Cork Harbour Open Weekend A Huge Success

Pictured at the launch of Cork Harbour Open Weekend at the Irish Naval Base, Haulbowline is Minister for Agriculture, Food & The Marine Simon Coveney T.D with Niamh O’Mahony (age 8)

Cork Harbour Open Weekend proved to be a huge success once again, with hundreds of families turning out at events which took place around the harbour on Saturday and Sunday, 15th & 16th September 2012. There were lots of events on offer, both on and off the water and many were free to all to enjoy. In Ringaskiddy, the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) opened their doors for the weekend and gave visitors guided tours of the facilities including their state of the art panoramic bridge ship simulators, the survival pool and the marine workshops. In the city, Irish Naval Vessel the L.E Ciara was open to the public and an exciting display by the Emergency & Statutory Services took place which saw thousands line Kennedy Quay to watch organisations such as the Irish Coast Guard, SARDA dogs, Defence Forces and the Fire Brigade demonstrate their capabilities. Saturday also saw the annual Cobh to Blackrock sailing race which brought over 50 boats into the Port of Cork City Marina. In Cobh, Spike Island hosted a family day out on the Island with live music, children’s entertainers and an opportunity to walk on the recently completed Walking Trail around the perimeter of Fort Mitchell with stunning views of Cork Harbour. Military Exhibitions were also on display for visitors. Also in Cobh, In Cobh, there was crab fishing at The Promenade, a ‘Life Along the Seashore’ walk and the ‘Cobh Great Island, Great harbour, Great Ships, Great Puzzle’ treasure hunt which proved great fun for all. In Crosshaven, Camden Fort Meagher hosted military re-enactments on both days and proved a fantastic day out for families. The weekend marked their last opening for the 2012 season and certainly left most visitors already looking forward to returning next year. The idea for a Harbour Open Day, now extended to a full weekend, emerged from discussions between various stakeholders involved in the development and implementation of the Integrated Strategy for the Harbour in 2007. This has been taken forward by the Harbour Management Focus Group (HMFG) which meets quarterly to exchange information on Harbour issues. A HMFG working group comprising representatives from UCC, City and County Councils and the Port of Cork set about working together to engage users of the Harbour and to organise the Open Day. Related links for this article  View the Programme of Events 2012

NMCI Recognises the importance of e-Learning at MarLeaNet Conference, Brest, France

The NMCI will lead a discussion at the final conference of the MarLeaNet project

The National Maritime College of Ireland will lead a discussion on maritime training and educational methods at the final conference of the Maritime Learning Network 'MarLeaNet', an EU project linking a network of maritime training centres in Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland – in Brest, France on 9th and 10th October. The MarLeaNet final conference brings together maritime training and education centres along the Atlantic area to discuss topics related to the development of maritime training, not least planning to incorporate e-Learning into the training offering. Led by the European Centre for Maritime Training CEFCM, which is based in Brest, France, the MarLeaNet final conference will host a number of experts from the full gamut of maritime training. The broad maritime sectors of the merchant marine, fisheries and naval sectors will be represented by experts from Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland. The National Maritime College of Ireland has nominated 4 experts to attend the two-day-conference, Lt Cmdr Anthony Heery from the Irish Naval Service, Arnaud Disant is Managing Director of Sea-Tech Evolution Ltd, Jane O’Keeffe is an expert in maritime supply chain logistics and Gerry Greenway is Head of the Maritime Unit in the Irish Customs and Revenue. The experts will be accompanied by Gráinne Lynch from the National Maritime College of Ireland. Related links for this article  MarLeaNet website NMCI website

Marine Research Conferences at UCC (October 9th - 12th)

Minister Simon Coveney launching Irelands integrated marine plan, “Harnessing Our Ocean Wealth” in July 2012

UCC is hosting three research conferences and workshops this week, October 9th-12th, with 180 delegates expected to attend the three events. The marine research themed conferences will showcase the best of local, national and international marine related research. October 10: The Environmental Research Institute (ERI) at UCC will host their 5th Annual ERI Research Open Day on the topic of Marine Research @ Cork. The event will feature presentations across a range of marine research areas where UCC has expertise including aquaculture, fisheries, marine biotechnology, marine renewables, geomatics, coastal governance and economic opportunities in the maritime and energy sphere. The ERI will launch the 2012-2013 Directory of Marine Research at UCC at the event, which showcase over 60 marine research projects currently underway at the University. UCC news article  ERI Open Day Programme (PDF)  October 9-10: The Geo-Seas project will host an international workshop to present the results of this European Commission funded project and provide demonstrations of these tools and services for the discovery, assessment and access to a range of marine geosciences datasets. The workshop will also include a number of keynote presentations by invited speakers from the international marine research community and other related fields. GeoSeas news article  Full GeoSeas programme (PDF) October 11-12: The INFOMAR Annual Seminar “Enabling our Ocean Management” will take place providing an update on the programme’s survey and research activities. The seminar will include a wide range of talks across areas such as ocean energy, hydrography and operations, aquaculture and fisheries, applied research, environmental and heritage. There will be poster sessions and vessel tours aboard the RV Keary. The Assistant Secretary at the Department of Energy, Communications and Natural Resources and INFOMAR Board Chairperson, Michael Manley, will deliver a key presentation highlighting INFOMAR’s role in Ireland’s ocean wealth strategy and the importance of the ‘blue economy’. More information on the INFOMAR Annual Seminar

Official Launch of UCC’s Beaufort Laboratory

Visualisation of the Beaufort Laboratory, Ringaskiddy © McCullough Mulvin and Pedersen Focus Architects

Dr Michael B. Murphy, President of University College Cork, will officially launch the Beaufort Laboratory on Thursday 18 October 2012 on board the Irish Naval Vessel, L.É. Róisín, at Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin. Pat Rabbitte TD, Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources will be in attendance. The Beaufort Laboratory is a new flagship research facility, currently being constructed adjacent to the National Maritime College of Ireland, Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork and will integrate three existing UCC research entities, the Hydraulics & Maritime Research Centre (HMRC), the Coastal Marine Research Centre (CMRC) and the Sustainable Energy Research Group (SERG). The Laboratory will be dedicated to multi-disciplinary research and knowledge transfer to support sustainable resource development and innovation in the maritime field, including areas such as ocean energy, coastal governance and energy storage. Its facilities, and chiefly its human resources will be UCC’s physical presence within the IMERC (Irish Maritime and Energy Resource Cluster) cluster in Cork Harbour. The Beaufort Laboratory is funded by the Higher Education Authority PRTLI5 programme, the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy and the Glucksman Foundation using land released by the Industrial Development Agency. The 4700m² building will house the National Ocean Test Facility as well as dedicated laboratories, incubation suites for industry and accommodation for some 135 researchers. Related links for this article  CMRC website article on the Beaufort Laboratory

NMCI Visit the French Naval Academy, Toulon

Picture: From left to right: PO EA Rory Galvin (Irish Naval Service), Sub Lt Caroline Noble (French Navy), Lt Cmdr Anthony Heery (Irish Naval Service), Alain Pomes (CEFCM-European Maritime Training Centre), Cmdr Bertrand Hudault (French Navy). © Gráinne Lynch

Monday 1st October: The National Maritime College of Ireland recently sent 4 people to the Centre d’instruction naval (Naval Training Centre) in Toulon to exchange ideas and approaches to e-Learning in maritime training and education. This exchange was enabled by the Maritime Learning Network 'MarLeaNet', an EU project – a network of maritime training centres in Portugal, Spain, France and Ireland. The Naval Training Centre San Mandrier supports sailors throughout their careers in an impressive facility that extends over 110 hectares and two sites: Saint-Georges in the north, home to generations of engineers since 1936, and Cépet in the south, which forms the marine specialties in weapons and equipment (radar, electronic warfare, sonar, communications and information) and operations. The NTC delivers some impressive statistics with more than 400 courses, 8,000 students and trainees, 300,000 training days delivering everything from apprentice training to MA degrees. The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI), located in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, in the second largest natural harbour in the world. A constituent college of Cork Institute of Technology, the NMCI is a state of the art facility that provides training and education for the Merchant Marine and the Irish Naval Service, which includes survival training facilities, fire fighting / damage control training, confined space training, jetty and lifeboat facilities. The one-day-meeting in France hosted experts from the Irish, Spanish and Portuguese navies and facilitated an excellent exchange of practices relating e-Learning methodologies. Anthony Heery, Michael Quinn and Rory Galvin from the Irish Naval Service and Gráinne Lynch from the National Maritime College of Ireland travelled to France. “The NMCI provides training to the seafarers, both the merchant marine and the Irish Naval Service. Learning from other training centres and navies through projects like ‘MarLeaNet’ is incredibly important for developing best practices in maritime training and education here in Ireland”, says Grainne Lynch, Project Manager of the MarLeaNet project in the NMCI. “Access to continued training throughout a seafarer’s career is essential and distance learning has always played a role. e-Learning is becoming increasingly popular as telecommunications technologies and broadband services on board ships become increasingly accessible,” adds Lynch. For more information on the MarLeaNet project please visit www.marleanet.com. Do come to the National Maritime College of Ireland Open Day on Tuesday 23 October 2012, 10.00am - 3.00pm. For Group Bookings contact +353 21 4970607. www.nmci.ie Related links for this article  MarLeaNet website NMCI website

East Tip, Haulbowline Island, Remediation Project, Public Consultation

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Information Evening in Cobh  As part of the non-statutory public consultation for the East Tip Remediation Project, Cork County Council is holding an Information Evening: Venue: The Commodore Hotel, Cobh Date: Thursday 11th October 2012 Time: 6:30pm A number of presentations will be made by the Project Team who will then be available to discuss the project, record feedback and answer any queries that people may have. You can also contact the Project Team by: Emailing: haulbowline@rpsgroup.com Or Writing to: East Tip Remediation Project, RPS, Innishmore, Ballincollig, Co Cork. Related links for this article  Follow the progress of the project here Flier for the public meeting