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Displaying items by tag: Grain

Three shipments of grain from Ukraine departed from Odessa on Friday (5 August) with one bound for two ports in Ireland.

The bulk carrier Navi Star is bringing 33,000 metric tonnes of grain destined for use as animal feed to to Dublin Port and Foynes Port, with arrival expected in around two weeks, as TheJournal.ie reports.

Navi Star departed from Odessa on the Black Sea on Friday morning alongside the Rojen, carrying over 13,000 metric tonnes of grain to the UK, and the Polarnet with 12,000mt of grain bound for Turkey.

Along with the earlier shipment of 26,000mt of maize to Tripoli in Lebanon on the Razoni this past Monday, they mark the first successful movements arising from the recently negotiated deal between Russia and Ukraine that lifts the former’s blockade on the Black Sea.

Food prices worldwide have soared since Ukraine — which supplies much of the world’s grain — was prevented from exporting under the blockade that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

TheJournal.ie has more on the story HERE.

Published in Ports & Shipping
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Forty Foot Swimming Spot on Dublin Bay

The 'Forty Foot' is a rocky outcrop located at the southern tip of Dublin Bay at Sandycove, County Dublin from which people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for 300 years or more. It is popular because it is one of few spots between Dublin city and Greystones in County Wicklow that allows for swimming at all stages of the tide, subject to the sea state.

Forty Foot History

Traditionally, the bathing spot was exclusively a men's bathing spot and the gentlemen's swimming club was established to help conserve the area.

Owing to its relative isolation and gender-specific nature it became a popular spot for nudists, but in the 1970s, during the women's liberation movement, a group of female equal-rights activists plunged into the waters and now it is also open to everyone and it is in the control of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Many people believe that swimming in extremely cold water is healthy and good for the immune system.

Is it safe to swim at the Forty Foot?

The Forty-Foot is a great place to swim because there is always enough water to get a dip but like all sea swimming, there are always hazards you need to be aware of.   For example, a lot of people like to dive into to the pool at the Forty-foot but there are submerged rocks that can be hazardous especially at low water.  The Council have erected signs to warn people of the underwater dangers. Other hazards include slippy granite cut stone steps that can often be covered with seaweed and of course marine wildlife including jellyfish that make their presence felt in the summer months as do an inquisitive nearby Sandycove seal colony.

The Forty-foot Christmas Day swim

A Dublin institution that brings people from across Dublin and beyond for a dip in the chilly winter sea. Bathers arrive in the dark from 6 am and by noon the entire forty foot is a sea of red Santa hats!