Ship Management & Repair

Operated under the ownership of the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) at the Port of Belfast, this vessel serves as a versatile platform for conducting a broad spectrum of fisheries and marine environmental research. With year-round capabilities, it facilitates AFBI’s comprehensive marine science program in the coastal waters of Northern Ireland, the Irish Sea, and nearby sea areas. Heyn Engineering is entrusted with the ship’s day-to-day operations, management, and maintenance. The at-sea Heyn crew comprises 12 members, including 5 officers and 7 crew members. The vessel operates around the clock, providing routine access for the deployment and recovery of various trawl and benthic sampling gear, as well as beam trawl equipment. Utilizing advanced underwater imaging tools and state-of-the-art multi-beam acoustic equipment, the vessel enables marine habitat mapping.

The versatile RV Corystes provides a capable platform from which a wide range of survey operations can be supported. The vessel is operated out of Belfast Port by Heyn Engineering for the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). It is routinely used for a variety of applications including acoustic and seabed mapping and fisheries research using towed gear to gather sample populations of fish, shellfish and plankton. It is also used for the deployment and recovery of Autonomous Water Vehicles (AUV), marine monitoring buoys and seabed-deployed systems Key Features and Capabilities include:

Wet and Dry labs

Stern A-Frame with 7m clearance (capacity 7 tonnes)

Accommodation for 11 scientists

ROV Support

Capacity to carry containerised laboratories