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Displaying items by tag: Irish Competition Authority

Operator Seatruck Ferries announced last week that, subject to regulatory approval from the Irish competition authorities, it is to be acquired from Clipper Group by CLdN.

CLdN, headquartered in Luxembourg is one of Europe’s leading multimodal logistics providers with three divisions CLdN RoRo, CLdN Cargo and CLdN Ports.

Seatruck operates a daily ro-ro (roll on roll off) ferry service from Warrenpoint Port to Heysham, specialising in primarily unaccompanied loads. This model increases efficiency both from an environmental and an operational perspective.

Seatruck, operational since 1996, was acquired by Clipper in 2002. It currently owns eight purpose-built ro-ro vessels of which six are operating on the Irish Sea and two are on charter.

David Holmes, CEO Warrenpoint Port said, “We would like to congratulate the Seatruck team on their acquisition. CLdN is a leading name in the maritime sector, and it is fantastic to now have the brand operational in Warrenpoint. We are delighted to say that for service users, it will be ‘business as usual’. Nothing will change, the Seatruck brand will be retained and the team will continue to be led by Alistair Eagles.”

David continued, “Seatruck has been operational at Warrenpoint Port for 20 years’, providing a vital service for Irish Sea traffic. In more recent years, with increasing costs, the unaccompanied trailer model, has become particularly attractive for haulage companies and logistics providers. We look forward to continuing to drive growth and to building on the strong foundations of our relationship with Seatruck, under their new ownership.”

CLdN and Clipper Group have agreed not to disclose the transaction price.

Afloat.ie adds that Seatruck operate additional Irish Sea routes: Dublin-Heysham and Dublin-Liverpool which are also part of the transaction.  Combined the three routes transport close to 20% of the region’s seaborne cargo volumes.

Published in Ports & Shipping

#PORTS & SHIPPING – Irish Ports are to be reviewed by an in-depth Government Plan to see how funding expansion of the nation's ports can be carried out through the private sector. The Government have ruled-out selling strategic port facilities to fund such projects.

Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said that a study by the Competition Authority into Ireland's ports would also examine whether Dublin Port had an economically dominant position. Minister Varadkar said that "Dublin Port is hugely successful with 40% of our GDP going through it."

He said that "part of our study will look at whether it is profitable because it is dominant or because it is very competitive."

Minister Varadkar said that "Dublin Port is hugely successful with 40% of our GDP going through it" and added "part of our study will look at whether it is profitable because it is dominant or because it is very competitive."

For more on this story as reported by RTE News click HERE.

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