Ireland News

The Coast Guard have completed the urgent medical evacuation of a crew member from a container ship, the Eagle 2, which was 110 nautical miles south west of Castletownbere, Co. Cork. The medevac took place earlier today at 4.30pm. Valentia Coast Guard coordinated the medevac tasking the Coast Guard helicopter R115 and fixed-wing R120F. Sea conditions were reported as challenging. The casualty was transferred to the National Ambulance Service just before 6pm.

RS Aqua announced a new strategic partnership with Seasats, a San Diego-based unmanned surface vehicle (USV) developer, to introduce their range of security platforms to the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland defense market.Seasats is known for its high endurance, modular, and user-friendly USVs designed to deliver maritime domain awareness through autonomous operations. Through this partnership, RS Aqua will represent and support the Seasats product portfolio across the UK and Ireland.Seasats’ inaugural model, the Lightfish, is a modular USV engineered for long duration autonomous missions.

Ireland plans to boost radar and subsea surveillance capabilities and increase cooperation with NATO members amid growing hybrid threats in the North Atlantic, the country said in its first maritime security strategy on Wednesday.Ireland, which is neutral and has the EU's lowest level of defence spending, has been criticised for its lack of capability to monitor and defend territorial waters that the strategy says cover a "nexus of major transatlantic data cables and critical…

Stena Connecta, the latest purpose-built freight vessel commissioned by Stena Line for the Irish Sea has arrived in Belfast Harbor and is due to go into commercial service on the Belfast-Heysham route on January 23, 2026.The ship joins its sister vessel Stena Futura which went into service on the Belfast-Heysham service in October 2025 and together they offer an additional 40% freight capacity on the increasing popular trade route between Northern Ireland and Britain.Stena Connecta…

Over the course of 2025, the Irish Coast Guard managed 2793 incidents, ranging from search and rescue operations to maritime casualty responses, as well as pollution control and preparedness activities.The 44 Coast Guard Units were deployed 1187 times during the year, continuing to play a vital role in safeguarding communities nationwide. This included 933 helicopter missions including medical support for offshore island communities.In total, the Irish Coast Guard provided life-saving assistance to 1941individuals in 2025…

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has announced the establishment of the Marine Accident Investigation Unit (MAIU) within the Department of Transport. From January 1, 2026, the MAIU replaces the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) as the permanent body responsible for marine accident investigations. The MAIU will take over ongoing MCIB investigations.The MAIU is led by Chief Investigator David O’Driscoll. It will carry out marine safety investigations into accidents involving vessels in Irish waters, and Irish-flagged vessels anywhere in the world.

The Irish Coast Guard at Valentia Marine Rescue Coordination Center are currently coordinating a rescue operation which is in its final phase 53 nautical miles south west of Dursey head, Co. Cork.Valentia Coast Guard received a MAYDAY just before 6am today from the fishing vessel, 'Radoche Tercero,' which was taking water. The Coast Guard broadcast a MAYDAY relay to all shipping and tasked the Shannon-based Coast Guard helicopter R115, the Coast Guard Fixed wing 120F, Castletownbere lifeboat and Baltimore lifeboat.