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About €1.2 million is to be spent on external contractors to keep Naval Service ships at sea due to the drastic shortage of personnel, reports The Irish Times.

In recent years, electrical artificers, who are responsible for maintaining and repairing patrol ships’ electrical systems, have been departing the navy in large numbers due to high demand in the private sector as Afloat previously reported.

An entire class of trainees also recently left for the private sector in one go.

Currently the Naval Service is in the process of seeking to replace these workers with contractors from private companies. These will work alongside sailors in the electrical electronic section under the direction of its commanding officer. The intent is to augment the section “and not replace” it, the Naval Service said in procurement documents.

The private contractors will carry out planned and unplanned maintenance but will not be expected to go to sea.

“Due to a short-term lack in skilled electrical artificers (electronic technicians/electricians) the Naval Service require a contracted service assistance to provide technical support to the existing staff within the EES,” it said.

More from the newspaper here.

Published in Navy

As The Irish Times reports an entire class of Naval Service apprentices is leaving at the same time after a private company bought out their contracts, a sign of the worsening retention crisis in the Defence Forces.

The five recruits were undergoing training as ships’ electricians, known in the Naval Service as electrical artificers. They recently completed their block release, the military version of work placement, with the multinational medical supply company Stryker in Cork.

It is understood Stryker was impressed with the apprentices’ work. It offered all of them permanent positions in the company and to buy out their military contracts. Two of the recruits have taken up the offer and the other three are in the process of leaving.

The cost of buying out the recruits’ contracts is estimated to be up to €30,000. Military sources said this figure pales in comparison to what it cost the Naval Service to train the recruits up to this point.

Just under 270 personnel have left the Defence Forces so far this year, almost three times the figure for the same period in 2021.

More from the newspaper here. 

Published in Navy

As an island economy, a healthy maritime sector is key to our national competitiveness. Virtually all our imports and exports pass through Irish ports.

Ireland is dependent on ports and shipping services to transport goods and 90% of our trade is moved though Irish ports. Shipping and maritime transport services make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ocean economy, with the sector generating €2.3 billion in turnover and employing over 5,000 people in 2018.

Ireland’s maritime industry continues to grow and progress each year with Irish ports and shipping companies making significant investments. The ports sector in Ireland is currently undergoing a number of expansions and developments with Dublin Port’s Alexandra Basin development, the development of Ringaskiddy in Cork by Port of Cork and the development of Shannon Foynes Port. Along with these major investments, shipping companies are also investing heavily in new tonnage, with Irish Ferries, CLdN and Stena leading new build programmes.

These pages cover the following sectoral areas: shipowners, harbour authorities, shipbrokers, freight forwarders and contractors, cruise liner operators, port users, seamen, merchants, academic institutions, shipyards and repair facilities, naval architects, navy and defence personnel.

Our pages are covering some of the most notable arrivals around our coast and reporting too on port development and shipping news.

This section of the site deals with Port and Shipping News on our largest ports Dublin Port, Port of Cork, the Shannon Estuary, Galway Harbour and Belfast Lough.

A recent study carried out for the Irish Ports Association (IPA) totalled 75.7 billion during 2004 and their net economic impact was some 5.5 billion supporting around 57, 500 full time employees.

Liam Lacey, Director of the Marine Institute’s Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) said, “The Irish maritime industry can look to the future with confidence. It has shown itself to be resilient and agile in responding to challenges. Over the past decade, it has had to respond to the challenges of the financial crisis of 2008, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit and recent challenges. Ireland’s maritime sector has continued to underpin our economy by maintaining vital shipping links for both trade and tourism.”