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Displaying items by tag: Cork Container Terminal

Over 90,000 containers were loaded and discharged at the Port of Cork Company’s new Cork Container Terminal (CCT) in Ringaskiddy in what was a bumper first year at the state-of-the-art facility.

The Cork Harbour terminal, which is the result of a €94 million investment, became operational in April 2022 with an official launch on 23 September 2022.

In its inaugural year, 46,932 containers were discharged at CCT and 48,282 containers loaded onto a total of 340 ships which docked at the deepwater facility. On average, 280 containers were loaded and discharged per ship.

Commenting on CCT’s first year in operation, Conor Mowlds, the Port of Cork Company’s chief commercial officer said: “The launch of CCT last year was a hugely important milestone for the Port of Cork Company as it marked the culmination of years of significant planning, investment and development in this vital facility to ensure the port’s ongoing competitiveness.

“CCT represents the largest single investment in marine infrastructure of any Irish port over the last 100 years and has enabled the port to deliver more efficient container handling facilities, strengthening Cork’s position as an international gateway for trade.”

The container terminal in Ringaskiddy is one of the largest deep-water, multimodal berths in the world at 13 meters deep and 360 metres long.

The official opening of CCT was followed by another significant milestone for the company in May this year with the launch of the Port of Cork Masterplan 2050, which will see further development of the CCT site.

Among the key points in the masterplan, the company says that the delivery of the M28 will enable further relocation of its activities from Tivoli Docks to Ringaskiddy and unlock significant port capacity in the lower harbour.

Supporting the accelerated growth of the fixed offshore renewable energy (ORE) sector is another important component of the plan which charts a course to a new sustainable and secure future for the port.

Published in Port of Cork

Maritime Journal reports that work has begun on the Port of Cork’s new Cork Container Terminal at Ringaskiddy.

Afloat.ie previously covered the development at its launch last June, where plans were revealed for its first phase of a 300-metre quay with 13-metre depth that will enable larger container ships to berth adjacent to Ringaskiddy’s existing RO-RO ferry terminal.

The €80 million project will also see construction of a 13.5 hectare terminal and associated buildings, plus two ship-to-shore gantry cranes and container handling facilities.

BAM Civil Ltd won the tender for the Cork Harbour development and commenced work on the site in late 2018, following a hiccup involving a reported ‘mistake’ in the tender sums.

Published in Port of Cork

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