Posted: April 2, 2013
Extract from Independent.ie Tuesday April 2nd
By John Mulligan
“Oil giant ExxonMobil kicks off a $160m-plus (€125m) drilling programme off the west coast of Ireland this weekend with hopes that confirmation of major fossil fuel reserves will transform the country’s economy.
The US company is planning to drill test wells over a four-month period at two prospects at the Dunquin licence area in the Porcupine Basin, 200km off shore.
Previous data has suggested that there could be over 300 million barrels of oil and 8.5 trillion cubic feet of gas between the two Dunquin prospects.
If they could be proven and then extracted, such finds would mark one of the biggest ever global discoveries of oil and gas and be a game-changer for Ireland’s economic fortunes.
Hidden
But despite the 200 or so wells drilled off Ireland’s shores in the past number of decades, only two have resulted in commercial fields – Kinsale and Corrib.
Both are minnows compared to the prospective resources that could be hidden at Dunquin. Kinsale had about 1.5 trillion cubic feet of gas, while Corrib has about one trillion.
Located at a point in the Atlantic where the ocean is 1.6km deep, ExxonMobil’s drilling programme is being eagerly watched by oil companies from abroad and Ireland, including Petrel Resources, which has an exploration block just 35km away from the Dunquin prospect.
ExxonMobil controls 27.5pc of the Dunquin prospect, with Italian firm Eni holding another 27.5pc.
Spanish energy firm Repsol owns 25pc and UK-based Sosina has a 4pc interest. Irish exploration firm Providence Resources has a 16pc interest in the prospect. A major oil or gas find could catapult its shares higher.
The Dunquin prospect – where the reserves are as deep as 3.6km under the seabed – is one of the most important exploration areas for Providence, which is headed by Tony O’Reilly Jnr.
Providence is also betting that it could have a major oil find on its hands at a site called Barryroe, which is close to the Kinsale field. The company reckons that there could be 280 million barrels of recoverable oil at the Barryroe prospect.”
http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/oil-giant-exxon-starts-160m-drilling-project-off-west-coast-29163728.html
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Posted: September 13, 2012
The National Maritime College of Ireland will open to members of the public on September 15th and 16th from 11am-4pm. Tours of the college with begin with a short video outlining the college’s core activities, followed by a tour of the Environmental Survival Pool and 360° full mission Bridge Simulator.
A free harbour shuttle ferry, sponsored by Lend Lease and Port of Cork, will run on both Saturday and Sunday between 12pm and 3pm.
See www.corkharbour.ie for ferry times and map.
The NMCI will host free screenings of Ford Short Film Competition finalists, which were part of the Titanic 100 Events
See www.corkharbour.ie for more information on Cork Harbor Open Weekend.
We look forward to welcoming you to the NMCI.
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Posted: December 15, 2011
The final article for the Port Strategy was released recently. Read the full article below:
“Yes, you can do a Marine Risk Assessment, even quite a sophisticated one, which doesn’t go into sufficient detail or misses the point entirely says Captain Stephen Gyi of GAC Training and Service Solutions.
Unfortunately, this ‘missing the point’ can be less an oversight and more of a “commercially driven decision”, he adds.
Outlining a basic process, he explains that a group of experts identify the probable marine related hazards (HAZID) and resulting environmentally related hazards (ENVID), including emergencies such as vessels losing power, colliding or running aground. Obviously, “those risks with potential to endanger life or damage the environment are particularly important to capture”.
The levels of consequence and the likelihood of occurrence are filled out, often on a five-by-five risk matrix. From this the team returns to the beginning and assesses each hazard in turn, which provides a value of either high, medium or low risk, depending on the chosen values for that location, type of cargo and vessel involved, and the scenarios are re-run with projected mitigation measures in place. While there are almost always measures that can be adopted, they usually come with a cost attached, so the idea is get all associated risks down to what industry recognises as ‘as low as reasonably practical’ or ALARP. read more…
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Posted: October 14, 2011
During the first week of October the National Maritime College of Ireland’s Simulation unit provided its first course for a group of Brazilian customers.
Following an initial enquiry (from Mr. Diogo Weberszpil do Amaral) for a ship handling course, the Simulation unit’s Captain Clive Hotham created a specialised course, to be run in the units’ 360° full mission bridge simulator, to provide the practical training that the group required.
The group consisted of four people, Mr. Diogo Weberpilz, Mr Eliel de Andrade, Mr. Fabio Sousa de Oliveira, Mr. Diogo Nery Monteiro, and all of whom are candidates in the current round of recruitment of Trainee Pilots for Brazilian Ports.
Mr. Diogo Weberpilz, Mr Eliel de Andrade, Captain Clive Hotham (Lecturer and simulation co-ordinator),Mr. Fabio Sousa de Oliveira, Mr. Diogo Nery Monteiro
The week consisted of lectures on ship handling theory, practical ship handling of different vessels in different situations, practical communications between ships and port control, and debriefing sessions to discuss how each practical session went.
Bridge Team at Work
In the practical sessions each person was given a particular role – Pilot, Captain, Officer, and Helmsman – to reinforce the need for team work on a ships bridge. This meant that each person performed the manoeuvres and when they were not acting as pilot could observe each other’s performance.
As the week progressed the abilities of the group improved greatly, each person gaining more confidence with each exercise.
“Helmsman” – Fabio, “Captain” –Eliel, “Officer” – Diogo, “Pilot” - Diogo
The week was a success and the feedback from the group was very positive. All the lecturers involved (Captains: Clive Hotham, Peter Walter, Cormac MacSweeney, and Roddy Cook) enjoyed working with the group during the week.
The NMCI Simulation unit is looking forward to the next group of Brazilian customers in December and beyond.
It is hoped that the Simulation unit can provide further training for more Brazilian customers; for courses ranging from this, to specialised courses for experienced pilots, and manoeuvring studies for pilots and ports.
Call us for more information on our Bridge Simulator.
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Posted: October 12, 2011
President Mary McAleese received a rousing reception at the Haulbowline Naval Base and the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) on Monday October 10th, as part of her final official visit to Cork.
The NMCI is a partnership between Cork Institute of Technology, the Irish Navy and Lend Lease. As the visit was the first leg of her visit to the Irish Navy she was greeted by a 100 person Guard of Honour, a spectacular site at the main entrance to the NMCI.
The President was escorted around the college by Commodore Mark Mellett, Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service.
The President was wowed by the facilities in NMCI, including the hi-tech bridge simulator which mimicked being on board a Navy vessel as it navigated around Sydney Harbour.
President McAleese capped off her visit by boarding the LÉ Niamh which passed Monkstown, Passage West, Blackrock and Mahon much to the delight of the schoolchildren lining route.
The President left a very positive message for the NMCI partnership in our visitors book;
‘A revelation to see this magnificent college and to feel the energy and passion that will drive its potential. Go néirí Libh’
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Posted: October 5, 2011
We are now taking bookings for the next OPITO Approved Offshore Courses.
- Minimum Industry Safety Training (MIST) – Oct 17th & 18th
- Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET) Oct 19th -21st
- Further Offshore Emergency Training (FOET) Oct 28th
Our BOSIET comprises of Sea Survival, Fire fighting and Self Rescue. During the BOSIET delegates are also put through their paces on the HUET,(Helicopter Simulator) which is preparation training in the event of that the helicopter is required to ditch.
Our BOSIET is fully approved by the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO). OPITO currently operates in 32 countries around the world and brings with it over 30 years of experience in maritime training.
For more information please call us on: 021 497 0609, book online at: www.nmci.ie, or email: info@seftecnmcioffshore.com
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Posted: September 30, 2011
Our Head of Commercial Wet Course Development and Training, Ray Johnston recently appeared in the RTE show “Rescue 115” training the Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue crew.
The Irish Coast Guards regularly simulate lifesaving exercises at the college in preparation for search and rescue operations in some of the most hostile sea environments in the world.
The show takes place over a number of months and is a six part series. It follows the rescue crews at Shannon Helicopter base, as they battle to save lives around the Irish coast.
This week’s episode follows the Irish Coast Guards latest recruit as he has his world turned upside down while completing the Helicopter Underwater Egress Safety Training with Emergency Breathing Systems in the SEFtec configurable HUET.
The show follows his training to become a Winchman in the Shannon Helicopter base which includes interviews, paramedic training and medical, physical and physiological tests. But before he can save lives he has to learn a drill he hopes he never has to use, which is learning how to react in the event of a helicopter ditching.
Click on the image below to watch the show.
Helicopters are top heavy and because of this when a helicopter crashes into the sea it may roll over upside down in the water and in preparation of this event all crew must be trained in exiting the helicopter safely in this unnatural situation.
The HUET training is what will save their lives in the unlikely event of a helicopter ditching, this special course is held here at the National Maritime College in a specially built tank in a replica helicopter cock pit.
Daithí Ó Cearbhalláin, Senior Crewman of Rescue 115 said “Every crew man, every pilot has to complete this every three years so all of crews rotate through this using this facility here.” “It’s a great exercise, absolutely invaluable it teaches the boys what they have to do in regard to action training that in a real emergency you would follow through with these drills without thinking”.
Commenting on his HUET experience, the delegate said “The most surprising thing for me was being inverted, being upside down and trying to get your brain to tell you to breathe when it is telling you not to breathe because you are under water”.
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Posted: September 14, 2011
We were delighted to have the college so busy at the weekend, with a joint celebration of Cork Harbour Open Day & a Corona Cork Film Festival fundraiser taking place.
In the morning we had over 400 people attend the free open day which included a tour of the environmental pool and a chance to navigate the 270° bridge Simulator.
In the video below you can see a short video of families enjoying a simulation of New York harbour, the remote control boat race and the maritime themed art exhibition.
All of us at NMCI would like to say a big thank you to Anita Williams and the Rouges for keeping the crowds entertained throughout the day.
You can see Anita Williams perform tomorrow night (September 15th) at 9pm in the Roundy, Cork. You can also catch Anita at an “Evening of Live Jazz” on the 25th of September at The Idle Hour.
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Posted: September 7, 2011
Having had 22 years military experience with the Irish Naval Service, I had the pleasure of witnessing and participating in extremely effective teams. This is the reason I decided to utilise all of my experience to create this unique and challenging Team Building package.
My colleagues and I have researched various Team Building techniques and methods across the industry.
On our Corporate Team Building days we don’t do cliché falling into each other’s arms exercises and we certainly don’t do group hugs.
But rest assured your team will get to know each other and get a chance to bond while working together in military style crisis situations. We are confident and have the experience to know that this is the best way to gel a team to create a long term impact.
The effects of traditional team building events tend to wear off within days. Whereas people don’t tend to forget who helped them manoeuvre a fast naval vessel around New York Harbour under the roof of Europe’s most advanced Maritime facilities.
What better place to create team harmony than by facing storm conditions in our environmental pool and attempting to save a ship from sinking in our Damage repair unit.
I believe the perfect way to describe the Team Building day is simply - "More adrenaline than a mortal can handle."
At the National Maritime College we fully appreciate the importance of the often unrecognised members of the team. That is the family, and partners who provide each employee with encouragement and support daily. We encourage you dependant on numbers of course to bring them along as part of your team.
We are now delighted to offer a half day team building package of €130 per person based on 15 attendees. Why not contact us today at [+353 21 4335728] and we can tailor a team building package and price to meet your specific requirements.
To download the full PDF of the course click here
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Posted: August 24, 2011
Corona Cork Film Festival will host a fundraiser in association with NMCI Services and the Port of Cork on Cork Harbour Open day which takes place on September 10th at 5pm. The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) will host the event which is entitled ‘The Amazing Cork Maritime Experience” this will be an evening of the arts, film and entertainment.
The fundraiser includes arrival via a Harbour Cruise, a Maritime Art Exhibition, Music on the lawn, a selection of Maritime Short-Films, Guided Tours of the College’s Facilities, and finally ‘The Great Cork Boat Race’ which is a remote controlled boat races with prizes.
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Mr Simon Coveney T.D was at the NMCI to officially launch Cork Harbour Open Day 2011. This is the third year of event which aims to embrace and showcase what Cork Harbour has to offer and organisers are hopeful that the wide range of events will attract many people.
The National Maritime College of Ireland will also be opening their doors to the public on this day from 12pm – 5pm and they will be providing free guided tours of their superb facilities.
The tour includes a sea survival pool showcase that can demonstrate world class special effects that includes wave generation and strobe lighting.
The multi million euro 270-degree Kongsberg simulator will also be on show. This will be opened to the public for the first time and is capable of simulating our very own harbour along with famous ports such as New York and Sydney harbour. These facilities are often used for Corporate Team building.
This family friendly event will also have a face painter along with local food producers set up around the campus.
A programme of events to date can be found on www.corkharbour.ie
Tickets for the fundraiser can be purchased at https://corkfilmfest.ticketsolve.com/shows/126518308/events
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