COAST GUARD ROUNDUP 2019
SAVING LIVES AT SEA The Irish Coast Guard continued to provide a vital service in 2019.
T
he Irish Coast Guard had another busy year in 2019, with the three Rescue Coordination Centres at Malin Head, Valentia Island and Dublin handling 2,487 incidents. The number of incidents is similar to those of the past two years, with 2,647 in 2018 and 2,503 in 2017.
AT SEA The RNLI were requested to launch by the Coast Guard on more than 815 occasions in order to rescue people at sea, with Coast Guard units overall responding to 1,075 call outs throughout the year.
BY AIR The Coast Guard helicopter services provided under contract by CHCI and operating a fleet of Sikorsky S92 helicopters out of bases in Dublin, Shannon, Waterford and Sligo, saw more than 770 missions in 2019. These included inland searches for missing persona in support of An Garda SĂochĂĄna and Mountain Rescue Teams.
Apart from maritime search and rescue services, the Coast Guard also provides support services to the offshore islands, and in 2019 there were 123 emergency missions undertaken by the nationwide network of more than 940 volunteers from these islands to the mainland. Coast Guard helicopters also provided Helicopter Emergency Medical Services to the NAS, including inter-hospital transfers.
PLANS The publication of a new National Search and Rescue (SAR) Plan, overseen by an independent committee, and a National Oil Spill Contingency Plan, were two highlights for the service in 2019. The SAR plan replaces the preexisting framework and affords equal recognition to the three components of Search and Rescue: Maritime, land and aviation, with an added emphasis on oversight arrangements.
FOCUS In 2020, the Coast Guard says it will continue to focus on the importance of Prevention as a core safety theme, and will
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