INTERNATIONAL Marine News
Smugglers’ ship sunk to form Ireland’s first artificial reef
An autonomous underwater vehicle inspects offshore wind farm in world first
Image credit: Ocean Sands Hotel/YouTube
A former smugglers’ ship, MV Shingle, has been sunk off the coast of County Mayo to form Ireland’s first artificial reef. The 60-metre vessel, which was seized by Irish authorities in 2014 after being intercepted with 32 million cigarettes and tonnes of tobacco aboard, was scuttled in Killala Bay. The sinking aims to enhance marine biodiversity and boost tourism by attracting divers to Ireland’s west coast to explore the wreck site.
The MV Shingle was part of a Europe-wide cigarette smuggling operation when it was seized near the port of Drogheda. Since then, it had been berthed in Dublin Port and later New Ross, Co Wexford, costing the Irish Revenue around €2 million in fees, maintenance, and asbestos removal, according to the Irish Times. The vessel, rusting and no longer seaworthy, had proven difficult to sell or scrap.
The idea to sink the ship for environmental and tourism purposes was spearheaded by Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef, a campaign group led by Mayo County Councillor and seasoned diver Michael Loftus. Loftus said the project was a long time in the making, with planning beginning as early as 2008.
Maersk moves closer to gender equality at sea Maersk has achieved a key milestone
in its ‘Equal At Sea’ initiative, with 45% of women cadets in its Nautical and Engineering programs in India by 2024. The accomplishment gets the company closer to meeting its ambitious 2027 target of equal gender representation among its cadet intake.
The ‘Equal At Sea’ initiative, launched in 2022, aims to address women’s historical underrepresentation in the maritime sector by establishing an environment that promotes gender diversity. The program has promoted collaboration among many stakeholders by providing a platform for exchanging ideas, addressing challenges, and implementing best practices.
Beam, which provides high-tech offshore wind services, has deployed the world’s first autonomous underwater vehicle driven by AI or Artificial intelligence. The technology was used to inspect jacket structures on the Seagreen offshore wind farm in Scotland, a joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables, TotalEnergies, and PTTEP.
Though such inspections are usually manual and time-consuming, AI helps perform complicated tasks without human intervention, boosting the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of surveys and underwater inspections. It also improves inspection data quality, is more precise and allows for 3D reconstruction of structures along with getting visual data.
Brian Allen, CEO of Beam, said that this technology has massive potential and wouldn’t be possible without clients like SSE Renewables.
Australia's National Recreational Boating Survey
The Boating Industry Association (BIA) has rolled out a survey designed to improve understanding of the social and economic benefits of recreational boating across Australia. BIA CEO Andrew Scott said the survey was part of a wider project to develop a more complete picture of the impact and value of boating.
“The BIA reported industry national turnover last year of $10.12 billion with more than 35,000 people employed across the nation in mostly family businesses, employing local workers and supporting local communities,” Scott said.
“Research shows around 1 in 5 Australians participate in some form of recreational boating activity on at least an annual basis but there are gaps in our understanding of peoples’ boating habits.”
“While basic information is known about the number of registered vessels and the number of people who hold a boat or Personal Watercraft (PWC) licence, there is very limited knowledge about how often people go boating, where they go, who goes with them and what they like to do while enjoying time on the water.
BIA believes building a more complete picture of the social and economic benefits of boating will help policy makers and investors make better informed decisions about an activity that matters to many Australians, and is proven to deliver mental and physical health benefits.
THE REPORT | DEC 2024 | ISSUE 110 | 9
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