Displaying items by tag: memorial

15th April 2012

First Irishman to Dive Titanic Site Shares His Story

#TITANIC - To mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, JOE.ie sat down with the first Irishman to dive the historic wreckage.

In 2000, Rory Golden descended two-and-a-half miles beneath the surface of the Atlantic to witness the Titanic's watery gravesite.

“When I first cast my eyes on the wreck," he says, "for me it was just an incredibly exciting and equally humbling and incredibly poignant moment and you have all these emotions all at once because you are looking at something very few people in the world have seen.”

Amazingly, the self-avowed Titanic expert wasn't originally a part of the dive team for the expedition.

"My role at the time was to be the dive safety supervisor, but that whole role changed over the course of the expedition," he says. “There was no guarantee of me going down there because I was very low in the pecking order."

But a memorial plaque he brought with him from Cobh ended up being Golden's ticket to the TItanic, joining the crew aboard an 18-tonne Russian submarine.

And he came back with more than memories, too, as a glint in the corner of his eye turned out to be the remains of the ship's wheel.

"I was the first person to touch the wheel of the ship since it went down in 1912 and probably the last person to hold it before it went down was Captain Smith.”

JOE.ie has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Titanic

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Titanic Emergency as Ill Passenger Airlifted

#TITANIC - The Titanic memorial cruise was yesterday forced to turn back just 100 miles from the southwest coast of Ireland after a passenger fell ill, BBC News reports.

The Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter at Shannon was dispached to the MS Balmoral to retrieve BBC cameraman Tim Rex, 56, who was struck by a non-life threatening heart condition, according to the Irish Independent.

Rex, who was covering the memorial sailing for the BBC, was treated by ship's doctors before being airlifted to hospital as a precaution.

The emergency happened just hours after the ship departed Cobh, the last port of call of the ill-fated Titanic before it sank in the North Atlantic on 14 April 1912.

A spokesperson for Titanic Memorial Cruises confirmed that despite the delay, the ship is still on schedule and is expected to arrive at the Titanic wreck site as planned on Saturday.

Published in Titanic

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About Marine Technology

Marine technology, as defined by the European association WEGEMT, refers to the use of technology for ensuring the safe use, exploitation, protection of, and intervention in, the marine environment. This includes a wide range of technologies that support naval architecture, marine engineering, ship design, ship building, and ship operations.

In addition to these foundational technologies, marine technology also encompasses oil and gas exploration, exploitation, and production, hydrodynamics, navigation, sea surface and sub-surface support, underwater technology and engineering, marine resources (including both renewable and non-renewable marine resources), transport logistics and economics, inland, coastal, short sea and deep sea shipping, protection of the marine environment, and leisure and safety.

The importance of marine technology cannot be overstated. With over 70% of the earth's surface covered by water, the marine environment plays a critical role in our lives. From transportation to energy production, marine technology enables us to harness the immense potential of the oceans while minimizing the impact on the environment.

Moreover, the development of marine technology is crucial for the sustainable use of marine resources. As the demand for seafood and other marine products continues to grow, the sustainable management of these resources becomes increasingly important. Marine technology can help us to achieve this by providing innovative solutions for sustainable fishing, aquaculture, and other forms of marine resource management.

In Ireland, claims are made that the island country "has the potential to be the “Silicon Valley” of the aquatech world". Ireland is at a very exciting stage when it comes to aquatech. There are currently 62 aquatech companies operating here, all using technology to enable sustainable seafood farming at a time when the sector is facing many challenges.”

Ireland’s growing expertise in the developing aquatech sector means it has the potential to become a global leader in the field, with Irish aquatech companies turning over €200m last year.

Over €15m has been invested in aquatic businesses, and over 200 high-tech jobs have been created in the sector over the last six years.

In conclusion, marine technology is a vast and rapidly evolving field encompassing a broad range of technologies and applications. As we continue to explore and exploit the potential of the oceans, marine technology will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the safe and sustainable use of these resources.