Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine
The fleet of AW 189 helicopters operated by Bristow Ireland is getting a staggered introduction, starting with Shannon this past weekend
The transition of the Shannon base began on 1 November when personnel including pilots, technical crews, engineers and support staff transferred from CHC to Bristow Ireland.
This transition will enable continuation of services including maritime and inland search and rescue, helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) support to the National Ambulance Service as well day and nighttime aero-medical support to the offshore islands.
The Department of Transport and the Irish Coast Guard welcome the positive collaboration between CHC and Bristow Ireland in their efforts to ensure a safe and effective phased transition of services, and also acknowledge the support of the wider search and rescue community including coastguard units, RNLI and mountain rescue teams in assisting with work-up training conducted by Bristow Ireland.
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The Irish Coast Guard is Ireland's fourth 'Blue Light' service (along with An Garda Síochána, the Ambulance Service and the Fire Service). It provides a nationwide maritime emergency organisation as well as a variety of services to shipping and other government agencies.
The purpose of the Irish Coast Guard is to promote safety and security standards, and by doing so, prevent as far as possible, the loss of life at sea, and on inland waters, mountains and caves, and to provide effective emergency response services and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.
The Irish Coast Guard has responsibility for Ireland's system of marine communications, surveillance and emergency management in Ireland's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and certain inland waterways.
It is responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue and counter-pollution and ship casualty operations. It also has responsibility for vessel traffic monitoring.
Operations in respect of maritime security, illegal drug trafficking, illegal migration and fisheries enforcement are co-ordinated by other bodies within the Irish Government.
On average, each year, the Irish Coast Guard is expected to:
* assist 4,500 people and save about 200 lives
* task Coast Guard helicopters on missions
The Coast Guard has been aroundin some form in Irelandsince 1908.
Coast Guard helicopters
The Irish Coast Guard has contracted five medium-lift Sikorsky Search and Rescue helicopters deployed at bases in Dublin, Waterford, Shannon and Sligo.
The helicopters are designated wheels up from initial notification in 15 minutes during daylight hours and 45 minutes at night. One aircraft is fitted and its crew trained for under slung cargo operations up to 3000kgs and is available on short notice based at Waterford.
These aircraft respond to emergencies at sea, inland waterways, offshore islands and mountains of Ireland (32 counties).
They can also be used for assistance in flooding, major inland emergencies, intra-hospital transfers, pollution, and aerial surveillance during daylight hours, lifting and passenger operations and other operations as authorised by the Coast Guard within appropriate regulations.
The Irish Coast Guard provides nationwide maritime emergency response, while also promoting safety and security standards. It aims to prevent the loss of life at sea, on inland waters, on mountains and in caves; and to safeguard the quality of the marine environment.
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