NCEC supports 35th America’s Cup with chemical services
The 35th America’s Cup has commenced, and to support the organisers’ goal of keeping the stakeholders safe from dangerous chemical spills, NCEC, a subsidiary of Ricardo Energy & Environment, is in attendance. The British team BAR were eliminated by New Zealand in the semi-finals, ending a lacklustre bid to face incumbent champions, the USA, in the final of the prestigious sailing championship.
The America’s Cup is underway in Bermuda, with the final due to begin up on the 17th of June. The America’s Cup, also known as the ‘Auld Mug’, is the world’s oldest sporting trophy, but despite its age remains a coveted trophy. The cup has never returned to its origins of the United Kingdom since the tournament’s inception in 1851, when the contest began as a race between Britain and America around the Isle of White.
Once again this year the British BAR team – led by Martin Whitmarsh, former team principal of Mclaren F1, and Sir Ben Ainslie, one of the UK’s top sailors – failed in their efforts to bring the trophy home, after a faltering qualifying campaign saw them matched with New Zealand in the challengers semi-final. The Kiwis went on to win 5-2, and will face either Japan or Sweden in a play-off, the victors of which will face current cup holders, Oracle Team USA.
The event, which this year takes place in Bermuda this year, is hosted in an area with around 600,000 residents, spread across of 181 islands with a total surface area of around 21 square miles. The regional economy is dependent on tourism, the residence of high net-worth individuals, and the pristine environment to which these groups are attracted, making the preservation of the local sea a top priority.
As part of the organisation for the event, NCEC, a subsidiary of Ricardo Energy & Environment, has subsequently been hired to oversee chemical emergency response in the case of accidents, including the deployment of Fire and Rescue Services. Ricardo also recently ran climate change workshops in Rwanda, as the company seeks to promote sustainable business practice across the developing world, while here their off-shoot NCEC will work to keep stakeholders at the events safe in the case of chemical spills.
Jon Gibbard, a Director at NCEC remarked it was a privilege for the company to provide a chemical emergency response for the tournament, stating, “We are a global company so there might be a little friendly rivalry between Ricardo’s US and UK teams in the build up to the race. But our overriding priority is to ensure that, in the case of an incident involving hazardous materials, all teams, spectators and attendees have immediate access to the expert advice and guidance they need to stay safe.”
