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Displaying items by tag: Bango

#BUSINESS - Water systems firm Whale has featured in The Sunday Times' Best Small Companies to Work For list for the third year running.

The 2012 edition of the list sees the Bangor-based company - and the only Northern Irish representative - rise 19 places to number 77.

Whale was particularly commended for looking after the wellbeing of its staff, its overall ranking of eighth place reflecting the faith in managing director Patrick Hurst and the employees trust in the “sound capabilities” of the leadership.

Patrick Hurst commented: “To be listed again in 2012 is just fantastic for all the team at Whale. Our employees and their attitude and loyalty is what defines the business and is core to its continued commercial success.

"The Whale team in the are a credit to the company and themselves. They have all worked hard together to continually maintain the quality and introduce innovative, market leading products."

Whale (Munster Simms Engineering Limited) is a key player in the leisure marine, recreational vehicle, shower drainage and industrial markets. The company specialises in the design and manufacture of water, waste and heating products including manual and electric freshwater, bilge and waste pumps, Quick Connect plumbing systems, faucets, showers, space and water heaters, and accessories.

Published in News Update

Recently two well known and respected volunteer Bangor Lifeboat helmsmen were awarded medals in recognition for their many years of devoted service to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Ewan Scott and Tommy Burns have been awarded Long Service medals at recent RNLI ceremonies. During their 20 years of dedicated service, RNLI Bangor Lifeboat has undertaken a total of 845 rescues at sea resulting in the saving of 98 lives.

Both Ewan and Tommy are of one mind and agree that over the years there have been many improvements to the lifeboats, the equipment and training all of which has greatly enhanced the RNLI's ability to save life at sea.

Even after over 20 years of service Ewan and Tommy continue to freely give of their time and effort. They are considered by all to be the most experienced helmsmen at Bangor station and are actively involved in the training of crew and other volunteers.

Bangor's Lifeboat Operations Manager Kevin Byers paid tribute to Ewan and Tommy when he said 'Without the huge commitment and dedication of volunteers like Ewan and Tommy, the RNLI would be unable to carry out the increasingly demanding task of saving lives at sea.' Kevin went on to say 'I am delighted that Ewan and Tommy have been presented with these awards, they deserve a big thank you for all they have done for Bangor Lifeboat over the past 20 years.'

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Published in RNLI Lifeboats

Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.

© Afloat 2020