The Irish Coast Guard will lead a maritime response exercise along with other agencies in Galway Bay off the Clare coast today (Wednesday 17th May).
The exercise titled ‘Blue Horizon’ will test major incident plans and will focus on the operational capability and co-ordination of the relevant authorities responding to a major maritime Search and Rescue Incident, within the context of the National Search and Rescue (SAR) Plan and Major Emergency Management framework.
Agencies involved in this exercise include Department of Transport, Galway County Council, Galway Fire Service, the HSE, An Garda Síochána, RNLI , Dublin Fire Brigade, IAA and others.
The exercise will be conducted in Galway Bay and in the environs of Rossaveal Harbour and Inverin Airport.
The Coast Guard will Coordinate the exercise from the Marine Rescue Sub-Coordination Centre at Valentia and from the National Maritime Operations Centre, Dublin.
There will be no disruption to services during this exercise.
A similar exercise was carried out in Galway in April 2019.
The Irish Aviation Authority has also published details of a Temporary Restricted Area (TRA) which prohibits the the flying of aircraft, rockets and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in a portion of airspace in the vicinity of Galway Bay.
The TRA will be located just off Blackhead in Co Clare.
Safety Notice: TRA in place over Galway bay tomorrow, Wednesday May 17th 2023 @GalwayCoCo @UAAIRELAND
More info at https://t.co/kjKmuwInJm pic.twitter.com/ukbQ6G2een— IAA (@IAApress) May 16, 2023