New ships, new buoys, new systems
by Captain Kieran O'Higgins
IN MAY 2007 Captain
Shay Hickey, Head of Marine, decided it was time to retire. Shay
was in post for some 11 years and during that period was
responsible for bringing many innovative changes to Irish Lights.
His major contribution was the design and delivery of the new
Granuaile. This vessel brought Irish Lights marine operations into
a new century, with new technology and new ways of working which
have become benchmarks within the General Lighthouse Authorities
(GLAs) and farther afield. I wish Shay and his wife Kay many years
of deserved retirement.
New ships in GLA fleet
In 2002 a review was carried out to determine the requirements of the GLA fleet. It may surprise people to hear that ships of Trinity House, Northern Lighthouse Board, and Irish Lights are described as a fleet but that is how they are considered. Each GLA assists the others, especially with aid to navigation casualty intervention. That review concluded that Granuaile was an efficient vessel and that Trinity House and Northern Lighthouse Board would also require modern tonnage to fulfil their needs. Last year Trinity House took delivery of THV Alert, which is a fast response vessel designed to react quickly to casualties in the Dover Straits. This year two other newly built vessels have joined the fleet. These are Pharos for Northern Lighthouse Board and Galatea for Trinity House. They replace the previous Pharos and Mermaid respectively. All three ships were built as a package by Remontowa of Gdansk. Both Pharos and Galatea are based on the Granuaile design, as was the Relume which was built for the Middle East Navigation Company in 2004. On 9 May 2007 the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Chief Executive, and Head of Marine had the pleasure of attending the commissioning of Pharos by Princess Anne in Leith Port, in Scotland. Princess Anne is Patron of Northern Lighthouse Board. On 17 October we had the further pleasure of attending the commissioning of Galatea. Invitations were issued by the Duke of Edinburgh who is Master of Trinity House, and Queen Elizabeth performed the commissioning ceremony. The event took place with Galatea alongside the second world war battleship HMS Belfast on the river Thames, between Tower Bridge and London Bridge. For the record, Galatea, the name of a mythological sea nymph, is the second ship of that name in Trinity House Lighthouse Service. The first was a paddle steamer commissioned in 1868. She received that name as a compliment to HRH the first Duke of Edinburgh, the then Master of Trinity House, who had previously commanded HMS Galatea and in her made a circumnavigation of the world.
Helicopter Operations
Helicopter requirements have been changing also. As the requirement for services has gradually eased over the years due to the improved reliability of performance of aids to navigation and the provision of redundancy systems, the fundamentals of a 365 day requirement and a back up helicopter were rigorously examined. In April 2006 the Board established a Helicopter Services Review Committee under the chairmanship of Commissioner John Kidney. The terms of reference of the committee was to examine the existing helicopter service in terms of performance and value for money, and to make recommendations on the provision of services into the future. Various models of contract, service provision, Irish Lights ownership, or lease were examined. All of these options were put in the form of an public procurement tender process in the summer of 2007. Following the tender process and evaluation, the Committee recommended to the Board that the bid of Irish Helicopters Ltd be accepted. The Board and the sponsoring Government Departments have accepted this recommendation. The contract will start on 1 December 2008 and is for the provision of helicopter services using a new Eurocopter 135 aircraft. The EC 135 is a modern replacement for the Bolkow 105, which has been servicing our contracts for more years than most people can remember!
Automatic Lightfloats
Lightfloats have not been exempt from scrutiny either. In February 2007 the Coningbeg Lightfloat was withdrawn from service and the Coningbeg Rocks and adjacent dangers were marked with a superbuoy and two first class cardinal buoys. The superbuoy is based on robust navigational and technological requirements. It consists of syncronised lights that give a 9 mile range, a dual band racon (radar transponder beacon), and an automatic identification system (AIS) transponder, powered by duplicated solar power systems backed up by dual wave activated generators. For the first time a buoy has been fitted with an off-station light that can be activated in the event of the buoy breaking adrift. The three buoys are fitted with AIS. This system is under test and assessment. The severest test is, of course, the weather and, as many can confirm, the seas around the Coningbeg area can be particularly rough. In 2008 a full evaluation will be carried out to determine whether the technology is suitable for other applications, such as the South Rock Lightfloat which is our last automated lightship in service. In October 2007 the lightship Kittiwake was sold out of service and towed to Dublin where, I'm happy to say, she is to be drydocked pending a career move. Buoyage Review A new type of buoy has appeared on the scene called the Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy. This has been approved on a trial basis by the International Association of Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). Its purpose is to mark new dangerous wrecks. The buoy is yellow and blue with an alternatively blue and yellow flashing light, which was designed as an impact signal for mariners. Perhaps 'impact' is the right word as it was conceived because a number of vessels ran into the wreck of the car carrier Tricolor in the Dover Straits during the winter of 2002-3 despite the fact that the wreck was marked with buoys, a racon, and a guard ship. As a consequence, IALA has instigated a review of the Maritime Buoyage System. This system has been in place for 25 years and has served the safety of mariners well, but in the age of electronic charts, satellites, AIS, eLoran, and with e-Navigation coming down the road, it is timely to have a look at the effectiveness of the buoyage and marking system. Users and interested parties are invited to make their views known. All suggestions are welcome and can be forwarded to the Marine Department in Irish Lights by post or by e-mail to marine@cil.ie. Correspondence can also be e-mailed directly to IALA at iala-aism@wanadoo.fr preferably by the end of January 2008.
Local aids to navigation inspections
The superintendence and management of local aids to navigation is an important function of Irish Lights. The Celtic Tiger has resulted in increased harbour construction, sewage and outfall projects, marina development, aquaculture, and offshore energy devices such as wind farms and turbine generators. All of these pose dangers to navigation for mariners, and require marking and lighting. The Irish Lights Marine Department tracks local aids to navigation on a database. There are approximately 4000 aids listed, with about half of these associated with aquaculture developments such as fish farms, oyster trestles, and mussel lines. Local Lighthouse Authorities (mainly harbour authorities and County Councils) are required to maintain a performance standard and can report the status of their aids to navigation online via a web portal. The computerised management system is being rolled out at present and includes reporting, but the necessary elements of inspections and audits remain.
IN LOOKING BACK over 2007, there are occasions for hope, regret, celebration, and sadness. Whilst it is impossible to list everyone, I would like particularly to remember Joe Connolly, a seaman to his fingertips and a shipmate on Atlanta for many years, who died in December. Joe's wife Francis died at the same time, and my sympathies go to their family. On a happier note, Captain George Ball, son of Inspector Henry Ball, retired this year. I wish George and his wife Catherine a happy retirement. Their family name lives on with a son and daughter working for Irish Lights. I wish everyone at sea and ashore a happy 2008.
Aids to Navigation provided
The Commissioners of Irish Lights are also charged with statutory responsiblity for the superintendence and management of all aids to navigation provided by Local Lighthouse Authorities and other providers in ports, estuaries, and coastal areas.These include harbour and coastal aids, marking offshore structures such as production or exploration platforms, alternative energy sites including wind parks and tide, current or wave turbines, and aquaculture sites.
On 31 December 2007 there were 3,922 recorded local aids to navigation. Of these some 1,929 are associated with aquaculture developments including recommended aquaculture aids to navigation on sites not yet established.The remaining 1,993 aids comprise 17 lighthouses, 835 lighted beacons, 472 lighted buoys, 2 racons, and a range of unlighted aids of varying kinds.Applications for Statutory Sanction indicate a continued growth in the number and quality of local aids to navigation provided.
Local lighted aids to navigation and other seamarks of higher importance are inspected annually.All remaining local aids are inspected every two years (apart from unpainted stone beacons not considered to be at risk, which are inspected every three years). The Commissioners' policy is to maintain a high level of local aid to navigation superintendence through a combined audit and inspection regime and consultation with Local Lighthouse Authorities.
New ships in GLA fleet
In 2002 a review was carried out to determine the requirements of the GLA fleet. It may surprise people to hear that ships of Trinity House, Northern Lighthouse Board, and Irish Lights are described as a fleet but that is how they are considered. Each GLA assists the others, especially with aid to navigation casualty intervention. That review concluded that Granuaile was an efficient vessel and that Trinity House and Northern Lighthouse Board would also require modern tonnage to fulfil their needs. Last year Trinity House took delivery of THV Alert, which is a fast response vessel designed to react quickly to casualties in the Dover Straits. This year two other newly built vessels have joined the fleet. These are Pharos for Northern Lighthouse Board and Galatea for Trinity House. They replace the previous Pharos and Mermaid respectively. All three ships were built as a package by Remontowa of Gdansk. Both Pharos and Galatea are based on the Granuaile design, as was the Relume which was built for the Middle East Navigation Company in 2004. On 9 May 2007 the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Chief Executive, and Head of Marine had the pleasure of attending the commissioning of Pharos by Princess Anne in Leith Port, in Scotland. Princess Anne is Patron of Northern Lighthouse Board. On 17 October we had the further pleasure of attending the commissioning of Galatea. Invitations were issued by the Duke of Edinburgh who is Master of Trinity House, and Queen Elizabeth performed the commissioning ceremony. The event took place with Galatea alongside the second world war battleship HMS Belfast on the river Thames, between Tower Bridge and London Bridge. For the record, Galatea, the name of a mythological sea nymph, is the second ship of that name in Trinity House Lighthouse Service. The first was a paddle steamer commissioned in 1868. She received that name as a compliment to HRH the first Duke of Edinburgh, the then Master of Trinity House, who had previously commanded HMS Galatea and in her made a circumnavigation of the world.
Helicopter Operations
Helicopter requirements have been changing also. As the requirement for services has gradually eased over the years due to the improved reliability of performance of aids to navigation and the provision of redundancy systems, the fundamentals of a 365 day requirement and a back up helicopter were rigorously examined. In April 2006 the Board established a Helicopter Services Review Committee under the chairmanship of Commissioner John Kidney. The terms of reference of the committee was to examine the existing helicopter service in terms of performance and value for money, and to make recommendations on the provision of services into the future. Various models of contract, service provision, Irish Lights ownership, or lease were examined. All of these options were put in the form of an public procurement tender process in the summer of 2007. Following the tender process and evaluation, the Committee recommended to the Board that the bid of Irish Helicopters Ltd be accepted. The Board and the sponsoring Government Departments have accepted this recommendation. The contract will start on 1 December 2008 and is for the provision of helicopter services using a new Eurocopter 135 aircraft. The EC 135 is a modern replacement for the Bolkow 105, which has been servicing our contracts for more years than most people can remember!
Automatic Lightfloats
Lightfloats have not been exempt from scrutiny either. In February 2007 the Coningbeg Lightfloat was withdrawn from service and the Coningbeg Rocks and adjacent dangers were marked with a superbuoy and two first class cardinal buoys. The superbuoy is based on robust navigational and technological requirements. It consists of syncronised lights that give a 9 mile range, a dual band racon (radar transponder beacon), and an automatic identification system (AIS) transponder, powered by duplicated solar power systems backed up by dual wave activated generators. For the first time a buoy has been fitted with an off-station light that can be activated in the event of the buoy breaking adrift. The three buoys are fitted with AIS. This system is under test and assessment. The severest test is, of course, the weather and, as many can confirm, the seas around the Coningbeg area can be particularly rough. In 2008 a full evaluation will be carried out to determine whether the technology is suitable for other applications, such as the South Rock Lightfloat which is our last automated lightship in service. In October 2007 the lightship Kittiwake was sold out of service and towed to Dublin where, I'm happy to say, she is to be drydocked pending a career move. Buoyage Review A new type of buoy has appeared on the scene called the Emergency Wreck Marking Buoy. This has been approved on a trial basis by the International Association of Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA). Its purpose is to mark new dangerous wrecks. The buoy is yellow and blue with an alternatively blue and yellow flashing light, which was designed as an impact signal for mariners. Perhaps 'impact' is the right word as it was conceived because a number of vessels ran into the wreck of the car carrier Tricolor in the Dover Straits during the winter of 2002-3 despite the fact that the wreck was marked with buoys, a racon, and a guard ship. As a consequence, IALA has instigated a review of the Maritime Buoyage System. This system has been in place for 25 years and has served the safety of mariners well, but in the age of electronic charts, satellites, AIS, eLoran, and with e-Navigation coming down the road, it is timely to have a look at the effectiveness of the buoyage and marking system. Users and interested parties are invited to make their views known. All suggestions are welcome and can be forwarded to the Marine Department in Irish Lights by post or by e-mail to marine@cil.ie. Correspondence can also be e-mailed directly to IALA at iala-aism@wanadoo.fr preferably by the end of January 2008.
Local aids to navigation inspections
The superintendence and management of local aids to navigation is an important function of Irish Lights. The Celtic Tiger has resulted in increased harbour construction, sewage and outfall projects, marina development, aquaculture, and offshore energy devices such as wind farms and turbine generators. All of these pose dangers to navigation for mariners, and require marking and lighting. The Irish Lights Marine Department tracks local aids to navigation on a database. There are approximately 4000 aids listed, with about half of these associated with aquaculture developments such as fish farms, oyster trestles, and mussel lines. Local Lighthouse Authorities (mainly harbour authorities and County Councils) are required to maintain a performance standard and can report the status of their aids to navigation online via a web portal. The computerised management system is being rolled out at present and includes reporting, but the necessary elements of inspections and audits remain.
IN LOOKING BACK over 2007, there are occasions for hope, regret, celebration, and sadness. Whilst it is impossible to list everyone, I would like particularly to remember Joe Connolly, a seaman to his fingertips and a shipmate on Atlanta for many years, who died in December. Joe's wife Francis died at the same time, and my sympathies go to their family. On a happier note, Captain George Ball, son of Inspector Henry Ball, retired this year. I wish George and his wife Catherine a happy retirement. Their family name lives on with a son and daughter working for Irish Lights. I wish everyone at sea and ashore a happy 2008.
Aids to Navigation provided
| The following aids to navigation are provided and maintained by the Commissioners of Irish Lights | |
| Lighthouses (automated) | 80 |
| Lightfloats (automated lightvessels) | 1 |
| Large Automatic Navigation Buoys (Lanbys) | 2 |
| Lighted Buoys | 141 |
| Unlighted Buoys | 3 |
| Hauling off/Mooring Buoys | 6 |
| Lighted Beacons | 5 |
| Unlighted Beacons | 42 |
| Additional Equipment: | |
| DGPS transmission stations at lighthouses | 3 |
| Racons (radar transponder beacons) on lighthouses | 14 |
| Racons on lightfloats | 1 |
| Racons on lanbys | 2 |
| Racons on buoys | 5 |
| Radar target enhancers on buoys | 6 |
| AIS on buoys | 3 |
| Fog signals on lighthouses | 11 |
| Fog signals on lightfloats | 1 |
| Fog signals on lanbys | 2 |
| Whistles on buoys | 2 |
| (Projected numbers for January 2008) | |
The Commissioners of Irish Lights are also charged with statutory responsiblity for the superintendence and management of all aids to navigation provided by Local Lighthouse Authorities and other providers in ports, estuaries, and coastal areas.These include harbour and coastal aids, marking offshore structures such as production or exploration platforms, alternative energy sites including wind parks and tide, current or wave turbines, and aquaculture sites.
On 31 December 2007 there were 3,922 recorded local aids to navigation. Of these some 1,929 are associated with aquaculture developments including recommended aquaculture aids to navigation on sites not yet established.The remaining 1,993 aids comprise 17 lighthouses, 835 lighted beacons, 472 lighted buoys, 2 racons, and a range of unlighted aids of varying kinds.Applications for Statutory Sanction indicate a continued growth in the number and quality of local aids to navigation provided.
Local lighted aids to navigation and other seamarks of higher importance are inspected annually.All remaining local aids are inspected every two years (apart from unpainted stone beacons not considered to be at risk, which are inspected every three years). The Commissioners' policy is to maintain a high level of local aid to navigation superintendence through a combined audit and inspection regime and consultation with Local Lighthouse Authorities.