STORMS, GALES and a dreadful summer contributed to a slight drop in demand for lifeboats around the 7,000-km coastline last year.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) says its lifeboats still rescued an average of 19 people a week in 2008. Its fleet and largely voluntary crew responded to a total of 863 call-outs over the 12 months, compared to 922 in 2007.
Some 993 people were rescued, and busiest stations were those based in prime marine leisure areas at Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin and Crosshaven, Co Cork.
The busiest station in the North was Portaferry, Co Down on Strangford Lough with 25 launches and 50 people rescued. The RNLI’s deputy divisional inspector Gareth Morrison said that weather was a big contributory factor to the drop, which translated into one less call-out among the 43 stations. “We would also believe that education and sea safety messages are also having an impact,” he told The Irish Times.
The high cost of fuel earlier last year may also have had an impact, he said. The three most common reasons for alerts relate to machinery failure and damage, strandings of vessels and people, and medical emergencies. Mr Morrison noted a marked decrease in call-outs to assist fishing vessels, while rescues of powerboats, used for pleasure, remain “high”.
In spite of the economic downturn, the RNLI plans an investment of almost €8 million in new vessels at two Irish stations next year. The new Tamar class design of all-weather lifeboat will be deployed at Baltimore, Co Cork, and Kilmore Quay, Co Wexford, at a cost of €3.9 million per hull.
In a related development, the Marine Casualty Investigation Board has found that lack of prior planning contributed to the sinking of a currach with six people on board off the Connemara coast on December 27th, 2006. An investigation found that the condition of the vessel in relation to seaworthiness, stability, loading and freeboard had not been assessed. Local weather conditions were fresh with a heavy swell that morning.
Two of the six on board swam to shore and Clifden lifeboat rescued four people left clinging to the upturned vessel.