New €2m national sea survival training pool opens in Greencastle

A new national sea survival training pool, which will enhance safety at sea for thousands of Irish fishermen and women, has been opened at the National Fisheries College of Ireland (NFCI) in Greencastle.

The €2.16million facility was opened on Friday by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue.

The state-of-the-art pool, based at the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) National Fisheries College of Ireland (NFCI), will provide high-quality sea survival training for those working in the fishing industry around Ireland.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine investment means BIM will now be able to deliver more sea survival training courses to students on-site, ensuring additional people working in the seafood sector will have access to these safety training courses.

A survival raft is launched into the pool during the opening of the facility on Friday

The 12-metre pool is equipped with modern training equipment and can simulate sea conditions, such as cold, dark water, wind and rain.

Officially opening the facility, Mr McConalogue said: "This purpose-built facility will increase nationwide capability in sea survival training, delivering student-centric courses of the highest quality. The pool, together with the provision of new, modern training equipment means the National Fisheries College in Greencastle can continue to be a centre of learning excellence for the seafood sector.”

BIM’s CEO Caroline Bocquel, said: “Safety at sea is paramount. It is vital that those working in the fishing sector are prepared for the worst-case scenario at sea. Wearing a correctly fitted Personal Floatation Device (PFD) and undergoing safety training and drills are the most effective ways to increase your chances of survival should you be faced with an incident at sea. We are immensely proud of this new facility.”

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Referring to BIM research, carried out by Red C in May 2021, she highlighted that, “82% of fishermen personally know someone who has been lost at sea".

"The research indicated of those that have been on a training course in the past five years, 80% say they either always or most times wear a PFD – this compares to 58% for those that were on a training course more than five years ago or have never been on one before. This training matters. This training saves lives.”

The 12-metre pool is environmentally efficient with modern heat pumps and a heat recovery ventilation system. The water temperature will be kept low, reducing energy consumption and the need for chemical interventions.