Arklow RNLI’s New and Retired Lifeboats Respond to Emergency Beacon Activation

29 June 2025

On Thursday 26 June at 9:15 pm, Arklow RNLI’s new all-weather lifeboat, RNLB Roy Holloway, was launched following a Coast Guard pager alert reporting the activation of an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) in the Arklow area.

Trent class Ger Tigchelaar and Shannon class Roy Holloway off Arklow Harbour. Photo Credit: RNLI/Arklow

The lifeboat proceeded at full speed to the reported location and began a thorough search. Despite an extensive effort, no vessel in distress or person in the water was found.

As daylight faded and no casualty was located, the volunteer crew deployed direction-finding equipment to help trace the beacon’s signal. Additional crew members were positioned around the harbour and along nearby beaches to assist with the search.

Some crew members also boarded Ger Tigchelaar, Arklow’s recently retired lifeboat, which had returned to port earlier that day. Using its direction-finding equipment, along with equipment on Windcat 2, the teams successfully triangulated the signals from all three sources and located the EPIRB inside a secured compound within the harbour.

Irish Coast Guard Rescue crews were also involved in the operation.

Following the callout, Mark Corcoran, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, said:

“This callout was bittersweet for all of us at Arklow RNLI. It was an unexpected but fitting moment to see our retired lifeboat Ger Tigchelaar play a part in assisting this search. Thankfully, the incident turned out to be a false alarm.”