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Displaying items by tag: Celtic Isle

The Mainport Group, an Irish owned integrated marine services company have bare-boat chartered the AHTS Dina Alliance from Norwegian interests, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Dina Alliance is a supply seismic support vessel which is currently on duty servicing three other seismic vessels operating in the North Sea on behalf of Mainport clients. She was built in 2009 by Fujian, China as an anchor handling tug supply (AHTS).

On board the 60m vessel there is an aft clear working deck space used for supplies which is capable of handling two 20ft reefer containers and a single 20ft storage container. The vessels' powerplant is provided by 2 x Caterpillar 3516B main-engines of 1920kW (5150bhp) at 1500 rpm which drive twin kort nozzles propellers and equipped with a corresponding pair of high-lift rudders.

Accommodation is for 42 berths (11 for officers and crew) and other marine personnel (numbering 31) in addition to two hospital berths. All of the cabins are air-conditioned with washrooms/WC.

Dina Alliance brings the Mainport Group fleet total to 24 vessels (for list click HERE) which are deployed in various sectors engaged in offshore support vessels covering safety standby, tugs, tanker assist, towage, bunkering and seismic support services.

Earlier this year the company's Foynes based tug Celtic Isle was requested to assist in refloating the stricken combi-heavy lift vessel Pantanel which had dragged its anchor in stormy seas after running aground in Cashla Bay, Rossaveal. The German-owned vessel was to load two former Aran Direct owned fast-ferries that operated from the Connemara harbour on a delivery voyage bound for Mauritius.

Mainport is a Cork based operation with offices located in Foynes, Limerick, Drogheda in addition to operations overseas in Durban and Johannesburg in South Africa and Aktau in Kazakhstan.

Published in Ports & Shipping
Marine surveyors are currently inspecting the German cargo ship which was refloated yesterday in Galway Bay after running aground early on Thursday.
The Irish Coast Guard confirmed to The Irish Times that no pollution had occurred in the grounding of the Pantanal on the south Connemara coast.
The 120m vessel was refloated at high tide yesterday morning with help from the Celtic Isle tug from Foynes in Co Limerick.
Ship managers Harren & Partner said the hull would undergo a diver inspection before the vessel sails for dry dock.
Yesterday Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney welcomed the "successful operation in very challenging conditions" and confirmed a thorough investigation of the incident by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.
The ship had been sailing from the Mediterranean to Rossaveal to collect two monohull ferries, sold to Mauritius, that had been built to serve the Aran Islands route.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Marine surveyors are currently inspecting the German cargo ship which was refloated yesterday in Galway Bay after running aground early on Thursday.

The Irish Coast Guard confirmed to The Irish Times that no pollution had occurred in the grounding of the Pantanal on the south Connemara coast.

The 120m vessel was refloated at high tide yesterday morning with help from the Celtic Isle tug from Foynes in Co Limerick.

Ship managers Harren & Partner said the hull would undergo a diver inspection before the vessel sails for dry dock.

Yesterday Minister for the Marine Simon Coveney welcomed the "successful operation in very challenging conditions" and confirmed a thorough investigation of the incident by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board.

The ship had been sailing from the Mediterranean to Rossaveal to collect two monohull ferries, sold to Mauritius, that had been built to serve the Aran Islands route.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Ports & Shipping

Esailing & Virtual Sailing information

The concept of e-sailing, or virtual sailing, is based on a computer game sailing challenge that has been around for more than a decade.

The research and development of software over this time means its popularity has taken off to the extent that it has now become a part of the sailing seascape and now allows people to take an 'active part' in some of the most famous regattas across the world such as the Vendée Globe, Route du Rhum, Sydney Hobart, Volvo Ocean Race, America’s Cup and some Olympic venues too, all from the comfort of their armchair.

The most popular model is the 'eSailing World Championship'. It is an annual esports competition, first held in 2018 and officially recognised by World Sailing, the sports governing body.

The eSailing World Championship is a yearly competition for virtual sailors competing on the Virtual Regatta Inshore game.

The contract to run the event was given to a private company, Virtual Regatta that had amassed tens of thousands of sailors playing offshore sailing routing game following major offshore races in real-time.

In April 2020, the company says on its website that it has 35,000 active players and 500,000 regattas sailed.

Virtual Regatta started in 2010 as a small team of passionate designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs gathered around the idea that virtual sailing sports games can mix with real races and real skippers.