A north-east nautical company has been helping save refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean as they make the terrifying trip across to Europe.
Naval architecture and marine consultancy firm Tymor Marine Ltd has played an important role in Operation Mare Sicuro – the multi-national humanitarian rescue operation aiming to help African migrants.
The firm, which has its headquarters in Aberdeen, has recently completed a project for the Irish navy as it prepared to deploy its 1,500-tonne patrol vessel Le Niamh to assist with the ongoing crisis in the region.
Tymor Marine was contracted to carry out a stability review of the vessel and assist with determining how many rescued refugees could be safely carried onboard.
The firm utilised its custom-built MOSIS – Measurement of Stability In Service – system to take various stability measurements whilst the vessel was berthed at the naval dockyard at Haulbowline, County Cork.
Le Niamh officially took over the Irish Naval Service’s refugee rescue duties from the fleet’s flagship, Le Eithne, in July.
In the four weeks that she has been stationed in the Mediterranean, she has rescued more than 1,000 refugees fleeing North Africa aboard a range of boats and rafts.
Kevin Moran, managing director of Tymor Marine, said: “The impact of overloading a boat can be seen first-hand through the capsize and loss of some of the migrant vessels Le Niamh and other vessels are encountering in the Mediterranean Sea.
“We were looking to identify the maximum safe additional weight that could be loaded onto the Le Niamh in terms of the number of extra people that could be taken on-board during the rescue operations.
“Also, we looked at what space requirements there were for injured and uninjured migrants to allow access and social circulation, while ensuring everyone’s safety.
“It is gratifying that Tymor Marine has played a very small part in the ongoing humanitarian rescue operation underway in the Mediterranean Sea.”