Institute backs Loran-C radio mast for Clare

The Nautical Institute has expressed support for construction of the controversial Loran-C radio navigation mast in Co Clare. It says it is a vital component of safety at sea.

Lieut Gary Delaney, a Naval Service retiree and spokesman for the institute's Irish branch, said the Loran-C system was approved by all professional mariners as part of an independent system of cross-checking in navigation.

The fears of health risks from the proposed mast were not valid, he said, as the frequency emitted from its signal would be 1500 times less than microwave emissions from a mobile phone mast, and even less than that of a household medium-wave radio.

Planning approval for building the 720-foot mast was recently issued by the Supreme Court, but the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, has promised to hold a public consultation forum before making a decision and introducing special legislation, if needs be.

But under an international agreement approved by the Oireachtas in 1992, Ireland is bound to sign up to the Loran-C system and to site the mast as part of the European network. The Commissioners of Irish Lights were appointed agents of the Government to construct the mast at Loop Head, and 55 per cent of the cost is to be borne by France and the Netherlands, as members of the North-West European Loran-C Navigation System.

Lieut Delaney said that LoranC would guarantee independent back-up for the existing GPS satellite system in European waters for the next 15 years. Professional mariners now used integrated navigational systems on bridges, and would never rely on one system alone, he said.

The standard GPS satellite system is accurate to 100 metres.

Differential GPS, which is being introduced by the General Lighthouse Authority in British and Irish waters as a free service to mariners and fishermen, had an accuracy of 10 metres.

The land-based Loran-C system aims to replace the Decca system, which is to be phased out by next year.

The terrestrial systems have two advantages, he said - independence, given that GPS was a US military-owned system and could be switched off at any stage, and "repeatable" accuracy, which meant errors in longitude and latitude were always fixed. The EU and the European Space Agency have taken the first steps towards independence in satellite navigation by installing signals on the last two INMARSAT communications satellites.