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Displaying items by tag: Marine Research Vessels

Oceans of Learning, a collaboration between the Marine Institute and Government departments and organisations across Ireland, this week focuses on Ireland’s national marine research vessels, the Celtic Voyager and Celtic Explorer.

The RV Celtic Voyager came into service in 1997 as Ireland’s first custom-built multi-purpose research vessel. Her purpose was to facilitate the sustainable development of the country’s vast marine resource.

In 2003, the RV Celtic Explorer was commissioned as Ireland’s first deep sea research vessel. At the time of its launch, the Celtic Explorer was the quietest research vessel in the world, meeting international underwater noise requirements essential for fisheries research.

Dr Paul Connolly, CEO of the Marine Institute said, “The Celtic Voyager and Celtic Explorer have been central to the Marine Institute’s work and research, enabling us as a nation to engage in high quality marine science and to actively contribute to international research programmes.

“The new national marine research vessel, RV Tom Crean, comes into service in 2022, replacing the Celtic Voyager. As we look forward to a bright future with the Tom Crean and Celtic Explorer, we take a moment to appreciate the legacy of the Celtic Voyager. The vessel has served us well over the past quarter of a century, providing marine scientists, researchers and crew members with many years of experience at sea, and enabling us to deepen our ocean knowledge.”

The RV Celtic Voyager replaced the 21 metre RV Lough Beltra, which had originally been a fishing trawler. Upgrading to a 31-metre research vessel was the beginning of a new era in marine science in Ireland, as the Marine Institute was able to provide a purpose built platform that could operate further out in Ireland’s ocean territory.

The research vessel has played an essential role in fisheries scientific research, and a vital role in seabed mapping in Irish waters, as part of the INFOMAR programme. More than 200 shipwrecks around the coast of Ireland including the RMS Lusitania, have been mapped by the Celtic Voyager. In 2007, the survey of Galway Bay revealed for the first time a detailed seafloor and geology of the bay, confirming the location of the Galway Bay Fault.

Over close to 25 years, the Celtic Voyager has completed more than 600 surveys, enabled more than 5,000 science days and sailed in excess of 400,000 miles.

The 65 metre RV Celtic Explorer is designed for fisheries acoustic research, oceanographic, hydrographic and geological investigations as well as buoy/deep water mooring and ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) Operations. The vessel has a maximum endurance of 35 days offshore and can accommodate up to 35 personnel, including 20-22 scientists.

Expeditions on the RV Celtic Explorer in Irish and international waters have resulted in many exciting discoveries - from deep-water shark nurseries, cold-water coral reefs, to hydrothermal vents fields in the mid-Atlantic.

As part of Oceans of Learning, the Marine Institute’s Voyages video series profiles the people whose work is intertwined with Ireland’s national research vessels. Voyages shares insights into the people behind the science of our seas – Dr Louise Allcock, Professor of Zoology at NUI Galway, and David O’Sullivan, INFOMAR Programme at the Marine Institute – modern explorers on a voyage of discovery to safeguard the ocean and our future.

The Oceans of Learning series on marine.ie offers online interactive activities, videos and downloadable resources all about our ocean. A #SeaToMe social competition will encourage people across Ireland to share what the sea means to them for the chance to win weekly prizes.

Through Oceans of Learning, the Marine Institute comes together with Government Departments and organisations across Ireland including Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Bord Bia, Met Éireann, Commissioners of Irish Lights and EPIC Irish Emigration Museum, to celebrate and highlight the vital role our ocean plays in all of our lives.

Published in Marine Science

The Marine Institute has today launched this year’s Oceans of Learning series, celebrating Ireland’s Marine Research Vessels and Ocean Explorers – Our Past, Present and Future.

Over a three-week period, Oceans of Learning celebrates our seas and Ireland’s valuable marine resource, marking both European Maritime Day (20th May) and World Oceans Day (8th June). The Oceans of Learning series on marine.ie offers online interactive activities, videos and downloadable resources all about our ocean. A #SeaToMe social competition will encourage people across Ireland to share what the sea means to them for the chance to win weekly prizes.

The RV Tom Crean will join Ireland’s marine research fleet in 2022The RV Tom Crean will join Ireland’s marine research fleet in 2022

Beginning this week with a look at Irish research vessels used in the waters around Ireland, since as far back as 1865. Oceans of Learning will next feature the national research vessels of the present, the RV Celtic Voyager and RV Celtic Explorer. The final week of the campaign focuses on the future. The RV Tom Crean will join Ireland’s marine research fleet in 2022, marking a major milestone for marine research. The 52.8 metre vessel will provide a year round service for expanded fisheries surveys, seabed mapping, deep water surveys and support increased collaborative research in the Atlantic Ocean.

RV Celtic ExplorerRV Celtic Explorer

Through the Oceans of Learning series, the Marine Institute comes together with Government Departments and organisations across Ireland including Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Bord Bia, Met Éireann, Commissioners of Irish Lights and EPIC Irish Emigration Museum, to celebrate and highlight the vital role our ocean plays in all of our lives.

Dr Paul Connolly, CEO of the Marine Institute, said “As we anticipate the arrival of Ireland’s new state-of-the-art, multi-purpose research vessel the RV Tom Crean, it’s the perfect time to reflect on our research vessels and explorers of the past and to mark the wonderful achievements of our present day research vessels – the RV Celtic Voyager which came into service in 1997 and the RV Celtic Explorer which arrived in 2003.

“These research vessels have been central to the Marine Institute’s work and research programmes. They enhance our ability to collaborate with our many national and international partners and are central to positioning Ireland as a leader in ocean knowledge. They continue to facilitate a deeper understanding of our ocean, helping us to safeguard it for future generations.”

A new video released this week as part of Oceans of Learning focuses on Ireland’s research vessels of the past.

In the early years of fisheries surveys and marine research (the late 19th century), a variety of different ships were used in the waters around Ireland. One of the first on record was the HMS Lightning (1865-67), a wooden-hulled paddle powered gun vessel. Other ships from these early days of fisheries research include the Flying Fox, Fingal, Harlequin, Granuaile and Saturn.

The Helga was purchased in 1900 – the same year the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction was established - and used both as a scientific research vessel and as a fisheries protection vessel.

Helga II (also known as HMS Helga, Muirchú) came into service as a fishery research vessel in 1908. She was solely designed to carry out scientific investigations in Irish waters. A modern creation, she was fully electrified, contained refrigeration units and a continuous-wave radio.

At various points in her history, the Helga II was requisitioned away from fisheries research work. She served as an anti-submarine patrol vessel during World War I, was involved in shelling buildings in Dublin occupied by Irish volunteers during the 1916 Rising, and played a key role during the Civil War in moving Free State troops.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Free State did not yet have a navy and the ship, now named Muirchú (Sea Hound), was one of the first ships to be co-opted for the then Marine and Coastwatching Service.

In 1947, the ship was decommissioned and sold to a Dublin company for scrap. In transit from Cork, she began to take on water. Those onboard were rescued and the vessel sank beneath the waves off the Wexford coast.

Several ships were used as research vessels over the following years: the steam trawler Fort Rannoch (1938-1947), Cú Feasa – Hound of Knowledge (commissioned in 1958), Cú na Mara – Hound of the Sea (1966-1972) and the RV Lough Beltra (1976-1997).

Launched in 1973 as a 21 metre fishing trawler, the Lough Beltra was refitted in 1976 as Ireland’s national research vessel. She had the most up-to-date navigational equipment at the time, including a Decca Auto Pilot, Track Plotter, Navigator and Radar.

From 1994 to 1997, the vessel surveyed areas of the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. She was decommissioned in 1997, when the newly built RV Celtic Voyager, managed by the Marine Institute, came into service

Published in Marine Science

Ireland's Offshore Renewable Energy

Because of Ireland's location at the Atlantic edge of the EU, it has more offshore energy potential than most other countries in Europe. The conditions are suitable for the development of the full range of current offshore renewable energy technologies.

Offshore Renewable Energy FAQs

Offshore renewable energy draws on the natural energy provided by wind, wave and tide to convert it into electricity for industry and domestic consumption.

Offshore wind is the most advanced technology, using fixed wind turbines in coastal areas, while floating wind is a developing technology more suited to deeper water. In 2018, offshore wind provided a tiny fraction of global electricity supply, but it is set to expand strongly in the coming decades into a USD 1 trillion business, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). It says that turbines are growing in size and in power capacity, which in turn is "delivering major performance and cost improvements for offshore wind farms".

The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, according to the IEA, due to rapid technology improvements, It calculated that about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world. Europe in particular has fostered the technology's development, led by Britain, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018.

A report for the Irish Wind Energy Assocation (IWEA) by the Carbon Trust – a British government-backed limited company established to accelerate Britain's move to a low carbon economy - says there are currently 14 fixed-bottom wind energy projects, four floating wind projects and one project that has yet to choose a technology at some stage of development in Irish waters. Some of these projects are aiming to build before 2030 to contribute to the 5GW target set by the Irish government, and others are expected to build after 2030. These projects have to secure planning permission, obtain a grid connection and also be successful in a competitive auction in the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).

The electricity generated by each turbine is collected by an offshore electricity substation located within the wind farm. Seabed cables connect the offshore substation to an onshore substation on the coast. These cables transport the electricity to land from where it will be used to power homes, farms and businesses around Ireland. The offshore developer works with EirGrid, which operates the national grid, to identify how best to do this and where exactly on the grid the project should connect.

The new Marine Planning and Development Management Bill will create a new streamlined system for planning permission for activity or infrastructure in Irish waters or on the seabed, including offshore wind farms. It is due to be published before the end of 2020 and enacted in 2021.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE.

There are a number of companies aiming to develop offshore wind energy off the Irish coast and some of the larger ones would be ESB, SSE Renewables, Energia, Statkraft and RWE. Is there scope for community involvement in offshore wind? The IWEA says that from the early stages of a project, the wind farm developer "should be engaging with the local community to inform them about the project, answer their questions and listen to their concerns". It says this provides the community with "the opportunity to work with the developer to help shape the final layout and design of the project". Listening to fishing industry concerns, and how fishermen may be affected by survey works, construction and eventual operation of a project is "of particular concern to developers", the IWEA says. It says there will also be a community benefit fund put in place for each project. It says the final details of this will be addressed in the design of the RESS (see below) for offshore wind but it has the potential to be "tens of millions of euro over the 15 years of the RESS contract". The Government is also considering the possibility that communities will be enabled to invest in offshore wind farms though there is "no clarity yet on how this would work", the IWEA says.

Based on current plans, it would amount to around 12 GW of offshore wind energy. However, the IWEA points out that is unlikely that all of the projects planned will be completed. The industry says there is even more significant potential for floating offshore wind off Ireland's west coast and the Programme for Government contains a commitment to develop a long-term plan for at least 30 GW of floating offshore wind in our deeper waters.

There are many different models of turbines. The larger a turbine, the more efficient it is in producing electricity at a good price. In choosing a turbine model the developer will be conscious of this ,but also has to be aware the impact of the turbine on the environment, marine life, biodiversity and visual impact. As a broad rule an offshore wind turbine will have a tip-height of between 165m and 215m tall. However, turbine technology is evolving at a rapid rate with larger more efficient turbines anticipated on the market in the coming years.

 

The Renewable Electricity Support Scheme is designed to support the development of renewable energy projects in Ireland. Under the scheme wind farms and solar farms compete against each other in an auction with the projects which offer power at the lowest price awarded contracts. These contracts provide them with a guaranteed price for their power for 15 years. If they obtain a better price for their electricity on the wholesale market they must return the difference to the consumer.

Yes. The first auction for offshore renewable energy projects is expected to take place in late 2021.

Cost is one difference, and technology is another. Floating wind farm technology is relatively new, but allows use of deeper water. Ireland's 50-metre contour line is the limit for traditional bottom-fixed wind farms, and it is also very close to population centres, which makes visibility of large turbines an issue - hence the attraction of floating structures Do offshore wind farms pose a navigational hazard to shipping? Inshore fishermen do have valid concerns. One of the first steps in identifying a site as a potential location for an offshore wind farm is to identify and assess the level of existing marine activity in the area and this particularly includes shipping. The National Marine Planning Framework aims to create, for the first time, a plan to balance the various kinds of offshore activity with the protection of the Irish marine environment. This is expected to be published before the end of 2020, and will set out clearly where is suitable for offshore renewable energy development and where it is not - due, for example, to shipping movements and safe navigation.

YEnvironmental organisations are concerned about the impact of turbines on bird populations, particularly migrating birds. A Danish scientific study published in 2019 found evidence that larger birds were tending to avoid turbine blades, but said it didn't have sufficient evidence for smaller birds – and cautioned that the cumulative effect of farms could still have an impact on bird movements. A full environmental impact assessment has to be carried out before a developer can apply for planning permission to develop an offshore wind farm. This would include desk-based studies as well as extensive surveys of the population and movements of birds and marine mammals, as well as fish and seabed habitats. If a potential environmental impact is identified the developer must, as part of the planning application, show how the project will be designed in such a way as to avoid the impact or to mitigate against it.

A typical 500 MW offshore wind farm would require an operations and maintenance base which would be on the nearby coast. Such a project would generally create between 80-100 fulltime jobs, according to the IWEA. There would also be a substantial increase to in-direct employment and associated socio-economic benefit to the surrounding area where the operation and maintenance hub is located.

The recent Carbon Trust report for the IWEA, entitled Harnessing our potential, identified significant skills shortages for offshore wind in Ireland across the areas of engineering financial services and logistics. The IWEA says that as Ireland is a relatively new entrant to the offshore wind market, there are "opportunities to develop and implement strategies to address the skills shortages for delivering offshore wind and for Ireland to be a net exporter of human capital and skills to the highly competitive global offshore wind supply chain". Offshore wind requires a diverse workforce with jobs in both transferable (for example from the oil and gas sector) and specialist disciplines across apprenticeships and higher education. IWEA have a training network called the Green Tech Skillnet that facilitates training and networking opportunities in the renewable energy sector.

It is expected that developing the 3.5 GW of offshore wind energy identified in the Government's Climate Action Plan would create around 2,500 jobs in construction and development and around 700 permanent operations and maintenance jobs. The Programme for Government published in 2020 has an enhanced target of 5 GW of offshore wind which would create even more employment. The industry says that in the initial stages, the development of offshore wind energy would create employment in conducting environmental surveys, community engagement and development applications for planning. As a site moves to construction, people with backgrounds in various types of engineering, marine construction and marine transport would be recruited. Once the site is up and running , a project requires a team of turbine technicians, engineers and administrators to ensure the wind farm is fully and properly maintained, as well as crew for the crew transfer vessels transporting workers from shore to the turbines.

The IEA says that today's offshore wind market "doesn't even come close to tapping the full potential – with high-quality resources available in most major markets". It estimates that offshore wind has the potential to generate more than 420 000 Terawatt hours per year (TWh/yr) worldwide – as in more than 18 times the current global electricity demand. One Terawatt is 114 megawatts, and to put it in context, Scotland it has a population a little over 5 million and requires 25 TWh/yr of electrical energy.

Not as advanced as wind, with anchoring a big challenge – given that the most effective wave energy has to be in the most energetic locations, such as the Irish west coast. Britain, Ireland and Portugal are regarded as most advanced in developing wave energy technology. The prize is significant, the industry says, as there are forecasts that varying between 4000TWh/yr to 29500TWh/yr. Europe consumes around 3000TWh/year.

The industry has two main umbrella organisations – the Irish Wind Energy Association, which represents both onshore and offshore wind, and the Marine Renewables Industry Association, which focuses on all types of renewable in the marine environment.

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