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Displaying items by tag: Pollution Monitoring

MV Alta, the cargo ship that grounded on the coast at Ballyandreane, Ballycotton a year ago, is according to Cork County Council to be continuing in monitoring the potential environmental and ecological impact posed by the wreck.

The vessel was grounded on February 16 of last year.

Since then, the council said it has been working on a series of actions on the MV Alta, in line with obligations under the Merchant Shipping Salvage and Wreck Act, 1993.

In February 2020, work was done to mitigate the potential pollution risk posed by oils on board the vessel. (Afloat adds, also that year there were plans to salvage the cargoship). 

In March and October, structural assessments of the ship were carried out. Another assessment is being carried out this month.

The council said a final report on the environmental and ecological assessment the wreck was completed last September.

Then, in December 2020, and last month, a team of international specialist consultants carried out an inventory of hazardous materials contained within the fabric of the vessel itself.

More from the Irish Examiner here. 

Published in Coastal Notes

#NavalService - Use of drones by the Irish Naval Service is set to be stepped up in a bid to clamp down on illegal fishing and pollution offenses at sea.

Remotely operated pilot air systems writes the Irish Central have been identified by naval chiefs as essential for obtaining intelligence and keeping a check on Ireland's vast marine territory.

Sources also said naval operations tasked with gathering video evidence of illegal fishing and pollution offenses at sea as ones which would benefit from advanced drone technology.

The growing support for expanding the usage of drones on maritime missions follows the success of a pilot trial in the Mediterranean last year which saw the LE Eithne become the first naval vessel to use drone technology during its deployment on humanitarian rescue operations.

The missions, part of the EU-led Operation Sophia (see LE James Joyce deployment) trialed the Phantom 4 PRO, drones which can stay airborne for 35 minutes and which have a maximum range of eight kilometers.

More on the drone development, click the link here.

Published in Navy

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!