German Liner in Docks

Nice liner this one and a very interesting history. In 2001, in a S. Atlantic storm she was hit by a rogue wave that badly damaged her and smashed through one of the Bridge windows and left her adrift for almost two hours. She was featured in the documentary 'Wave Killers'. She also found an uncharted Island while sailing in the Antarctic in 2003 and the island was named Bremeninsel after her in 2004. In 2006 she ran the North West Passage using satellite imaging to find a way through the ice. Not bad for a 22 year old ship !









Also in port, as Storm10 mentioned, is the BNS Belgica, a Belgium Research Vessel, manned by the Belgium Naval Component.

The BNS Belgica is a oceangraphic survey vessel doing a survey of cold water ecosystems. Found this on marine.ie


Belgium BNS Belgica Cold-water coral ecosystems from the Moira Mounds Belgica Mound 01/06/2012 08/06/2012 No berth available

This is what is leaving to do today

Belgium BNS Belgica High-resolution seismic study with multibeam & coring at the Goban Spur and Whittard Canyon. Goban Spur 10/06/2012 18/06/2012 Observer Confirmed

vulcan57 wrote: »

The BNS Belgica is a oceangraphic survey vessel doing a survey of cold water ecosystems. Found this on marine.ie

Belgium BNS Belgica Cold-water coral ecosystems from the Moira Mounds Belgica Mound 01/06/2012 08/06/2012 No berth available

This is what is leaving to do today

Belgium BNS Belgica High-resolution seismic study with multibeam & coring at the Goban Spur and Whittard Canyon. Goban Spur 10/06/2012 18/06/2012 Observer Confirmed

The Moya Mounds and the Belgica Mound are in Irish territory in the north-west of the Porcupine Seabight.

Good to see an observer from the Marine institute aboard as the Belgians survey our territory. The Whittard Canyon is a huge canyon system that spans Irish, UK and French waters along the Atlantic margin to the south east of the Goban Spur, as shown in the map below.

It is more than twice as deep as the US 'Grand Canyon', lying in deep waters 400km south of Mizen Head. Marine scientists have found a deep-water habitat teeming with exotic life forms, due to fast currents of surface water flowing into the Atlantic Abyss.



BTW, Ireland became the 3rd largest country in the EU after the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS ) in 1996. We have exclusive rights to oil, gas, mineral and wind & wave energy and all natural resources of the seabed for an area 10 times bigger than Ireland. Ireland has now one of the largest seabed territories in Europe at 650,000 km².

The type of cutting edge oceangraphic scientific work being done by the survey vessels and the Irish Marine Institute in Oranmore is well illustrated in the following YouTube videos.

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=033_7A35xls
Part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMAvkZMnWZo
Part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzIllSXL514
Part 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QwKyGucaXk

Enjoy