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Displaying items by tag: RV Corystes

The General Lighthouse Authority (GLA) for England, Wales and the Channel Islands, Trinity House have partnered with the Agri-Foods and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) to enhance opportunities to Merchant Navy cadets. 

The Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme (MNSS) will create new Deck and Engineer cadet berths for young people seeking careers in the Merchant Navy see related previous Afloat coverage.

Part of Trinity House’s Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme, the initiative will see AFBI place Trinity House cadets on board their research vessel MV Corystes, typically for six to eight weeks. The initiative is supported by Just Be Maritime, which will be managing the cadets.

Philip Jeffers, Research Vessel and Marine Systems Manager at AFBI, said: “The Agri Foods and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) is excited to be engaged with Trinity House to provide training facilities on board our 52m Research Vessel, Corystes. AFBI is a leader in developing scientific skills within Northern Ireland delivering impactful and sustainable outcomes for society, the economy and the natural environment. Cadet training, knowledge and competence development is a further extension of our capabilities to deliver for Northern Ireland and in the wider UK region.”

Captain Nigel Hope, Director of Maritime Training at Trinity House, said: “Trinity House working with the Agri Foods and Biosciences Institute is more great news and another important addition to the breadth of our Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme.”

“The AFBI’s excellent training berths on MV Corsytes will offer Trinity House Deck and Engineer cadets valuable experience and knowledge towards their professional qualifications. Special congratulations to Engineer Officer cadet Zaidan, the first of our cadets to join MV Corsytes. We look forward to hearing more about this new cadet experience.”

To find out more about the Merchant Navy Scholarship Scheme, visit here.

Published in Lighthouses

About Brittany Ferries

In 1967 a farmer from Finistère in Brittany, Alexis Gourvennec, succeeded in bringing together a variety of organisations from the region to embark on an ambitious project: the aim was to open up the region, to improve its infrastructure and to enrich its people by turning to traditional partners such as Ireland and the UK. In 1972 BAI (Brittany-England-Ireland) was born.

The first cross-Channel link was inaugurated in January 1973, when a converted Israeli tank-carrier called Kerisnel left the port of Roscoff for Plymouth carrying trucks loaded with Breton vegetables such as cauliflowers and artichokes. The story, therefore, begins on 2 January 1973, 24 hours after Great Britain's entry into the Common Market (EEC).

From these humble beginnings however, Brittany Ferries as the company was re-named quickly opened up to passenger transport, then became a tour operator.

Today, Brittany Ferries has established itself as the national leader in French maritime transport: an atypical leader, under private ownership, still owned by a Breton agricultural cooperative.

Eighty five percent of the company’s passengers are British.

Key Brittany Ferries figures:

  • Turnover: €202.4 million (compared with €469m in 2019)
  • Investment in three new ships, Galicia plus two new vessels powered by cleaner LNG (liquefied natural gas) arriving in 2022 and 2023
  • Employment: 2,474 seafarers and shore staff (average high/low season)
  • Passengers: 752,102 in 2020 (compared with 2,498,354 in 2019)
  • Freight: 160,377 in 2020 (compared with 201,554 in 2019)
  • Twelve ships operating services that connect France, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain (non-Covid year) across 14 routes
  • Twelve ports in total: Bilbao, Santander, Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Cork, Rosslare, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre, Saint-Malo, Roscoff
  • Tourism in Europe: 231,000 unique visitors, staying 2.6 million bed-nights in France in 2020 (compared with 857,000 unique visitors, staying 8,7 million bed-nights in 2019).