Speaker: Patrick Galvin

Talk Title: Pilotage on the Shannon, near Past, Present, and Future

Talk Description: As an island nation, we rely on our ports to facilitate 95% of all imports and exports. Ensuring the safe and efficient movement of ships in and out of our ports is the job of our Maritime Pilots.

Patrick’s talk will be broken into three sections: the near past, the present, and the future possibilities. In the near past, he will be looking at developing critical infrastructures on the Shannon, like Moneypoint and Tarbert power stations and the challenges they posed to the Maritime Pilots who were on the Shannon at the time.

A River Pilot himself; Patrick will expand on the career path to becoming a Pilot, and explain why a Maritime Pilot is necessary and regarded as one of the most critical risk mitigation measures to ensure the safe movement of ships in and out of our ports. Not only will Patrick Galvin tell us all about the ships in Irish Waters, he will also speak about the various types of cargo that our local ports import and export. Then, he will look at the possibilities of what lies ahead, from potential developments on the Shannon Estuary, to how shipping may evolve and explore the potential to see autonomous shipping on the Shannon anytime soon.

About the Speaker: Born and raised on the banks of the Shannon Estuary, in a village called Cappa, just outside the town of Kilrush in Co. Clare. Patrick Galvin is a Class 1 licensed Pilot on the Shannon Estuary. His seagoing career started in 1992 with Arklow Shipping. In 1998 Patrick attended Cork Regional Technical College and attained his 2nd Officers Certificate. Later, he completed Mate/Masters and Masters Unlimited certificates in South Tyneside College (United Kingdom) in 2002 and 2006.

While at sea, he worked for Arklow Shipping, P&O Ferries, and Stena Line, working in various roles on board up to the rank of Master. 11 Patrick Galvin became a Pilot on the Shannon Estuary in 2009. In 2017 he was elected to the position of Chairman of the Association of Marine Pilots of Ireland; in 2021, he was elected Vice President of the European Maritime Pilots Association. A proud Clare Man – Patrick Galvin is the first Irish Vice President of the European Maritime Pilots Association.