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Displaying items by tag: SFPC Competition

Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) in collaboration with The Hunt Museum, Limerick would like to invite Transition Year Students in counties lining the Shannon estuary to enter a short film competition.

The students invited from counties, Clare, Limerick and Kerry, can take part in this year’s “Shooting the Breeze” short film competition.

Shooting The Breeze is a short film competition aimed at TY students from these counties which line the 500km2 area of marine activities on the Shannon Estuary, stretching from Kerry to Loop Head to Limerick City with its dock basin port.

The region is where SPFC operate six terminals among them, Foynes Port, mid-way along Ireland’s deepest sheltered commercial harbour and largest bulk-port company.

The theme of the short film competition is ‘Renewable Energy Solutions’ as according to Mick Kennelly, Harbour Master, SFPC, said the film must focus on wind-power on the Shannon Estuary.

SFPC along with The Hunt Museum is also delighted to be working on this collaborative project which is linked to the museum exhibition: Night’s Candles Are Burnt Out: Climate, Culture, Change & Community.

The exhibition which runs until 29 February, 2024, is curated by The Hunt Museum, in collaboration with ESB and ESB Archives, Western Star Floating Wind, SFPC, Shannon Airport Group, and Gkinetic Energy Ltd.ve project.

For further information, check out SFPC’s Competition Trailer, by clicking here to watch.

In addition for information packs and entry application form, contact the port via this email: [email protected] or by tel: 069 73102

Entry forms to be returned by 31 January, 2024

Film clips submitted by 21 March of next year

TOP 5 Best Film will be announced on 8 April.

Following this, a Gala Awards Event is to take place in the apt venue of the Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum on 26 April, 2024.

As for the Competition Prizes!

€2,000 and the Compass Trophy for the winning school

iPad and Commemorative Medal to each member of the winning team

Runner up prizes of a Commemorative Medal and a Sailing Day at Foynes Yacht Club

Published in Shannon Estuary

#marinescience - One of Ireland’s maritime commercial hubs, Foynes, in Co Limerick was where innovation was in rich supply as schools presented ground-breaking concepts for sustainable energy sources of the future.

The schools congregated at the biennial Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) ‘Compass’ Transition Year Competition that was held last Friday.

Laurel Hill Secondary School was the overall winner which walked away with the honours thanks to their ‘Working Waves’ presentation. This is based on generating energy from ships on the move through a pressure pad system that feeds into an electricity generator and battery in the hull.

But, as judges highlighted, the competition was the most tightly marked, the most competitive and delivered the highest standards in its six-year history.

The Limerick city school, who were presented with their award by Minister of State at the Department of Finance Patrick O’Donovan, was one of five finalists who presented in front of 300 people at the Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum.

They walked away with the top prize of the perpetual trophy, a €2,000 cheque for their school and iPads & COMPASS gold medals for each of the team members. All runners up received a COMPASS silver medal and a sailing day on the Shannon Estuary sponsored by the Foynes Yacht Club Sailing Academy.

Published in Marine Science

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations