Pollution incident at Skerries harbour – 12th July 2013

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At 04:52 this morning the Skerries Coast Guard were tasked to investigate a report of pollution in the area of Skerries harbour and the nearby North Beach. A concerned member of the public had contacted the Coast Guard’s operation centre to report one of the fishing vessels at the harbour had sunk during the night and had resulted in oil pollution in the area.

The team inspected the area of the vessel, a small razor clam fishing vessel, and also carried out extensive searches of the nearby shorelines These inspections found some diesel appeared to have leaked from the vessel. The owner of the vessel arrived on scene and confirmed that only a small volume of diesel was onboard.

The Coast Guard’s Dublin based Sikorsky helicopter, Rescue 116, was tasked to carry out aerial inspections of the area and confirmed only minor scale pollution in the area of the harbour. Fingal County Council were notified of the incident.

Photos of the incident are available on our twitter account – @SkerriesCG

Incident # 15 of 2013

Remember – if you spot anyone in difficulty along the coast, sial 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD. Your call could save their life

Beach closure at Skerries

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Update 13th July 2013 – This morning, Fingal County Council reopened the North Beach to swimmers after the water was declared safe. The vessel involved in the diesel spill was righted and moved to shallow waters in the harbour overnight.

12th July 2013 – Following on from this morning’s incident at Skerries harbour where a fishing vessel had sunk overnight, small amounts of diesel fuel remain in the water in the area. As a precautionary measure, Fingal County Council have closed nearby bathing areas, including the North Beach. Additionally, pollution booms and soakage mats have been place in the vicinity of the sunken vessel to limit the drift of any further diesel.

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Pollution booms and soakage mats in place at Skerries harbour

The Coast Guard have been monitoring the situation since the early hours of the morning when the spill was first reported. Whilst only a very small amount of diesel was on board the vessel, the liquid had dispersed and drifted with the ebbing tide. The Coast Guard’s rescue helicopter from Dublin, R116, has been carrying out aerial views to monitor the situation. The Skerries Coast Guard team are also carrying out regular inspections of the area. The diesel fuel is expected to evaporate from the water over the course of today.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

Incident tasking to Balbriggan – 10th July 2013

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This afternoon, the Skerries Coast Guard team were paged by the Coast Guard’s operations centre to investigate a report of possible human remains washed ashore near Balbriggan. Thankfully, the team were stood down only moments later as it transpired the object washed ashore was a seal carcass.

Incident # 14 of 2013

@SkerriesCG launched!

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Skerries Coast Guard are pleased to announce the launch of our new Twitter account! You can connect with us @SkerriesCG and follow our tweets for all the latest news from the team as it happens.

Skerries Coast Guard – a voluntary search and rescue unit of the Irish Coast Guard