Irish Coast Guard Saved Over 400 Lives Last Year Around 1,000 Volunteers Help Operate the Service
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DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2018 – 002 Number 002 *** COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS *** Wednesday 02-01-2018 News reports received from readers and Internet News articles copied from various news sites. Boluda’s MISTRAL 8 operating in the port of Marseille Photo : Ko Rusman © NOTE THE NEW ADRESS OF MAASMOND MARITIME Pte Ltd 10 Anson Road # 27-15 International Plaza SINGAPORE 079903 5Distribution : daily to 40.800+ active addresses 02 -01-2019 Page 1 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2018 – 002 Your feedback is important to me so please drop me an email if you have any photos / articles that may be of interest to the maritime interested people at sea and ashore PLEASE SEND ALL CORRESPONDENCE / PHOTOS / ARTICLES TO : [email protected] this above email address is monitored 24/7 PLEASE DONT CLICK ON REPLY AS THE NEWSLETTER IS SENt OUT FROM AN UNMANNED SERVER If you don't like to receive this bulletin anymore : please send an e-mail to the above e- mail adress for prompt action your e-mail adress will be deleted ASAP from the server EVENTS, INCIDENTS & OPERATIONS The tug JAKE EXPRESS operating in the port of Nassau-Bahamas Photo : Ko Rusman © Irish Coast Guard saved over 400 lives last year Around 1,000 volunteers help operate the service. THE COAST GUARD saved more than 400 lives in 2018, up from 340 the year 2017 5Distribution : daily to 40.800+ active addresses 02 -01-2019 Page 2 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2018 – 002 This figure refers to assistance provided that was it not available, would have resulted in loss of life or severe risk of loss of life or protracted hospitalisation, according to the organisation’s end-of-year review. The Coast Guard’s marine rescue coordination centres (MRCCs) at Malin Head, Valentia Island and Dublin operate on a 24/7 basis. In the past year, the three centres managed a total of 2,650 incidents, a rise when compared to 2017 (2,503 incidents). The report notes that the Coast Guard’s core safety message is ‘Stay Afloat – Stay in Touch’. This approach highlights the importance of never engaging in any commercial or recreational boating activity without wearing a fully serviced life jacket or personal flotation device coupled with a capacity to raise the alarm via means such as a VHF radio, personal locator beacon or mobile phone. MRCC Dublin serves as the national point of contact for processing electronic satellite-based safety alerts. In 2018, MRCC Dublin processed a total of 137 electronic transmissions – the majority of which proved to be false, arising from accidental activation or out-of-date equipment no longer in service. The Coast Guard has emphasised that this should not detract from the value of such devices and highlighted the importance of all users being familiar with their operation and inbuilt test mechanisms. Coast Guard helicopter services are provided under contract by CHCI, which operates a fleet of Sikorsky S92 helicopters out of bases in Dublin, Shannon, Waterford and Sligo. Helicopter services at each of the four bases are on 15-minute standby notice by day and 45 minutes by night. As well as its primary role of provision of maritime search-and-rescue services, the Coast Guard provides a round-the-clock medical evacuation service to the offshore islands. In 2018, the Coast Guard flew a total of 102 medical missions from islands to the mainland, 35 more than in 2017. Coast Guard helicopters also conducted eight long-range offshore medical evacuations in addition to coastal and inshore search-and-rescue missions. Coast Guard helicopters also provide helicopter emergency medical service for the HSE and National Ambulance Service, including inter-hospital transfers. The busiest inter-hospital transfer routes are from Letterkenny and Sligo to University Hospital Galway. Coast Guard helicopters have flown in excess of 670 missions this year, of which 119 were conducted on behalf of the HSE. Coast Guard helicopter services also include inland searches for missing people and medical evacuations in support of An Garda Síochána and mountain rescue teams. The Coast Guard has a membership of about 1,000 volunteers, with units delivering boat, cliff and shoreline search-and-rescue services as well as supporting their local communities during emergencies such as inclement weather. “These community services were to the forefront during storm Emma in March when major challenges were experienced in reaching essential services,” the report notes. Coast Guard volunteers provided emergency transport to healthcare staff, conducted patient transfers and provided support to isolated homes. Overall, volunteer Coast Guard units were tasked on a total of 1,185 separate occasions throughout the year Coast Guard Director Chris Reynolds said: “I want to particularly acknowledge the 5Distribution : daily to 40.800+ active addresses 02 -01-2019 Page 3 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2018 – 002 commitment and professionalism of our volunteer members. “In addition to the three core services that they provide they are an integral part of community resilience and continually act as the eyes and ears of our RCCs in assessing and responding to any coastal emergency.” The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is categorised as a declared resource to the Coast Guard which means that each station can be directly requested to respond to individual incidents. The RNLI was requested to launch on 836 occasions this year. Reynolds stressed the importance of raising the alarm in time. If you can raise the alarm and you can stay afloat then you have an outstanding chance of being rescued by our world-class rescue service “If you see somebody in trouble or if you think they are in trouble at sea, on the water or along the coast dial 112 or 999 and ask for the Coast Guard.” Source : the Journal A fully loaded PORT ALFRED departing from Marsden Point Photo : Bryan Shankland © Bryan wish you all a prosperous and productive 2019. Mexican Army Starts Major Crackdown On Fuel Theft By Tsvetana Paraskova Mexico’s military have taken control over 58 key fuel installations in the country, including refineries, upon orders by new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has vowed to fight corruption and fuel theft within and outside state-run energy company Pemex. Lopez Obrador unveiled a plan on Thursday to increase the presence of military and the use of the army in fighting rampant fuel theft that has been costing Mexico’s state firm Pemex billions of dollars annually. According to Pemex’s own estimates, the losses from fuel theft over the past three years have reached US$7.5 billion (147 billion Mexican pesos). According to Lopez Obrador, authorities are also involved in widespread fuel theft.“This is the theft of national assets, of public funds, of money that belongs to all Mexicans,” Reuters quoted Lopez Obrador as saying 5Distribution : daily to 40.800+ active addresses 02 -01-2019 Page 4 DAILY COLLECTION OF MARITIME PRESS CLIPPINGS 2018 – 002 at a regular news conference on Thursday. On Friday, the Mexican army took control of refineries of Pemex across the country, where unionized workers were blocking the access to some of the sites, UPI reports, citing the Excelsior newspaper. Mexican media report that three officials at Pemex, suspected of having facilitated fuel theft, had already been arrested for the alleged crimes. The three Pemex officials have been sacked and will be facing criminal charges, Mexico’s Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero said at Lopez Obrador’s news conference on Thursday. Pemex’s new management are aware of the fact that company employees have been complicit in fuel theft and moved to deal with the problem, Gertz Manero said. Illegal taps on Mexican fuel pipelines jumped by 45 percent annually between January and October 2018, according to Pemex’s latest report on fuel theft. Earlier this year, former Pemex chief executive Carlos Alberto Treviño Medina said that fuel theft was expected to cost the state oil company as much as US$1.78 billion (35 billion pesos) in 2018. Apart from rampant fuel theft, Pemex also has to cope with declining domestic oil production, which hit in October one of the lowest monthly production rates since 1990 when records began. Source: Oilprice The PACIFIC TREASURES at Marsden point Photo : Bryan Shankland © Lifeboat Damaged After Falling from Carnival Cruise Ship By Emrys Thakkar One of the lifeboats has fallen from CARNIVAL DREAM while the ship was at sea in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday afternoon heading back to New Orleans. Thankfully no crew members were on board the small boat at the time and it is believed the lifeboat just broke free from the cruise ship. Passengers have been posting on social media of the damaged lifeboat which has a large hole at the front. The Carnival cruise ship turned around and came to a stop. According to the Mum’s Travel Blog, the incident occurred at around 2:00 PM and ship officers could be seen with binoculars having a good look at the lifeboat which had floated away from the ship. The site went on to mention that the crew launched another lifeboat to go and investigate. There were three crew members and one had a large stick to bring the stricken boat alongside. After at least an hour it was decided to leave the damaged lifeboat at sea as it was impossible to connect and raise back to the CARNIVAL DREAM. Source : cruisehive ALSO INTERESTED IN THIS FREE MARITIME NEWSCLIPPINGS ? CLICK HERE AND REGISTER FOR FREE ! 5Distribution : daily to 40.800+