French Ambassador welcomed on board the RV Tom Crean

The French Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Mr Vincent Guérend, was welcomed on board the RV Tom Crean by Marine Institute CEO Dr Rick Officer. The French Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Mr Vincent Guérend, was welcomed on board the RV Tom Crean today as part of an official visit to the Marine Institute.

Ireland and France have strong partnerships in marine research and innovation, with researchers from the two countries currently collaborating on more than fifty projects under the Horizon Europe programme and many more supported by EU funding for inter-regional cooperation.

As national research organisations, the Marine Institute and Ifremer (the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) in particular, have a long history of scientific cooperation across a number of areas. The two institutes have worked closely on projects to improve coordination and shared access to the European research vessel fleet and advancing long-term in-situ ocean observing systems and infrastructures. Since 2014, the Marine Institute has supported Ifremer and the French fishing industry to carry out an underwater television survey of the langoustine (Dublin Bay prawn) grounds in the Bay of Biscay. Nationally, the continued importance of research collaboration between France and Ireland in offshore renewable energy has also been identified as a priority for both countries. This is being advanced through cooperation on EU projects such as the marinerg-i proposal to integrate European research infrastructures.

In welcoming Ambassador Guérend, Dr Rick Officer CEO of the Marine Institute said, “The visit from Ambassador Guérend is a great opportunity to celebrate the strong ties in ocean science between our two nations, and discuss our shared ambitions for the future. Ireland has a long and successful working relationship with France and we are committed to building on these links and our shared interests and values to advance marine research in the Atlantic Ocean.”The French Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Mr Vincent Guérend, on board the RV Tom Crean with Marine Institute CEO Dr Rick Officer and Captain Colin McBrearty.

Ambassador Guérend toured the state-of-the-art research vessel, the RV Tom Crean, and visited the Marine Institute’s headquarters in Oranmore to gain further insight into the Institute’s scientific programmes and capabilities.

During the visit Dr Officer highlighted Ireland’s support for the 2025 One Ocean Science Congress being led by Ifremer and the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS). He also expressed interest in outcomes anticipated from the Third United Nations Conference on the Oceans, which will be co-hosted by France and Costa Rica in Nice in June 2025.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Sheila Byrnes e. sheila.byrnes@marine.ie m. +353 (0)87 815 5271

Sinéad Coyne e. sinead.coyne@marine.ie m. +353 (0)87 947 7090
 

Editor's Notes:
Marine Institute
The Marine Institute is the state agency responsible for marine research, technology development and innovation in Ireland. It provides government, public agencies and the maritime industry with a range of scientific, advisory and economic development services that inform policy-making, regulation and the sustainable management and growth of Ireland's marine resources. www.marine.ie.