For five-days the US training-ship State of Maine will make Cork Harbour her port of call, when the 16,000 tonnes vessel docks this evening, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 500-foot long ship is on a 55-day training cruise that started late last month from her homeport of Castine Harbour in Maine. Since then the Maine Maritime Academy's training-ship has visited Norfolk, Virginia before crossing the Atlantic to include calls to Valetta, Malta and the vessel's most recent port of call was Civitavecchia in Italy.

Onboard the former oceanographic vessel that served in the US Navy as the USNS Tanner, there are students, officers and crew. The Maine Maritime Academy purchased the vessel in 1997 and she was converted to accommodate the training needs of the college.

The academy was founded in 1941 and enrolls more than 900 students from 35 states and from several foreign countries. Students in the college are awarded A.S., B.S., and M.S. degrees in 15 fields of study.

State of Maine is to berth at the Cobh Cruise Terminal, the facility which normally caters for cruiseships is to be followed by another training-ship the 17,000 tonnes Empire State on 22 June.

Ocean to City, Cork Harbour's annual maritime festival, takes place this year from 3-12 June. 

The yearly celebration of Cork’s maritime history and its unique harbour begins on Friday 3 June when members of the public can voyage through the city by kayak, enjoy the thrill of a sea safari trip around Cork Harbour or follow TG4’s Padraig Ó Duinnín as he presents a historical walking tour and talk on rowing in Cork. 

The highlight of the festival, An Rás Mór, takes place on Saturday 4 June and will see boats of all sizes row 15 nautical miles from Crosshaven via Cork Harbour, Monkstown and Blackrock before finishing at the boardwalk in Lapps Quay in Cork. 

Around 400 Irish and International rowers will compete in a diverse range of vessels including dragon boats, kayaks, currachs, Celtic long boats, Cornish pilot gigs and Irish coastal rowing boats. 

Sunday 5 June will see a special 10km kayak race through the city centre. The Irish Naval Service flagship LE Orla will also offer free public tours, while Meitheal Mara will host a guided voyage around the island of Cork by a variety of small craft.

To mark the Cork Harbour School and Heritage Trails Weekend from from 9-11 June, a series of events highlighting the attractions of Cork Harbour, both water and land based, will take place.

Activities include a summer school on the theme of 'recreation in a working port', which will be held in the Port of Cork on Friday 10 June and opened by Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney. 

For more details visit www.oceantocity.com.

Cruiseships continue to grow in size but the opposite could be said for Grand Princess when her Skywalker Nightclub weighing some 211 tons was removed, writes Jehan Ashmore.

A floating crane-barge with a 1,000 ton lifting capacity hoisted the structure sky-high away from the ship which was berthed at the Grand Bahama Shipyard drydock facility. The ships owners, Princess Cruises cited the main reason for the removal was in order to 'significantly improve the operational performance of the ship, including greater fuel efficiency.'

Grand Princess may have lost her signature Skywalker Nightckub but three-decks below a new nightclub, One5, inspired by its Deck 15 location was created. In addition to this work which took place during April and May the 2,600 passenger cruisehip also underwent a major refit. The ship which had its last major refurbishment in 2004 has amenities to include an outdoor movie screen, fitness centre, spa, casino and four swimming pools.
For 'interactive' deckplans click here and interior slideshow click this link.

The distinctive 'Skywalker' feature became one of the most iconic in cruiseship naval architecture when the Grand Princess was launched as leadship
of the 'Grand' class in 1998. Located at the extreme aft of the vessel, the nightclub could only be reached by clubbers using an angled walkway (photo). Externally the feature was referred by some as the 'shopping trolley' and others percieved the design infleunce from towering poops found on ancient war-faring galleons.

Irrespective of the design origins, another 10 'Grand' class vessels were built by the Italian Fincantieni (at Malfalcone) Shipbuilding Group. The 'handle' (photo) feature on the Grand Princess was made with a heavier material compared to Golden Princess (2001) and Star Princess completed a year later. So there are no plans to remove these nightclubs. Of the more recent additions to the class modifications have appeared, notably without the inclusion of the Skywalker Nightclub's but there are changes to funnel designs.

Outside the Princess Cruises brand, the Ventura and Azura (also of the Grand-class) operate for P&O Cruises, serving the UK market from Southampton. The Hamsphire port welcomed the pioneering leadship Grand Princess on 5 May after she made a 16-day trans-Atlantic repositioning voyage from Port Everglades.

The cruiseship which has a crew of 1,200 alone will make the UK port its seasonal homeport this year from where she sails on cruises in Europe. On one of these cruises itineraries the Grand Princess (290m long x 36 beam X 8.5m draft) included a visit to the Port of Cork today. You can monitor the ship from Cobh Cruise Terminal via the 'live' bridge web-cam, noting the vessel is due to depart at 18.00 this evening bound for Dublin Port.

Grand Princess became the first cruiseship to measure over 100,000 gross registered tonnes when the 108,806 (grt) vessel docked in Dublin on 31 August 2004.

Last year the port handled 88 cruisecalls and this number of vessels is to be closely repeated this season. Over 200 cruise calls with around half a million passengers and crew are scheduled to visit the island of Ireland. The cruise sector business is estimated to generate €60m to the economies
north and south.

The Finnish Navy minelayer FNS Hämeenmaa is to dock in the Port of Cork at the city's central North Custom House Quay tomorrow morning, writes Jehan Ashmore.

FNS Hämeenmaa entered service in 1992 and measures 1,450 tonnes, she is the namesake class of two minelayers, the second FNS Uusimaa was also built by Finnyards in the same year.

At nearly 78m long the steel hulled vessels which have an alloy superstructure are designed to operate throughout the year in the demanding Baltic Sea conditions and the in the archipelago's.

They have an ice operating classification of ICE-1A and for military purposes they became one of first Finnish Navy vessels to incorporate stealth technology features. The pair are primarily tasked for minelaying duties but they also provide roles acting as an escort, transport and depot ships.

Armament comprises of 1 × Bofors 57 mm dual-purpose gun, 1 × eight-cell ItO 04 surface-to-air missile launcher, 2 × anti-submarine rocket launchers, 2 × depth charge rails and 100-150 sea mines (four mine laying rails).

Based in Pansio, the 20 knot vessels each have a crew complement of 60 personal. In total the Finnish Navy has around 2,100 officers, officer specialists and warrant officers, military personnel and civilian's workers.

On an annual basis close to 3,900 conscripts, of which approximately 30 are women volunteers do their military service in the navy. In addition about 3,400 reservists are trained yearly in naval refresher courses.

Cobh played host to yet another historic maritime spectacle when two giant cruiseships met off the town's deepwater quay at the same time this afternoon, writes Jehan Ashmore.

In an unprecedented scheduling of cruiseships to the Port of Cork (Cobh), the inbound Independence of the Seas (154,407 tonnes) the largest cruiseship to call to any Irish port, passed the 122,000 tonnes Celebrity Eclipse which was preparing to depart from the town's cruise terminal.

Some 15 minutes later Celebrity Eclipse pulled away from the berth. During that timeframe the Independence of the Seas had completely turned around in the opposite direction to face Cobh after maneuvering in the swinging basin between Cobh and the Naval Base on Haulbowline Island.

The 4,175-passenger Independence of the Seas is the third of the 'Freedom' class vessels. She has a length of 339m and is a mere 11m shorter in distance to that of the 350m berth at Cobh. The 38m wide cruiseship has a draft of 8.7m and the depth of water at the town's quayside is 9.1m.

The 15-deck vessel was built by Aker Finnyards in Turku, Finland in 2008 for Royal Caribbean International (RCI). Amenities on the Freedom class consist of the an innovative surf park, canitilevered whirlpools, ice-skating rink, full-size boxing ring and a H2O Zone waterpark.

As for the 3,179-passenger Celebrity Eclipse, she is the second of five 'Solstice' class sisters and measures 317m (length) 48m (beam) and draws 8.6m. On the top deck there is the fresh green grass located at Lawn Club. She was built by the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany and entered service last year for her owners Celebrity Cruises.

Independence of the Seas departed yesterday afternoon on an overnight passage from Southampton where the vessel is based in the summer and for the winter she is based out of Florida. The Celebrity Eclipse departed the UK south coast port from Cobh where the larger cruiseship is also to make overnight port of call.

In total 10,000 passengers and crew will of visited the Cork Harbour region alone over the May Bank holiday. To meet the surge in demand for the shore-based excusions a fleet of buses awaited and additional trains were also laid-on by Irish Rail. The railway station is located next-door to the Cobh Heritage Centre which retraces the town's strong trans-Atlantic liner era.

For the first time two cruiseship giants are scheduled to depart and arrive off Cobh at the same time this May Bank Holiday weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The largest cruiseship to call to an Irish port the Independence of the Sea which weighs 154,407 gross tonnes (some 6,000 tonnes larger than the liner Queen Mary 2) will pass the Cobh-berthed Celebrity Eclipse of 122,000 tonnes around 14.00hrs on Sunday.

Weather permitting the Independence of the Seas will then be maneuvering in the swinging basin between Haulbowline and Cobh, just upriver of the Celebrity Eclipse which will then begin to pull away from the deepwater berth at the Cobh Cruise Terminal.

The 350m long berth has a quayside depth of 9m and is capable of handling some of the largest cruiseships on this island.

Prior to Sunday's sailing spectacle the Celebrity Eclipse is due to dock tomorrow afternoon for the overnight call. Likewise the 4,375 passenger Independence of the Seas will stay at Cobh for an overnight call and then depart's on Monday evening.

“Two such large cruise liners, have never before been in Cork Harbour at the same time, let alone pass each other creating a magnificent sight. An excellent viewing point for anyone planning on visiting Cobh on Sunday 1st May would be the High Road or Whitepoint in Cobh” said Port of Cork Commercial Manager, Captain Micheal McCarthy.

Together the cruiseships will have a combined gross tonnage of nearly 300,000 tonnes and they will bring 10,000 passengers and crew into the Cork region this weekend alone. Celebrity Eclipse is operated by Celebrity Cruises and the Independence of the Seas is run by Royal Caribbean International.

The 3,129 passenger Celebrity Eclipse made her 'maiden' cruise and port of call to Cobh last year following her high profile repatriation voyage from Spain with stranded UK tourists arising from the fallout of the Icelandic volcanic ash-cloud.

On that inaugural ocasion the Celebrity Eclipse which cost €500m became the 500th cruise caller to the Port of Cork where the vessel made an overnight call at Cobh. To see a time-lapse video marking the 500th cruiseship's arrival click here.

Two training-ships based on the east coast of the United States are to make calls at Cobh in mid-summer, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The call is part of a 55-day training cruise that will include ports in the Mediterranean and also US domestic ports. The itinerary includes Norfolk, Vaginia (6-9 May), Valetta, Malta (25-28 May), Civitavecchia, Italy (31 May-3 June ) Cobh (12-16 June) and to Portland, Maine 25-26 June.

Students, officers and crew will be onboard the 16,000 tonnes State of Maine which is a 500-foot long former oceanographic vessel that served in the US Navy as the USNS Tanner. In 1997 she was converted to accommodate the training needs of the college.

The Maine Maritime Academy was founded in 1941 and enrolls more than 900 students from 35 states and from several foreign countries. Students in the college are awarded A.S., B.S., and M.S. degrees in 15 fields of study.

State of Maine is scheduled to berth at the Port of Cork's deepwater quay at the Cobh Cruise Terminal which is expected to welcome over 50 cruiseships and 100,000 visitors this season. The vessel's departure will be followed by the arrival of the second training-ship the 17,000 tonnes Empire State on 22 June which is to make a shorter two-day stopover.

Since 1989 she has been operated by State University of the New York Maritime College which annually takes cadets across the world onboard the 565-foot vessel to learn the skills in running the ship and the maritime industry.

The former cargoship was built for the States Steamship Company in 1961 as the Oregan at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, in Newport News, Virginia. Despite conversion for her current role she retains most of her original features and she presents a distinctive profile with the superstructure positioned amidships between the cargo-holds.

The winners of the 2011 Port of Cork Schools Initiative have been announced.

St John the Baptist National School in Midleton took the prize for best project in this year's contest, with the theme of ‘Making Cork Harbour a Green Energy Hub for our Future’.

Fifth classes from more than 60 primary schools in the Cork area got creative for the project, some even producing whole scale models of Cork Harbour.

Chairman of the Port of Cork, Dermot O’Mahoney, said: "We are delighted with the efforts put in by the participating schools. This is a great way of educating school children on the different forms of energy within Cork harbour while also highlighting the role of the Port of Cork."

Every participating class will be invited for a visit to Customs House in Cork city with a boat trip around the harbour before the end of the summer term. As top prize winners, pupils from St John the Baptist will get to visit one of the many luxury cruise liners that call at the port.

All projects are currently on display in the reception of Customs House.

The Port of Cork Company has announced St John the Baptist National School in Midleton as the overall winners of the 2011 Port of Cork Schools Initiative. The huge effort made by the 5th classes’ paid off when they were presented with overall best project by the Chairman of the Port of Cork, Mr. Dermot O’ Mahoney, in the boardroom at Customs House.

Over 60 schools in and around Cork were invited to take part in the Port of Cork Schools Initiative which was themed ‘Making Cork Harbour a Green Energy Hub for our Future’. All submitted projects are on public display in the reception area of Customs House.

This year’s judges; Mr. Hugh Bruton Brittany Ferries, Ms Val Cummins MERC, Mr. John Neville Port of Cork and Mr. Brian Lougheed Evening Echo all praised the huge effort and creativity made by the participating primary schools. Projects submitted were both informative and visually very creative, with some schools choosing to build a model of the entire Cork Harbour.

Ms. Val Cummins of MERC“, Maritime and Energy Research Centre and Commercial Cluster, said: “The projects submitted were inspiring. There are a lot of creative children out there who are passionate and well informed about the different forms of energy which could be harnessed within Cork Harbour. They should all be commended for their efforts.”

Commenting on the school projects, the Chairman of the Port of Cork, Mr. Dermot O’Mahoney said; ‘Congratulations to St. John the Baptist National School in Midleton for their excellent submission, it is clear every 5th class pupil went to a lot of effort researching, creating and building their project. All the projects were of a very high standard and we acknowledge and appreciate the time and commitment by the teachers. We are delighted with the efforts put in by the participating schools. This is a great way of educating school children on the different forms of energy within Cork harbour while also highlighting the role of the Port of Cork. ’

All participating classes will be invited for an informative visit to Customs House followed by a boat trip around Cork Harbour in May/June 2011.

The overall best project winners, St. John the Baptist, Midleton will get to go onboard one of the many luxurious cruise liners which call to Cork for a tour of the ship and to meet the captain.

This is the sixth year of the Port of Cork Company’s successful Primary Schools initiative.

Prizes were also awarded to the following classes;

Best Photograph – 5th Class, Templebreedy, Crosshaven
Best Artwork Piece – 5th Class, Glasheen Boys National School, Glasheen

The Port of Cork has won first place for 'Best Destination Experience (Organised)' in the world and 2nd place for 'Best Port Welcome' after attending the largest annual cruise conference 'Cruise Shipping Miami' where the 15th Annual "Dream World Cruise Destinations" 2010 Awards were announced. This achievement highlights the outstanding team effort and commitment by the Port of Cork to deliver an excellent service to the visiting cruise lines and their passengers when in Cork. Ireland Inc received a Commendation as a "Destination where the Quality and Professionalism of Tour Guides is considered outstanding".

Port of Cork CEO Brendan Keating (left) and Chairman Dermot O'Mahoney with the awards

Since the early 1990's the Port of Cork has been welcoming cruise liners to Cork Harbour and today an average of 54 cruise liners call each year bringing over 100,000 passengers and crew to the region. The Port of Cork has invested heavily in this business and has ambitious plans to grow the business to 75 calls over the next five years. Receiving these world awards shows the enormous effort by the Port of Cork to ensure new and existing cruise companies continue to call to Cork. The Port of Cork can provide excellent deep water facilities for liners in Cobh and Ringaskiddy, making it an attractive port of call for the larger liners as well as smaller liners.

The winners of 'Dream World Cruise Destinations' Annual Awards are based on surveys that are collected and analyzed from Cruise Line Executives from all of the major cruise companies. The awards, launched in 1993, announce the ports and destinations that have provided outstanding services to ships, passengers and crew. The geographical mix of large and small ports receiving awards from Dubai, Far East, the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Baltic and Americas, reflected the global nature of the business.

Speaking about the awards, Captain Michael McCarthy Commercial Manager at the Port of Cork said: "The Port of Cork is very grateful to receive these world awards. It is such an achievement not only for the Port but Cork as a region. We are fortunate to have excellent relationships with tourism providers, tour operators, Irish Rail and local tourism groups to be able to win these awards. Considerable effort goes into welcoming these liners when in Cork and we would like to share these awards with everyone who works with us on making this business work for the region. The awards will be used as a benchmark to drive growth in the cruise business, review product delivery and continue to review the berthing of small, medium and mega vessels."

He continued: "We are committed to growing the cruise liner business in Cork and winning these awards gives us the confidence to make this happen. The cruise liner business is worth an average of €8 million per annum directly to the Cork region and many businesses in the region can benefit from these vessels. The Port of Cork aims to continually work with City, County and Local Town Councils, tour operators, tourism service providers and many other local bodies to succeed in our ambitious plans for growth."

"The poignancy of the arrival of our first cruise vessel for 2011, the MV Queen Victoria, is its berthing on the 99th anniversary of the departing of the Titanic from Cobh on the 11th April 1912. Cobh's association with the Titanic will be commemorated during 2012 and already travels writers and historic groups are visiting Cobh to make its association."

In 2011, 54 cruise ships are scheduled to call to the Port of Cork facilities including the maiden call of the brand new MV Queen Elizabeth and the largest liner to call to an Irish port, MV Independence of the Seas. Over 100,000 passengers and crew will visit the Cork region during the liner season.

Captain Pat Farnan, Sara Dymond, Brendan Keating, Dermot O'Mahoney and Captain Mick McCarthy with the second award for the Port of Cork