Irish Coast Guard welcomes first AW189 for new SAR contract
The Irish Coast Guard has taken delivery of its first AW189 helicopter, part of its new eight-aircraft-strong fleet, as Bristow Ireland prepares to commence its new search and rescue (SAR) contract from the end of October.
Describing the new aircraft as “an exciting milestone in the introduction of the new aviation service of the Irish Coast Guard,” the minister for state at the Department of Transport with responsibility for the Coast Guard, James Lawless, added: “this fleet will enhance the Coast Guard’s capability to deliver a world class search and rescue and maritime monitoring services”.
Bristow’s Irish subsidiary was announced as the preferred bidder to provide SAR services for the Irish Coast Guard back in June 2023, subsequently signing a ten-year contract with the Irish Department of Transport in August. The full fleet will comprise six AW189s (to operate from Dublin, Sligo, Waterford and Shannon), while a new fixed-wing element (comprising two aircraft) will also operate from Shannon.
Bristow Ireland will assume responsibility for Shannon-based operations this October, with the company’s contracted services to be fully operational by July 2025. In the coming weeks, SAR providers including Coast Guard volunteers, the RNLI, community inshore rescue, and mountain rescue teams will conduct exercises with the new asset. “The intervening time will be used for training and conducting familiarisation exercises before it is put into active service,” confirmed the Department of Transport.
“The scheduled process for introducing the new SAR service for the Irish Coast Guard is now well under way,” concluded the Director of Bristow Ireland, Philip Bartlett. “We will be phasing in new equipment to this trusted, life-saving service throughout the transition period”.
The aircraft fleet will also be used for environmental monitoring, and for other essential services including helicopter emergency medical and Air Ambulance Services on behalf of the HSE and National Ambulance Service.
