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Displaying items by tag: Guinness Tanks Cargoship

#GuinnessTankship - The 86m cargsoship Blue Tune (2010/3,845grt) docked in Dun Laoghaire Harbour last night is undertood to have arrived with the final batch of fermentation tanks bound for the Guinness St. James Gate Brewery in central Dublin, writes Jehan Ashmore.

In heavy seas and strong south-easterly gale force winds, Blue Tune made the short passage across the bay from Dublin Port, having firstly delivered a part-cargo from Rotterdam.

Unlike the previous deliveries of the tanks to Dun Laoghaire Harbour taken on board two Dutch-flagged vessels, firstly by Myrte (2008/6,120grt) in February followed by Keizersborg (1996/6,142grt) last month, on this occasion Blue Tune is flagged under Antigua and Bermuda.

In addition Blue Tune is smaller compared to her Dutch counterparts in terms of tonnage size which would also place her as a 'coaster' compared to much larger vessels calling to Dublin Port and in this recent 'project' cargo trade to Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

As with the other Guinness related cargo-calls, Blue Tune berthed at the former 'mail' boat at Carlisle Pier, where six stainless steel fermentation tanks are due to be unloaded within the next few days.

Likewise forward tank transportation from Dun Laoghaire to the brewery which is undergoing a major €153m upgrade, is to be undertaken by road convoy and expected to be carried out in a night-time operation.

 

Published in Ports & Shipping

#GuinnessTanks – More than a week after cargoship Myrte docked in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the massive fermentation tanks were yesterday transported in a nighttime convoy to the Guinness St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Another shipment is scheduled to arrive in the harbour towards the end of this weekend and also from Rotterdam. On this occasion, cargoship Keizersborg (1996/6,142grt) operated by Dutch owners Wagonborg Shipping, will be bringing in the second of three batches of the gleaming stainless steel cylinders.

Each of the 30 ton cylinders measure 22m long x 6.6m wide and 5.4m in height and some of them are capable of holding just under 1m pints!

As for the 122m long Myrte (2008/6,120grt) she took the honour as the first commercial vessel, excluding the fastcraft HSS Stena Explorer, to call to the harbour with a consignment of cargo, not seen since the early 1990's.

During that timeframe, the Danish flagged reefer Nordland Saga (1989/2,469grt), which then was a relative newbuild, had also berthed alongside Carlisle Pier.

The vessel registered in Frederickshavn differed to the 'Guinness' project cargo carrying vessels, in that she was fitted with deck-mounted cranes. As such mobile road cranes will again be deployed in the task of unloading the giant tanks onto the Carlisle Pier, where in recent years the former mailboat ferry terminal was demolished.

Carlisle Pier to date has served at times as storage space for yachts and currently has car-parking facilities, yet there are plans to build a landmark Diaspora Centre as part of the harbour's 'master plan'.

 

Published in Ports & Shipping

Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

© Afloat 2020