UK Marine News
Unprecedented numbers of flares seen at Northern Ireland disposal events The Northern Irish sailing community produced
an unprecedented 4,000 expired marine flares at disposal events held at Portrush Yacht Club, Bangor Marina and Lough Erne Yacht Club.
RYA Northern Ireland organised these events in conjunction with the PSNI as The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) voluntary flare disposal service stopped in December 2022 and as there is no commercial disposal service currently available in Northern Ireland for marine distress flare disposal. This has been problematic for boaters as it is illegal to dispose of flares at sea, illegal to dump them on land and illegal to let them off in anything other than an emergency.
It is also vital that there are adequate disposal facilities are provided for boaters as improper disposal of marine flares can be dangerous or cause harm to the environment. Shockingly, the oldest dated flare to be handed in at last Saturday’s events dated back to 1965.
Major increase in UK river rescues in 2024
Unprecedented rainfall levels, water surges and numerous flood warnings resulted in River Canal Rescue (RCR) responding to more major incidents in the first three months of this year, than it did for the whole of 2023. Between January and March, its teams responded to 155 major incidents (emergency situations either involving submerged, partially sunken or grounded craft, plus salvage work) - in 2023 the figure for the year was 121.
The extreme weather conditions, which included various named storms – Agnes, Babet, Ciaran, Debi, Elin, Fergus, Gerrit, Henk, Isha and Jocelyn – hitting the UK over the winter months, tested RCR recovery teams who were unable to raise submerged boats and free land-locked vessels until water levels reduced and the rivers/canals were safe to enter.
Managing director, Stephanie Horton commented, “This has been a very challenging time for our teams; our ethos is to help people as soon as we can, but in some cases the weather and recovery conditions wouldn’t allow us to do so. Thankfully, all vessels are recovered now, but many of the cases are heartbreaking where people have lost their homes and possessions.”
Oyster Yachts partners with UK college
Bournemouth and Poole College in the UK has announced a partnership with Oyster Yachts, the UK manufacturer of blue water sailing yachts. Oyster will work with the college to deliver 10 apprenticeships for the first year of the partnership. During the next four years, students will undertake extensive training to complete Level 3 Marine Electrical, Marine Engineering or Boat Building apprenticeships.
Natalie Fox, group HR director at Oyster Yachts, said, “Apprenticeships are a very important initiative for us. We are passionate about growing our own talent and ensuring we help develop and nurture skilled craftspeople for the marine industry.
“By bringing the strengths of both the college and Oyster Yachts together, I am confident that we can provide a great learning environment for apprentices and continue to develop local skills for the marine sector.”
Canal & River Trust responds to awful annual boaters’ survey findings
The UK Canal & River Trust (CRT) says it will be doing all it can to make improvements following the publication of its annual boaters’ survey, which has revealed a decrease in overall boater satisfaction from 54 per cent to 46 per cent from a year ago.
The organisation says it is greatly concerned to see the fall in boater satisfaction, and that the fall continues a downward trend since 2017.
In a statement, CRT says, “The trust is committed to doing whatever we can within our means to provide all of our boating customers with the experience and service they expect. This disappointing result confirms that we need to re-double our efforts to improve this.
Read the full story at
https://bit.ly/3zS4TFQ.
16 | ISSUE 109 | SEP 2024 | THE REPORT
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