The Irish Coast Guard contract is experiencing some delays in getting each base live under the new contract with Bristow Helicopters.  Sligo was originally slated for handover from CHC to Bristow on 14th February, but this has now been put back to 1st April.    Bristow have issued the following statement:

Establishing a new service with new bases is a complex process which requires close cooperation between multiple key stakeholders, including the incumbent operator, the regulator, future employees, partners, suppliers and many more over a carefully managed phased transition period.

The phased transition period will see CHCI continue to operate SAR operations at the Sligo base until 30 April 2025 at which point the service will transition to Bristow.

Collaborative engagement to manage the broader transition plan is ongoing, with safety and service delivery at the heart of all discussions. More details about the process at the Waterford and Weston bases will be available soon.

Meantime, a spokesman from the Irish Department of Transport advised this:-

Bristow Ireland Limited was awarded the contract to provide the next Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue in 2023. The contract provided for the operation four helicopter bases in Shannon, Sligo, Waterford and Dublin. Base transition commenced in December 2024 at Shannon.  

The Department of Transport has been working closely with the two contractors to finalise dates for transition of all four bases. With regards to the Sligo base, an arrangement is in place for CHC to continue operations out of Sligo to end-April 2025. This extension allows Bristow Ireland to complete its training programme in an orderly way and keeping safety as the overarching objective.

 The Department will not allow risks to be taken in a rush to meet contractual deadlines. To reiterate, safety of crew, citizens and mariners is the overarching priority. If the Department recognises the need to revise transition dates to ensure overall safety, this will be done without hesitation and expects full cooperation of both contractors to facilitate revised transition timelines.

 The Department is at all times cognisant of the cohort of CHC staff who plan on transferring to Bristow. From contract commencement, Bristow has engaged with the three Trade Unions as well as ongoing engagement with staff. This engagement includes on site briefings conducted at each Base prior to commencement of service.

Bristow are operating Leonardo AW189s on this contract, whereas previous contractor CHC flew Sikorsky S92s.

The first of the five CHC Sikorsky S92s has already been shipped by road ex Ireland, initially taking the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead and thence believed by road to Seaforth Docks in Liverpool for an Atlantic crossing en route to Canada