Government considering proposal for Cork Harbour maritime college

The Government is considering a proposal for a national maritime college in Cork Harbour which would be run jointly by Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) and the Naval Service.

The college, which would be the first of its type in the State, would combine merchant marine and naval service training under one roof, and would meet the needs of an expanding nautical studies department at the CIT. A new fishery training school is due to be opened in Castletownbere, Co Cork, by Bord Iascaigh Mhara later this year.

The Nautical Institute, an international body concerned with standards and training for seafarers, which has recently formed an Irish branch, has expressed support for the proposal, which is being considered by the Departments of Education and Defence. At the institute's annual general meeting in McKee Barracks, Dublin at the weekend, the Government was urged to move forward urgently on the plan. A consultancy study on the proposed college recommends the use of a 10-acre site at Ringaskiddy which is owned by the Naval Service. It estimates the cost of the new establishment at under £8 million, and says it would save on duplication of resources in the long term. Currently, the CIT nautical studies department is under pressure to increase intake in navigational training to cater for existing commercial demand.

The order of a new ship and any further expansion of the Naval Service will also increase pressure on training in this area, the study, by Deloitte and Touche, says. The diversity of courses undertaken by both institutions highlights the requirements of the maritime industry, the consultants say, and they stress the importance of harmonising these courses across the industry. Meanwhile, controversy over the State's "gunless gunboat" appears to have been resolved, with confirmation that the Naval Service's new patrol ship will be equipped with weaponry. The 78metre offshore vessel, which is being built in Devon, will be armed with a "major" and secondary weapon, the Nautical Institute was told at its Irish branch a.g.m.

The controversy had arisen over the fact that more than half the ship's cost is to be funded by the EU, but for fisheries protection and surveillance. In spite of the growing number of disputes at sea, the European Union is naturally loath to be associated with any security dimension - which would be beyond its remit, and which would confirm the failure of its Common Fisheries Policy.

Asked to explain the lack of helicopter landing facilities on the craft, Lieut Cmmdr Liam Donaldson told the Nautical Institute that it was felt the cost could not be justified.