are inaccessible to the ship.

The ship meets all Safety of Life at Sea Convention (solas), Department of the Marine and Natural Resources, and Classification Society rules and regulations. Her large stores, fuel, and water carrying capacity will make the ship almost self sufficient, giving her a greater range in operations with very little time necessary for storing, watering, bunkering, and discharging waste oil and other wastes.

There are numerous other systems which lack of space prevents me from describing in this article.

HER NORMAL CREW will be 16, with provision to carry additional crew members for short periods of intense work. Her accommodation is of a high standard, all cabins having en-suite facilities. Strict sound-level criteria were placed on the builders, who have ensured that the accommodation will be quiet by using special bulkhead and deckhead linings filled with rockwool.

To ensure a high quality of accommodation the expertise of a marine interior design company was employed. This company worked together with Damen Shipyards to provide the standards specified by Irish Lights.

This ship is complicated, and great demands will be placed upon her crews. The initial period of learning the ship's systems and operational capabilities will be daunting but will be managed effectively so that all those serving on board will become fully trained in, and conversant with, their areas of responsibility. Our ship's crews are skilled people who over the years have developed good, safe, and efficient working practices. They have proved to be versatile and have met all challenges with a high degree of professional seamanship.

THE SHIP is scheduled to be moved from the outfitting hall in Fresian Shipyards and placed afloat ready to begin systems and machinery commissioning trials towards the end of November 1999. Following acceptance it is expected that Granuaile will commence service for the Commissioners of Irish Lights about the end of January 2000.

Consultation with our colleagues in Trinity House and the Northern Lighthouse Board has been ongoing during the project and I would like to thank them for their assistance.

Our consultants, Hart Fenton & Co Ltd, had a difficult task during the period when building was progressing in Romania. Together with Damen, the builders, they have ensured that the construction is of the highest standard.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my colleagues at Irish Lights Office and at the Lighthouse Depot for their encouragement and assistance.

I would like especially to thank my seagoing colleagues on board the present vessel, now renamed ilt Granuaile II, whose assistance and advice has proved invaluable during this project.

Naming the new Irish Lights Vessel Granuaile on 14 August 1999, Philippa Maclaran said-

'WORDS scarcely allow me to describe how pleased we all are to be here today for this momentous occasion. For many of us this visit is the first opportunity to see the results of a great labour over many years. Everyone involved in this project from the very earliest stages, not just those from Irish Lights but also from our design consultants Hart Fenton, the Damen Shipbuilding Group, and their associate contractors, and most of all the people here at the Galtaz Shipyard, have a right to be proud of their work today.

'Together their efforts have produced a vessel whose purpose is the safety of navigation for all mariners on the coasts of Ireland into the next century. I am sure you will agree that this is an honourable and worthy endeavour and that you will join me in wishing every success to the vessel, her crew, and to the Commissioners of Irish Lights in this great task.

'It is with great honour and pleasure therefore that I join in this purpose and complete my part by the naming and launching of this wonderful ship.

'I name this ship Granuaile, and may God bless all who sail on her.'