An Cosantóir

HUET - Helicopter Underwater Egress Trainer tourism and recreation, maritime security, maritime training, and maritime information and communication technologies (ICT). It seeks to harness and integrate public sector and industry expertise in order to develop the Cluster and to realise the potential of emerging economic sectors, including the nascent ocean energy sector. In just looking at our renewable energy alone, including wind, wave, and tides, the government has set a target of 500MW of wave and tidal derived energy by 2020, while the recent Ocean Renewable Energy Development Plan has identified the feasibility of at least 1,500MW from wave and tidal, and 4,500MW from offshore wind sources by 2030. With IMERC helping in research and development in these areas we could see a time in the future were Ireland could literally be a battery for Europe. "The vision of IMERC is to become a research and commercial cluster of world standing, by realising Ireland's potential in the global, maritime and energy markets of tomorrow," said Lt Ní Fhatharta, "and the Naval Service is a core partner. Awareness of the capabilities of the maritime sector is growing within Ireland and internationally. The potential of the natural resources sitting on our doorstep is being realised and this makes this sector fast moving and exciting to be involved in." The environment facing the Naval Service is rapidly becoming more complex and challenging. As Ireland's largest maritime provider, the Naval Service, with its 1,100 personnel, eight vessels, and dock facilities, is a perfect, innovative partner for IMERC. Over 50% of NS personnel are technically focused in areas such as ship logistics, surveillance systems and subsea operations, uniquely placing it for product development, testing, and demonstration. Naval Service involvement in IMERC is through EU-funded projects, innovation partnerships, and collaboration projects with SMEs (small and medium enterprises) and industry. "Naval Service involvement in these projects allows for furthering the skillset of our personnel involved and provides access to products and technology that we would not normally have," Lt Ní Fhatharta told us. "By collaborating on projects it's a win-win situation for everyone, as we bring knowledge, expertise and the toughest test conditions in the world, while we get access to trial and test Prof Pat Fitzpatrick (UCC), Lt Niamh Ni Fharthartha (IMERC), Dr Valerie Cummins (Director IMERC), An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Mr Morris Quinn (Asst Sec Dept of Defence) and Commodore Mark Mellett DSM (FOCNS) | 23 products that would not ordinarily be available to us. The EU-funded projects come in two ways, either as Framework Projects 7 (FP7) or interregional projects, where funding is granted to certain country groupings within the EU. For example, through NMCI research (The Halpin Maritime Research Centre) IMERC are involved in two interregional projects in the Atlantic Area (Portugal, France, Spain, SW England, Wales and Ireland). In contrast, an FP7 project can be established in an individual EU country. "We are currently working on a project called ARCOPOL Plus," said Lt Ní Fhatharta. "This is based on NHS (noxious hazardous substances) detection, monitoring and management. NHS covers any pollution of the sea other than oil spills, and includes containers lost from ships, liquid gas, and various chemicals in different forms. This project is putting plans and protocols in place to deal with NHS spills and how they would be cleaned up. If this was to happen in Cork harbour, for example, the Naval Service would be a responder." All of the projects are about developing new and existing technologies in a cost-effective way. Some of these technologies may be familiar to our readers, such as the automated underwater vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles used in NHS detection. Other ways the Naval Service is benefiting is through collaboration projects with SMEs. "We help them and they help us," said Lt Ní Fhatharta. SEFTEC, for example, a Cork-based, safety training company, has developed a partnership with the NMCI that sees the company with a fully manned office in the NMCI, where the majority of the company's training courses are now conducted. The HUET (helicopter underwater egress trainers) manufactured by SEFTEC that is in use at several international training facilities is also used by SEFTEC in the NMCI's environmental pool. "In conjunction with ourselves and CIT they developed a personnel tracker that can track anybody who is going into a fire situation onboard a ship," Lt Ní Fhatharta added. "CIT had the technology and the knowledge whereas the Naval Service have the experience and capability to test the product." Dr Cummins also commented on the Naval Service's collaboration with business and industry. "It is great to be able to look at the Naval Service and how they engage and support businesses," said the IMERC Director. "They are showing an example that could be replicated across the country with other state institutions. "The Naval Service is also seeking to become 'a knowledge institution'. This stems from a vision within the Naval Service that we can become the smartest and most innovative small naval service in the world." The inculcation of a culture of innovation within the Naval Service provides an opportunity for the transformation to a post-modern service. Current Naval Service targets are to have 30 personnel undergoing MAs and 10 undergoing PhDs by 2016. IMERC was recognised by the Taoiseach as a unique example of joined-up thinking across three public sector institutions, the results of which, have leveraged major capital investment; succeeded in attracting inward investment; supported indigenous industry; and enhanced capacity for research and innovation in Ireland's maritime sector. These positive comments are a strong sign that IMERC will certainly be a driving force in shaping a maritime Ireland for the future. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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