This is the third week of diving activities on the refinery at Whitegate. Divers from CEI Collins Engineers take it in turn to dive. The divers are using surface demand when carring out their inspection of the piles. their job has been a bit more difficule this week as underwater visibility was reduced after the strong winds of last weekend. The safety of the divers is the main consideration and each morning a call is made to Cork Harbour Radio informing them when divers go in the water and again in the evening when the diving is finished for the day. All traffic into and out of Cork Harbour has to pass by the refinery and Cork Harbour radio informs each ship of the diving activity and advices them to adjust their speed. Diver makes a Splash

Diver on Steps

On the 25th of January Oceanaddicts started their first booking of 2011 with our Liveaboard Embarr. She, along with our rib Oisre, are providing accommodation and dive support to a team of commercial divers from CEI Collins Engineers Ltd, who are surveying the Jetty at the Whitegate Refinery in Cork Harbour.

For the period of the contract Embarr is moored at East Ferry Marina, near Cobh. It’s an early start each morning with Graham starting the engine at 6.30am, by 7.00am we are sipping lines and heading across the harbour to arrive at the refinery at 7.30am Once Embarr is tied up, and her engines stopped, the divers set to work immediately.

The first couple of days diving the weather was bitterly cold with ice on the deck each morning. The kettle was on the go all day providing hot drinks to ward off the chill. But today 1st February Spring has arrived and we have bright sunshine and a flat sea.