Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Lyubov Orlova

#GhostShip - The saga of the 'ghost ship' MV Lyubov Orlova may finally be at an end, with word that the "rat-ridden" former polar cruise liner has "vanished from the high seas", according to the Irish Independent.

Earlier this year, as reported on Afloat.ie, the Irish Coast Guard was put on alert after indications that the ship - which broke free from its tow line wile being transported from Canada to the Caribbean for scrapping - was adrift in the Atlantic some 2,400km off the West of Ireland.

With no working transponders on the vessel, and no visual confirmation, it was thought weeks later that the Lyubov Orlova may have sunk as it drifted towards Europe.

And later it was suggested that it could be resting at the bottom of the ocean leaking hazardous waste into the delicate deep sea environment - though it's now believed the ship did not carry enough oil to cause a problem.

Even so, there is a chance that the vessel may still be adrift, somehow avoiding detection by passing sea traffic or aircraft, and its cargo of shipborne rats would be considered a biohazard if it reached our shores, according to the Irish Coast Guard chief.

"We don't want rats from foreign ships coming onto Irish soil," said Chris Reynolds. "If it came and broke up on shore, I'm sure local people wouldn't be very happy about it."

The Lyubov Orlova - named after a famous Russian film star - is the sister ship of the polar cruiser Clipper Adventurer, the first cruise liner to visit Drogheda Port.

Published in Ports & Shipping
Tagged under

#GhostShip- According to FoxNews, the 4,521 tonnes Russian ghost ship, Lyubov Orlova that has been drifting in the Atlantic Ocean since a tow line snapped months ago, and has yet to be spotted, has left some to speculate that it may be resting at the bottom of the ocean, leaking toxic waste.

The Canadian Coast Guard has told CBC News that it has not received any reported sightings of the Croatian built small cruiseship Lyubov Orlova since 12 March.

Lyubov Orlova was named after an iconic Russian film actress — was being towed from Canada to a scrapyard in the Dominican Republic in January when a cable snapped, leaving the 295-foot vessel adrift. A brief effort to re-secure the boat was abandoned days later due to rough seas.

FoxNews has more on this story about the vessel which is a sister of the Clipper Adventurer, which Afloat.ie covered during the first ever cruise call to Drogheda Port last year.

 

Published in Cruise Liners

#GhostShip – As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the 'ghost' ship Lyubov Orlova, which broke its tow-line in the Atlantic more than three weeks ago is a sister of the first cruiseship caller to Drogheda Port, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The small cruiseship, Lyubov Orlova of 4,251 tons was built in Croatia a year before Clipper Adventurer, which made a historic call to the port on the Boyne last year. Clipper Adventurer, which was at one stage the Alla Tarasova and Lyubov Orlova belong to a series of eight sisters built for the Murmansk Shipping Company.

As ice-strenghtened vessels, they are designed to withstand heavy seas while operating as expedition ships, carrying passengers to both the Arctic and the Antarctic.

According to Travel.aol.co.uk, the drifting vessel is some 1,200 (nautical miles) off Galway.

A report in Canadian news service The National Post says that the Irish Coast Guard is examining satellite imagery to ensure the ship can be retrieved before it breaks apart or drifts into shipping lanes.

Responsibility for the vessel has already been disavowed by the Canadian authorities after the vessel, which was being towed from Canada to the Dominican Republic for scrapping, broke loose from its cabling.

 

Published in Drogheda Port

Marine Institute Research Vessel Tom Crean

Ireland’s new marine research vessel will be named the RV Tom Crean after the renowned County Kerry seaman and explorer who undertook three major groundbreaking expeditions to the Antarctic in the early years of the 20th Century which sought to increase scientific knowledge and to explore unreached areas of the world, at that time.

Ireland's new multi-purpose marine research vessel RV Tom Crean, was delivered in July 2022 and will be used by the Marine Institute and other State agencies and universities to undertake fisheries research, oceanographic and environmental research, seabed mapping surveys; as well as maintaining and deploying weather buoys, observational infrastructure and Remotely Operated Vehicles.

The RV Tom Crean will also enable the Marine Institute to continue to lead and support high-quality scientific surveys that contribute to Ireland's position as a leader in marine science. The research vessel is a modern, multipurpose, silent vessel (designed to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research), capable of operating in the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Tom Crean is able to go to sea for at least 21 days at a time and is designed to operate in harsh sea conditions.

RV Tom Crean Specification Overview

  • Length Overall: 52.8 m
  • Beam 14m
  • Draft 5.2M 

Power

  • Main Propulsion Motor 2000 kw
  • Bow Thruster 780 kw
  • Tunnel thruster 400 kw

Other

  • Endurance  21 Days
  • Range of 8,000 nautical miles
  • DP1 Dynamic Positioning
  • Capacity for 3 x 20ft Containers

Irish Marine Research activities

The new state-of-the-art multi-purpose marine research vessel will carry out a wide range of marine research activities, including vital fisheries, climate change-related research, seabed mapping and oceanography.

The new 52.8-metre modern research vessel, which will replace the 31-metre RV Celtic Voyager, has been commissioned with funding provided by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine approved by the Government of Ireland.

According to Aodhán FitzGerald, Research Vessel Manager of the MI, the RV Tom Crean will feature an articulated boom crane aft (6t@ 10m, 3T@ 15m), located on the aft-gantry. This will be largely used for loading science equipment and net and equipment handling offshore.

Mounted at the stern is a 10T A-frame aft which can articulate through 170 degrees which are for deploying and recovering large science equipment such as a remotely operated vehicle (ROV’s), towed sleds and for fishing operations.

In addition the fitting of an 8 Ton starboard side T Frame for deploying grabs and corers to 4000m which is the same depth applicable to when the vessel is heaving but is compensated by a CTD system consisting of a winch and frame during such operations.

The vessel will have the regulation MOB boat on a dedicated davit and the facility to carry a 6.5m Rigid Inflatable tender on the port side.

Also at the aft deck is where the 'Holland 1' Work class ROV and the University of Limericks 'Etain' sub-Atlantic ROV will be positioned. In addition up to 3 x 20’ (TEU) containers can be carried.

The newbuild has been engineered to endure increasing harsher conditions and the punishing weather systems encountered in the North-East Atlantic where deployments of RV Tom Crean on surveys spent up to 21 days duration.

In addition, RV Tom Crean will be able to operate in an ultra silent-mode, which is crucial to meet the stringent criteria of the ICES 209 noise standard for fisheries research purposes.

The classification of the newbuild as been appointed to Lloyds and below is a list of the main capabilities and duties to be tasked by RV Tom Crean:

  • Oceanographic surveys, incl. CTD water sampling
  • Fishery research operations
  • Acoustic research operations
  • Environmental research and sampling operation incl. coring
  • ROV and AUV/ASV Surveys
  • Buoy/Mooring operations