Displaying items by tag: sinking
What Happened to the Lusitania?
American Gregg Bemis is headed to Ireland for what may be the last major dive to the wreck of the Lusitania.
Bemis, who owns the wreck of the former Cunard cruise liner torpedoed off the Cork coast in 1915, told The Irish Times that hopes to discover once and for all what was in the cargo hold of the ship - and give an answer to rumours that precious art and munitions were part of the manifest.
The millionaire has fought with the Irish State over the rights to the wreck site, to which he has dived twice before, but now he has full licence and access to the latest technology to unveil the Lusitania's deepest secrets.
The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.
Shannon Sinkings Result of Poor Winter Preparation
Owners of boats moored on the River Shannon and its tributaries and the inland waterways are counting the costs of the recent icy conditions which have caused the sinking of a high number of vessels.
The Irish Times reports that the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland (IWAI) has advised all boatowners to check their boats after reports of sinkings across six counties.
Among the sunken vessels are a 35ft cruiser opposite the Landmark Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon. The worst situation is reportedly in Shannon Harbour, with an unusually high number of boats sunk or partially submerged.
Sunken boats often require full refitting to replace damaged finishings and damaged electronics. But of greater concern is the potential environmental impact due to fuel or oil spills, or the leaking of antifreeze and other chemicals.
The IWAI has blamed poor 'winterisation' as a factor in the sharp increase in sinkings.
Winterisation involves the closing of sea cocks to prevent water entering the intake pipes and potentially bursting them when it freezes, or leaking when it thaws.
"Owners need to check on their craft regularly or have a local do it," said IWAI president Paul Garland. "The lessons learned this winter must be taken seriously. Heaters may not be enough; all sea cocks have to be shut."
Click HERE for Afloat.ie's advice on protecting your boat in the thaw.
New Asgard Wreck Photos Released
After the publication of the MCIB investigation report into the sinking of Asgard II the dive team lead by Eoin McGarry have released further photos of the wreck, showing different aspects of the boat including new shots of the hole in the hull.
The "hole" in Asgard's Hull as it looked in July 2010 on the starboard bow, the long plank that was in the MCIB report pictures has fallen down and can no longer be seen. The view of the hole is harder to get now as the hull is listed to starboard and the seabed is silting up on the starboard bow and scouring on the port aft quarter and stern
The salvage pump used. It is located midships on the starboard side
A selection of nautical reading material still remarkably intact. The photo of the bookshelf is taken in the absence of the roof/deck of the navigation room. This is directly forward of the helm, the door out of the navigation room was just to the left of the books as you look at them
The Ocean Youth Trust has issued a statement regarding the sinking of their only sail training vessel, the 70-foot ketch the Lord Rank.
Bronagh Cappa, Chief Executive of the trust, said:
“The Ocean Youth Trust is greatly saddened by the loss of our only vessel, the Lord Rank, but is delighted that none of the six people aboard were injured during what was a textbook evacuation.
“The Lord Rank, a 68ft Oyster ketch crewed by a fully-qualified skipper, first mate and crewman, had a perfect safety record over 19 years at sea with the Ocean Youth Trust, working with tens of thousands of young people around Ireland.
“Around 10 o’clock last night the vessel hit rocks at a particularly treacherous part of the North Antrim Coast. The RNLI and Coastguard responded promptly and the crew and three passengers were safely taken off by dinghy.
“The Lord Rank sank around 4am during a salvage attempt.
“An investigation is underway into the circumstances of the incident and we cannot comment further until that is concluded. However, we are relieved and delighted that all involved emerged completely unscathed.”
