#CRUISE LINERS – Cruise & Maritime Voyages Marco Polo (1965/22,080grt) anchored off scenic Glengariff today and also sharing Bantry Bay is the tanker Amundsen Spirit (2010/109,290dwt), writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 800-passenger Marco Polo had sailed from Cork and the veteran vessel by coincidence has a deck named Amundsen Deck (etc).

The authority responsible for shipping traffic is Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners, where the seasonality of the cruise callers visiting West Cork is offset by the year-round business of tankers.

Large tankers can be handled in the deep waters off the Bantry Bay Terminal on Whiddy Island. However the terminal has no jetty facilities,  instead tankers use the single-point mooring (SPM) a buoy that is anchored offshore. This system also performs in unloading cargo that is transferred through pipes feeding into the tank farm located on the island.

The tugs Ocean Bank and Trojan were attending the Amundsen Spirit (249m long X 44m beam X 14.6m draft), noting at the bow she a structure to facilitate the SPM operations.