There were 2,643 incidents this year, an increase from last year’s figure of 2,490.
As the year began, it seemed we might have a safe year on the water, with activity over February, March and April reaching record lows.
This corresponded with the nation’s first lockdown, lining up with a decrease in movement throughout the country.
However, the number of incidents began to pick up again in May, with both August and September proving to be exceptionally busy months for the Coast Guard.
They recorded 464 incidents in August, compared to 369 in the same month in 2019. Similarly, September 2020 saw 307 incidents recorded, while the corresponding 2019 figure was only 239.
In an end of year commentary, the Coast Guard has highlighted, that despite the impact of Covid-19, 2020 has proven to be a relatively busy year.
Overall, the Coast Guard coordinated 2643 incidents in comparison with 2490 incidents in 2019. Activity over February, March and April was the lowest recorded for each of those months over recent years but noticeably picked up in May with August and September proving to be exceptionally busy.
464 incidents were recorded in August in comparison with 369 for August of 2019 and 307 incidents recorded in September with a corresponding figure of 239 in in 2019.
Coast Guard Director Eugene Clonan said that the key challenge this year was to ensure the 24/7 delivery of Coast Guard SAR services, as coordinated by the three Rescue Coordination Centres in Malin, Valentia and MRCC Dublin and responses delivered primarily by Coast Guard’s own volunteer sector, its contracted Helicopter service, RNLI and Community Inshore Rescue services.