Marine Review
by Capt. J. J. Hickey, Head of Marine
If I were to attempt to characterise the year
2003 I could truly say that it was a year dominated by review and
examination. Our mission to provide a reliable, efficient, and cost
effective Aids to Navigation Service came under scrutiny with very
detailed reviews of the ways and means employed to achieve it
successfully.
Tender Review
The year began with an overall review of ship requirements for the combined General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs). Within this review it was necessary to complete a formal risk assessment to quantify the various risks which we may meet in satisfying our statutory responsibilities. Detailed consideration and examination was given to the threats posed by the worst case scenarios of shipwreck combined with threats to passengers, crews, and the marine environment, through multiple aid to navigation failures, and on to minor outages and routine work.
Emergency response
Having quantified the risk it was necessary then to determine reasonable and acceptable levels of response in order to estimate our current and future ship requirements. Before this stage could be completed it was essential to assess the capability and capacity of all the current GLA service vessels.
Recommendations
The review recognised the successful design and application of ilv Granuaile and concluded by recommending the early replacement of the Trinity House vessel Mermaid and the Northern Lighthouse Board's vessel Pharos with new tonnage based upon Granuaile's design.
Shared GLA ship operations
Other conclusions from the Tender Review included recommendations for a greater degree of integration in operational planning and co-ordination in ship management among the three GLAs. Work is underway to develop shared methodologies and integration in ship and helicopter operations in the pursuit of greater efficiencies between the three Lighthouse Authorities.
Inter GLA operations
An early start at this task was the operation of Granuaile in November 2002 in the Bristol Channel. While on passage to collect CIL buoy bowls from the Buoy Depot in Swansea the vessel was engaged on buoy and station work including ship-helicopter operations for Trinity House.
Later Granuaile embarked upon the first of two spells working for the Northern Lighthouse Board of Scotland and the Isle of Man (NLB). Initially this involved a single task ship trial where the ship's design and capability in close project support was assessed. Weaver Point Lighthouse on the North Uist island was to be replaced by a pre-fabricated solar lighthouse. The project was completed successfully in spite of some unfavourable weather conditions encountered.
Later in the year Granuaile was involved in a month long 'ship swap' with NLB's Pole Star. Operational control of Granuaile was transferred to the Director of Operations at NLB in Edinburgh, and Pole Star came under the day to day operational remit of the Irish Lights Marine Department. This trial allowed for an in-depth assessment of the two ships in cross-GLA operation, and helped to identify differences in capabilities, methods, procedures, and performance, not just between the ships but also between the different working arrangements and management structures involved.
Considerable work remains to be completed to harmonise the ship operations of the three GLAs before we are in a position to achieve a more integrated GLA ship operation.
Attendants Review
The terms under which our Attendants are employed have changed little since the introduction of lighthouse automation. However, operational changes have occurred over time as a result, amongst other things, of new helicopter schedules and the introduction of team led engineering maintenance operations. Project work arrangements, in particular, place inordinate demands on our Attendants' time commitment, often demanding long periods of duty on rock stations. The application of new engineering design and maintenance systems has improved aids to navigation performance and will result in reduced station visits into the future. It is timely therefore to undertake a review of station Attendant requirements in parallel with the review and determination of helicopter needs and utilisation.
2020-The Vision
Navigation technology and marine traffic patterns change over time. So too do the use and requirements for our aids to navigation. In 1998 the three General Lighthouse Authorities covering Ireland and Great Britain set down their projection of these changes in a document entitled The Marine Navigation Plan to 2015. This was an important exercise which took a strategic view of requirements, and was essential for the planning and phasing of changes in the levels of service we provide.
It was decided at that time to revise the plan at approximately five-yearly intervals. In approaching the revision in 2003 it was decided that, rather than simply revise the previous view of future requirements, we would use a clean sheet approach so as to contribute as much objectivity as possible to the project. This is reflected in the title of the document 2020-The Vision: A Marine Navigation Strategy. It will be circulated widely as part of a user consultation process and all comments will be welcome.
When completed, copies of the plan will be available from Irish Lights Office and on the Irish Lights web site.
AtoN Review
With the information gained in the development of the Marine Navigation Strategy, a complete review in detail of every aid to navigation provided by the three GLAs is now underway. Every navigational component of every aid to navigation provided by the GLAs is being subjected to examination to determine whether it serves its proper purpose, both in isolation and within the mix of other aids to navigation in its area. This review represents a considerable volume of work and is scheduled for completion in January 2005.
Ship operations-planned maintenance
This year saw the implementation of a policy decision to institute a programme to spread Granuaile's engine overhauls evenly over the life of the vessel rather than complete them in the course of major refits at five year intervals. This policy option has the advantage of eliminating any interruption in the ship's availability for Service work, while reducing refit time and cost. One of the five generator sets will be subjected to a major strip down and inspection with the replacement of critical components when the engine reaches the recommended overhaul interval of 16,000 running hours. With Granuaile's work pattern established since commissioning this works out approximately to one engine overhaul every year. Our marine engineering staff are to be complimented on the professional planning and execution applied to the first engine overhaul completed in April 2003.
National Seabed Survey
The Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) requested the use of Granuaile in August 2003 for the purpose of completing a Swath (multi-beam sounding survey) in the area of the Rockall Bank. Regrettably the vessel was committed to Service work for this period, including the pre-arranged ship swap with our colleague service in Scotland. Nevertheless they were determined to trial the ship, her equipment and capabilities, and an alternative date was agreed. A twelve day ship time charter was commenced on 1 October and the voyage began. Having reached the Rockall area the weather soon began to deteriorate, as can be expected in this equinoctial period. Good planning on the part of GSI, however, ensured that an alternative survey requirement could be substituted in such circumstance and the result was a successfully completed survey in the Carlingford to Howth area of the more sheltered Irish Sea.
Commercial Work
Other contractual work this year included the provision of two outfall buoys, one each for Galway and Courtown, and the provision of buoys temporarily marking the works in progress on the Arklow Wind Farm.
Operation Drondheim
In September Granuaile participated in a combined Coast Guard marine emergency and pollution response exercise in the Lough Foyle area. The exercise was named after a boat design and build exclusive to the area and thought to trace its origins back to the Norse longships.
Helicopter
The Irish Lights helicopter contract terminates in March 2005. We have been examining the potential for a sharing arrangement with the other GLAs, especially if it is decided that a new generation aircraft is required. This is a complex issue with many operational details to be resolved and with no certainty that inter-GLA helicopter operations are feasible just yet.
A further complication is that new Joint Aviation Regulations (JAR-Ops3) will come into force on 1 January 2005. These are governmental regulations, applied by national aviation authorities. It seems likely that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) may take a different view to the implementation of JAR-Ops3 than the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This may have a bearing on the type of aircraft that can be utilised.
That said, various trials of other helicopter types have taken place. A Twin Squirrel was trialed at the Tuskar for personnel and cargo transfer. An EC-135 was given an extensive trial in the Shetlands, underslinging equipment and plant from the Granuaile. One of the other candidate aircraft, an MD Explorer, has not been trialed in our lighthouse operations as yet, but the aircraft itself has been viewed and its capabilities assessed.
The Bolkow 105 has been in service for a long number of years and has served Irish Lights and the other GLAs well. Increasing maintenance costs and regulatory impositions are gradually eroding the competitive advantages of this fine aircraft. It may not be at the next contract renewal, but at some stage within the next two to seven years we will be saying farewell to a familiar and reliable servant.
In closing I should remark that the reviews and examinations mentioned are a normal part of the process through which we must constantly ensure that we are providing the level of service needed by the mariner using best and most efficient methods, and at a value for money cost. The Marine Department staff are to be congratulated for playing their full part in achieving these objectives and I wish them and their families a happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous year in 2004.
Tender Review
The year began with an overall review of ship requirements for the combined General Lighthouse Authorities (GLAs). Within this review it was necessary to complete a formal risk assessment to quantify the various risks which we may meet in satisfying our statutory responsibilities. Detailed consideration and examination was given to the threats posed by the worst case scenarios of shipwreck combined with threats to passengers, crews, and the marine environment, through multiple aid to navigation failures, and on to minor outages and routine work.
Emergency response
Having quantified the risk it was necessary then to determine reasonable and acceptable levels of response in order to estimate our current and future ship requirements. Before this stage could be completed it was essential to assess the capability and capacity of all the current GLA service vessels.
Recommendations
The review recognised the successful design and application of ilv Granuaile and concluded by recommending the early replacement of the Trinity House vessel Mermaid and the Northern Lighthouse Board's vessel Pharos with new tonnage based upon Granuaile's design.
Shared GLA ship operations
Other conclusions from the Tender Review included recommendations for a greater degree of integration in operational planning and co-ordination in ship management among the three GLAs. Work is underway to develop shared methodologies and integration in ship and helicopter operations in the pursuit of greater efficiencies between the three Lighthouse Authorities.
Inter GLA operations
An early start at this task was the operation of Granuaile in November 2002 in the Bristol Channel. While on passage to collect CIL buoy bowls from the Buoy Depot in Swansea the vessel was engaged on buoy and station work including ship-helicopter operations for Trinity House.
Later Granuaile embarked upon the first of two spells working for the Northern Lighthouse Board of Scotland and the Isle of Man (NLB). Initially this involved a single task ship trial where the ship's design and capability in close project support was assessed. Weaver Point Lighthouse on the North Uist island was to be replaced by a pre-fabricated solar lighthouse. The project was completed successfully in spite of some unfavourable weather conditions encountered.
Later in the year Granuaile was involved in a month long 'ship swap' with NLB's Pole Star. Operational control of Granuaile was transferred to the Director of Operations at NLB in Edinburgh, and Pole Star came under the day to day operational remit of the Irish Lights Marine Department. This trial allowed for an in-depth assessment of the two ships in cross-GLA operation, and helped to identify differences in capabilities, methods, procedures, and performance, not just between the ships but also between the different working arrangements and management structures involved.
Considerable work remains to be completed to harmonise the ship operations of the three GLAs before we are in a position to achieve a more integrated GLA ship operation.
Attendants Review
The terms under which our Attendants are employed have changed little since the introduction of lighthouse automation. However, operational changes have occurred over time as a result, amongst other things, of new helicopter schedules and the introduction of team led engineering maintenance operations. Project work arrangements, in particular, place inordinate demands on our Attendants' time commitment, often demanding long periods of duty on rock stations. The application of new engineering design and maintenance systems has improved aids to navigation performance and will result in reduced station visits into the future. It is timely therefore to undertake a review of station Attendant requirements in parallel with the review and determination of helicopter needs and utilisation.
2020-The Vision
Navigation technology and marine traffic patterns change over time. So too do the use and requirements for our aids to navigation. In 1998 the three General Lighthouse Authorities covering Ireland and Great Britain set down their projection of these changes in a document entitled The Marine Navigation Plan to 2015. This was an important exercise which took a strategic view of requirements, and was essential for the planning and phasing of changes in the levels of service we provide.
It was decided at that time to revise the plan at approximately five-yearly intervals. In approaching the revision in 2003 it was decided that, rather than simply revise the previous view of future requirements, we would use a clean sheet approach so as to contribute as much objectivity as possible to the project. This is reflected in the title of the document 2020-The Vision: A Marine Navigation Strategy. It will be circulated widely as part of a user consultation process and all comments will be welcome.
When completed, copies of the plan will be available from Irish Lights Office and on the Irish Lights web site.
AtoN Review
With the information gained in the development of the Marine Navigation Strategy, a complete review in detail of every aid to navigation provided by the three GLAs is now underway. Every navigational component of every aid to navigation provided by the GLAs is being subjected to examination to determine whether it serves its proper purpose, both in isolation and within the mix of other aids to navigation in its area. This review represents a considerable volume of work and is scheduled for completion in January 2005.
Ship operations-planned maintenance
This year saw the implementation of a policy decision to institute a programme to spread Granuaile's engine overhauls evenly over the life of the vessel rather than complete them in the course of major refits at five year intervals. This policy option has the advantage of eliminating any interruption in the ship's availability for Service work, while reducing refit time and cost. One of the five generator sets will be subjected to a major strip down and inspection with the replacement of critical components when the engine reaches the recommended overhaul interval of 16,000 running hours. With Granuaile's work pattern established since commissioning this works out approximately to one engine overhaul every year. Our marine engineering staff are to be complimented on the professional planning and execution applied to the first engine overhaul completed in April 2003.
National Seabed Survey
The Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI) requested the use of Granuaile in August 2003 for the purpose of completing a Swath (multi-beam sounding survey) in the area of the Rockall Bank. Regrettably the vessel was committed to Service work for this period, including the pre-arranged ship swap with our colleague service in Scotland. Nevertheless they were determined to trial the ship, her equipment and capabilities, and an alternative date was agreed. A twelve day ship time charter was commenced on 1 October and the voyage began. Having reached the Rockall area the weather soon began to deteriorate, as can be expected in this equinoctial period. Good planning on the part of GSI, however, ensured that an alternative survey requirement could be substituted in such circumstance and the result was a successfully completed survey in the Carlingford to Howth area of the more sheltered Irish Sea.
Commercial Work
Other contractual work this year included the provision of two outfall buoys, one each for Galway and Courtown, and the provision of buoys temporarily marking the works in progress on the Arklow Wind Farm.
Operation Drondheim
In September Granuaile participated in a combined Coast Guard marine emergency and pollution response exercise in the Lough Foyle area. The exercise was named after a boat design and build exclusive to the area and thought to trace its origins back to the Norse longships.
Helicopter
The Irish Lights helicopter contract terminates in March 2005. We have been examining the potential for a sharing arrangement with the other GLAs, especially if it is decided that a new generation aircraft is required. This is a complex issue with many operational details to be resolved and with no certainty that inter-GLA helicopter operations are feasible just yet.
A further complication is that new Joint Aviation Regulations (JAR-Ops3) will come into force on 1 January 2005. These are governmental regulations, applied by national aviation authorities. It seems likely that the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) may take a different view to the implementation of JAR-Ops3 than the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This may have a bearing on the type of aircraft that can be utilised.
That said, various trials of other helicopter types have taken place. A Twin Squirrel was trialed at the Tuskar for personnel and cargo transfer. An EC-135 was given an extensive trial in the Shetlands, underslinging equipment and plant from the Granuaile. One of the other candidate aircraft, an MD Explorer, has not been trialed in our lighthouse operations as yet, but the aircraft itself has been viewed and its capabilities assessed.
The Bolkow 105 has been in service for a long number of years and has served Irish Lights and the other GLAs well. Increasing maintenance costs and regulatory impositions are gradually eroding the competitive advantages of this fine aircraft. It may not be at the next contract renewal, but at some stage within the next two to seven years we will be saying farewell to a familiar and reliable servant.
In closing I should remark that the reviews and examinations mentioned are a normal part of the process through which we must constantly ensure that we are providing the level of service needed by the mariner using best and most efficient methods, and at a value for money cost. The Marine Department staff are to be congratulated for playing their full part in achieving these objectives and I wish them and their families a happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous year in 2004.