The Old Blog Cabin

Shipwrecks of Cork Harbour - recommended site!

2010-02-28T19:49:00.002Z

I've come across an excellent website named The Shipwrecks of Cork Harbour which I highly recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in all things maritime, local history and Cork Harbour in particular. It's not just shipwrecks but also the story of the harbour's naval tradition and sealife too.

Cruise Liner schedule for 2010

2010-02-28T11:23:00.003Z

As you can see, my New Year resolution to keep this blog updated regularly went with most other such resolutions and I haven't posted here for a full two months!

I'm making no rash promises now, but I have something to post at last!

The Port of Cork cruise liner schedule has been published and is available on the port company's website at .

Once again it looks like a great year for liner visits with over 50 confirmed already including the Cunard line's new Queen Victoria and two visits from Royal Carribbean line's Independence of the Seas. Most of the ships are, as usual, coming to the cruise liner terminal at Cobh's Deepwater Quay. (NOTE: the car park beside the Deepwater Quay is currently full of huge water-filled potholes, someone needs to take note!).

Other port activity includes the long-awaited return of a direct car ferry service between Cork and the UK. Originaly due to start on March 1st, the arrival of the mv Julia has been postponed for a week as the ship isn't quite ready yet. The new service is a very welcome development - better late than never!

There's also a new cargo only service between Cork and France, courtesy of the BG Freight Line which is to operate a container service between Cork and the French ports of Montoir de Bretagne and Brest. This will also link up, via the line's other services from these ports to Rotterdam, Dublin and Belfast and the UK ports of Grangemouth and Teesport.

Last, but not least, a very welcome return of some good weather (by late February standards). It's still cold but it's good to see the sun shining after such a cold and wet winter!

Christmas & New Year Greetings

2009-12-24T12:13:00.003Z

Thanks to all the regular visitors and "fans" of the Old Blog Cabin for bearing with me during the last year or so of relative inactivity. I will try to post more often in the New Year.

I would like to wish all of you a peaceful and joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year. In particular for those of you who will be at sea or tied up in a port far from home over the festive season I wish you the traditional Beanachtaí na Nollaig (Christmas Greetings in the Irish language) and safe return home soon to friends and family no matter where they may be.

Finally if you'll be in Cobh or Cork Harbour over the Christmas / New Year season you'll find plenty to do in this link which I should have posted much sooner.

Liam Clancy - Home from the Sea

2009-12-06T21:43:00.002Z

I'm posting this for no better reason than to pay tribute to the late, great Liam Clancy who died earlier this week. This is one of his most popular songs and one which all seafarers can identify with.

Liam Clancy (1935-2009). Born Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary, died in Cork City. Ní bhéidh a leithéid aris ann.

Cork's maritime past comes back with a bang

2009-11-23T06:16:00.009Z

The City and County of Cork got a sharp reminder of its maritime heritage over the past week with the worst floods in living memory.

The people of Cork are no strangers to flooding, but the floods which began on Thursday 19th November were something different. Cork was not the only place affected. The floods extended over a large area of Ireland and our neighbouring island, but Cork was one of the most badly affected areas in Ireland.

Cork city is built on a marsh, known in Irish as Corcach mór na Mumhan, the Great Marsh of Munster. The city centre is a series of about six islands and lots of smaller ones which have been drained and channelled. The main street of the city, St. Patrick's Street, was once a channel of the River Lee and much of the city centre is barely above high tide mark. Other streets that were previously waterways include the South Mall, Emmet Place and Drawbridge Street. When a combination of heavy rain of the type we had last week conspires with high tides and high winds the city gets flooded. What we got last Thursday could be called "the Perfect Flood". Except for those affected by it, who would call it something different.

Over 400 years ago the English poet Edmund Spenser wrote about the nature of Cork city in his epic poem The Faerie Queen, "The spreading Lee, that like an island fayre, Encloseth Corke with its divided flood".

The picture above shows Washington Street (then known as George's Street) at the height of the great flood of 1853. The same flood partially washed away St. Patrick's Bridge, not long after its predecessor had been washed away completely by another flood. Thankfully that didn't happen in the 2009 floods, although two people perished in Britain, one of them a police officer swept away when a bridge collapsed.

It all goes to show that we cannot take the planet upon which we live and its environment for granted. There is an interrelationship between the environment and those things we build on it. If you divert water from one place it must re-emerge somewhere else. Global warming is a reality and it is a fact that some of the wettest (as well as some of the warmest) years this century have taken place within the last two decades.

There is no doubt that more and more money is going to have to be spent on flood protection over the next few years. In some countries it is far more severe with places such as Bangladesh in dire trouble and large scale moving of people and cities may have to take place (except the developing world is turning a blind eye).
In places like Cork we are likely to see even more floods and other unusual weather phenomena. We seriously need to get prepared for them.

Ships of the Irish Marine Institute

2009-11-08T09:35:00.004Z

The r.v. Celtic Voyager (rv stands for Research Vessel) has been around Cork Harbour and the south coast for the past few weeks as part of its research work for the Galway based Marine Institute.

The Celtic Voyager is the smaller of two research vessels owned and operated by the Marine Institute. These ships are involved in research and investigation into all aspects of the sea from marine life, fish stocks and the sea bed itself (e.g. seismic activity). As well as their work with the Marine Institute the vessels also work in conjunction with other vessels as part of an international research team.

The Celtic Voyager is 31.4 metres in length and 9 metres in breadth. The ship has three laboratories on board - a wet laboratory, a dry laboratory and a chemical laboratory. It is fitted with high-tech scientific equipment and can accommodate 6-8 scientists with a maximum endurance of 14 days.

The Celtic Explorer is a much larger vessel at 65.5 metres in length. It can accommodate 35 personnel including its team of 19 - 21 scientists. A special feature of this ship is that it is extremely quiet running and described as being "acoustically silent" to minimise fish avoidance (important when you're trying to study those fish).

You will find much more information on the Celtic Voyager, the Celtic Explorer and the work of the Marine Institute on their website www.marine.ie

Grimaldi Line - Regular callers to Cork Harbour

2009-10-24T10:34:00.008Z

This is the first of a series in which ships which are regular visitors to Cork Harbour will be highlighted to give the reader an idea of the trade which is taking place in our port.

The first to be highlighted is the Grimaldi Line which has several ships which regularly ply their way between Cork Harbour and the European mainland carrying cars, vans and trucks.

The Grimaldi Line is a large shipping company based in Naples, Italy and operates various types of shipping services including freight and passengers. They have been in the roll-on roll-off (RoRo) business for more than fifty years. The ships which visit Cork and dock at the Ringaskiddy RoRo terminal are of the Grande Ellade class which include the Grande Europa, Grande Ellade, Grande Mediterraneo, Grande Scandinavia and Grande Bretagna (photo shows the Grande Scandinavia berthed at Ringaskiddy). They are each 180 meters long and can carry up to 2,500 cars. Top speed is 20 knots and they have a gross metric tonnage of 51,174. Their Cork agents are Ocean & General Ltd. Grimaldi have had their direct link with Cork since 1998.
As I write the Grande Mediterrraneo is on her way to Cork having left the Portuguese port of Setubal before which she came through the Mediterranean from Pireaus in Greece.

Grimaldi Ferries operates throughout the Meditteranean and Adriatic serving Italy, Greece, Malta, Spain and Tunisia.

No blogs at the Cabin, until now

2009-10-17T16:03:00.004Z

Hardy visitors to the Old Blog Cabin may be forgiven for thinking I'd given up on the blog given it's two whole months since my last post was uploaded and there have been precious few updates of the site in the last five or six months. Well the blog has been on the rocks but not quite sunk and I've finally managed to put aside a few minutes to post an item here.

As always there's been a fair lot of activity around Cork Harbour in the interim, not least being the arrival finally of the ferry Julia which will go into service on the Cork-Swansea route next Spring, after it gets a refit. This is all thanks to the dedicated work put in by a group of people who just wouldn't take no for an answer after the scrapping of the route over 2 years ago by the previous operator Swansea Cork Ferries Ltd. Now we have the Fastnet Line and the Julia which is a fine ship which has been admired by thousands of people as she remains berthed at Horgan's Quay in Cork city. You can get more information about the Julia and the ferry, including booking and prices at the new Fastnet Line website at www.fastnetline.com

There will be another welcome visitor to Cobh cruise liner terminal next Wednesday (21/10/09) in the form of the Queen Mary 2 which is due to arrive in Cobh around 10.15am. Unfortunately this will only be a short visit but I'm sure that despite the time of day on midweek there will be large crowds in Cobh to view what is arguably the world's most prestigious cruise ship.

I'm glad to report that AIS coverage for Cork Harbour is now available online free of charge in real time on the site www.marinetraffic.com. AIS (Automatic Information Service) is now compulsory on all ships. It uses a radio signal to constantly transmit information about a ship's location, speed and direction as a safety measure. In most cases it also carries data on a ship's port of destination, tracking and on the dimensions of the ship itself. While this is a safety requirement to help avoid collisions, it is also a great tool for shorewatchers who can now find out about ship movements in their own area and indeed worldwide from their computer desktop. It can also be embedded into your blog or website and I will be doing this shortly on the Old Blog Cabin. You can now check on ship movements whether that ship is in Cork or Copenahen, Youghal or Yokohama (as long as the ship is in range of an AIS receiver attached to the Marine Traffic website.

Back again

2009-08-17T15:30:00.003Z

In my last post six weeks ago or more I apologised for my failure to update the blog for some time. Unfortunately it happened again and I have had less and less time available (and perhaps a lack of inspiration) to keep it going.

Quite a lot has happened in the meantime including the government's decision to transfer ownership of Spike Island to Cork County Council, paving the way for the historic fortifications and jail into a major tourist attraction. Unfortunately it happens at a time when the Irish economy is in very serious trouble so a question mark hangs over the project in terms of funding and is likely to remain there for some time.

The hosting of the Tall Ships Race 2009 by Belfast, not long after a highly successful hosting by our neighbouring port of Waterford once again highlights Cork's failure to attract this prestigious event back to Cork where it made its only visit almost 20 years ago in 1991.

New electricity pylons with overhanging wires and a proposal for a new bridge near the Marina in Cork mean that the city is not in a position to host the largest of the ships - but the question I would ask is Why doesn't Cobh or a combination of Cobh and other Lower Harbour locations make a bid for the race to come here sometime in the next few years? The larger ships could be accommodated at the Deepwater Quay in Cobh with the smaller ones going to Crosshaven, Monkstown and Passage West.

Finally for now I see that the Port of Cork company has finally got its own You Tube account with promotional and port related videos. Here is one:-

Floating evangelists come to Cork

2009-07-02T09:28:00.002Z

My apologies to all my regular readers (if there are any left) for my long absence over the past two months. I have been busy with other projects and neglected my maritime blogging. But now I'm back.

I was looking out my window yesterday looking over Cork Harbour when I spotted an unusual ship. It looked a bit small for a cruise liner of which many come to this port and while it was in good condition it wasn't the gleaming type of vessel you'd normally associate with that trade. It seemed more like a car ferry so my next thought was, has the Swansea-Cork replacement ferry finally arrived at last? Alas it was not for when the ship got nearer and I saw the name "Logos Hope" all hope receeded in that quarter. I quickly consulted an online shipping register and discovered that the Logos Hope is operated by a Christian group and travels around to different ports to spread the Gospel. She is in Cork until July 14th so presumably the evangelists will be in evidence around J.J. Horgan's Quay where she is berthed.

The ship has an onboard theatre which can seat up to 1,000 people at a time. I'm not sure whether they can expect to get crowds like that in Cork but apparently there is a demand for this kind of thing.

A former car ferry which previously operated between the German port of Travemünde and the Swedish port of Malmö she weighs in at 12,000 tonnes and currently flies the Faeroe Island's flag. She was built in 1973.

Horror ship due back in Cork

2009-05-01T08:49:00.003Z

The Latvian owned, Cambodian registered cargo ship Defender is due back in Cork Harbour next week (6 May) less than a month after her departure after a lengthy stay during which crew members had to strike because of appalling conditions onboard and non-payment of wages for several months totalling over €80,000. The nine crew members on that occasion had to call in their union, the International Transport Federation which sought the arrest of the ship. During the dispute it emerged that there was not even enough food onboard ship to sustain the crew on her return voyage.

This is not of course the first time that this 40 year old vessel has been the subject of industrial action in Cork port. In 2008 a similar dispute broke out involving a different crew who were subjected to the same treatment by their Latvian bosses and only last January the Defender was detained in a British port for the same reason.

The Irish goverment has stated its desire to get tough on Flags of Convenience ships, that is ships registered in countries with little or no worker protection legislation, low wages and inadequate safety rules. Yet they allow ships like the Defender to re-enter our ports despite their appalling record.

The Old Blog Cabin calls on the Irish government to ban such ships from entering ports here (unless it is an emergency where lives are at stake). There is now urgent need to extend such legislation on an European Union wide basis.

We have seen countries take extraordinary measures to protect ships and their crews from piracy in recent times, but there is another type of piracy evident here where workers can be treated like slaves in dirty, dangerous and ancient hulks of ships while at the same time being denied their basic rights and conditions. The Defender is due at the privately owned Passage West dock next Wednesday.

http://www.itfseafarers.org/maritime_news.cfm/newsdetail/3126/region/6/section/0/order/1

Return of the liners

2009-04-12T07:22:00.002Z

The Cobh cruise liner season opens again in the next few days with the return of Black Watch, now a regular visitor, to the cruise terminal on Deepwater Quay next Thursday morning at 8.30am. A week later it will be the turn of the Grand Princess and then the Jewel of the Seas will call on April 28th. Then on the following day, Wednesday 29th April will see the visit of the Tahitian Princess on the return leg of a world cruise that started in Fort Lauderdale, Floriday in mid-January and travelled via Sydney, Hong Kong, Dubai and Rome and will have transitted both the Panama and Suez canals.

There was an interesting visitor earlier this week which I almost missed. The tall ship Tenacious overnighted at the Deepwater Quay. I spotted the name Tenacious in the list of port visitors but assumed wrongly that it was an ocean-going tug of the same name that was due rather than the yacht Tenacious which is the largest wooden ship of her type in the world at 49.85 metres (164 feet) in length. There are in fact almost a dozen ships using the name Tenacious, or variations of it, worldwide. It was also the name of the yacht which won (after time correction) the notorious Fastnet Race of 1979 (which I will return to later this year as its 30th anniversary occurs in August). That Tenacious was skippered by the US media mogul Ted Turner who was once married to actress Jane Fonda.

On a final note, today, Easter Sunday will see a ceremony in Cobh to mark the 97th anniversary of the sinking of Titanic. Cork Harbour was Titanic's last port of call on its fateful journey which ended in the tragic loss of 1517 people after it struck an iceberg on the night of 14th April 1912. A few days earlier some 123 passengers joined the ship from a tender which departed the White Star Line's terminal (now the main post office) on April 11th. This afternoon's ceremony will leave Lynch's Quay, Cobh (eastern end of town) and a parade led by a colour party from the O.N.E. will leave from the Clock Tower Gallery (Old Town Hall) travelling the short distance to the Titanic Memorial on Pearse Square (outside the BMC shop). There will be prayers, hymns from the Commodore Male Voice Choir and Cobh Confraternity band and a wreath laying ceremony followed by the reading of the names of the 79 passengers who had boarded the liner from Cobh and later perished in the North Atlantic. This year there will be a wreath laid by members of the Irish Lebanese Cultural Society in memory for those Lebanese who lost their lives in the disaster. The Mayor of Cobh Cllr. John Mulvihill Jnr. will later place a wreath in the sea to honour all the victims followed by a rendition of the Last Post and Reveille by a bugler.

20th anniversary of Exxon Valdez disaster

2009-03-27T12:33:00.004Z

On Tuesday of this week an important anniversary went by almost unnoticed on this side of the globe at any rate. Friday, 24th March 1989 is a day that will never be forgotten by the fishing communities of Alaska and many places further afield. It was the day the Exxon Valdez went aground in Prince William Sound. A documentary was shown on television last night which revisited the awful devastation caused to wildlife and to the livelihoods of thousands of people.

It is estimated that around 10.8 million US gallons (9 million Imperial gallons or 40.9 million litres) poured into the sea when the Exxon Valdez went aground. This caused devastation on a scale never seen before and hopefully never again. Before the disaster the area was rich with a diverse spread of marine life and an important fishery for the local population.

One of the most appalling aspects of the disaster was the way in which the Exxon oil company, who were responsible for the disaster, used their expensively bought public relations to turn around the situation. They also exacerbated the damage by using large jets of boiling water to clean rocks and beaches. This had the effect of practically sterilizing the area and killing whatever tiny aquatic creatures and seaweed that remained.

Incredibly the Exxon Valdez is still in service and this brings me back to my pet subject - the outrage of Flags of Convenience. The Exxon Valdez is now known as the Dong Fang Ocean and carries metal ore rather than oil but the fact that this ship is still in service at all is very disturbing. After the disaster the ship was patched up and remained in service, undergoing a number of name changes along the way - you know the type - where Windscale becomes Sellafield or Long Kesh become HMP Maze. Well the Exxon Valdez is still plying the high seas under a flag of conveniencee - in this case Panama. Thankfully she is banned from European Union waters because she doesn't have a double hull - something only brought in after the Exxon Valdez disaster.

The Innisfallen sails again, hopefully.

2009-03-27T11:50:00.005Z

Photo: mv Julia, hopefully soon to be the new Innisfallen.
Got another update via the Bring Back the Swansea Cork Ferry website and it seems that it's still all systems go for the return of the ferry link between Cork and the port of Swansea in Wales.

According to the latest bulletin from the group they have now received just under €3 Million in pledges, with €2.3 million of that already in the bank and are very hopeful of securing a deal to purchase the Julia, a Russian-owned ship which previously operated out of Finland. A co-operative is in the process of being formed and will be launched in mid-April according to the website. If all goes to plan and the deal on the Julia goes ahead she will be renamed m.v. Innisfallen - a historic name held previously by five ships which operated the Cork to South Wales route beginning in 1896. The company, interestingly is to be named the B+I Line, resurrecting the name of a company once owned by the Irish government and was itself a successor to the City of Cork Steampacket Company.

The Julia has a gross tonnage of 21699 and was launched in 1982. She is being sold by her owner Stella Naves Russia OY Ltd based in Finland. She was built by Weser Seebeckswerft of Bremerhaven, Germany and originally named MS Olau Britannia. The ship originally sailed on the Sheerness (UK) to Vlissingen (Netherlands) route.

I have fond memories of the last Innisfallen which sailed on the Cork Swansea route from 1968 to the late 1970s. I sailed on her around half a dozen times. I am just about old enough to remember the 4th Innisfallen which operated until around 1968 although I never sailed on her.

Let's keep all fingers and toes crossed and hope that the new Innisfallen and the Swansea-Cork route rises from the ashes very soon.
Photo Innisfallen (No.4) passing Carrigaloe on her outbound journey. Pic from Jack Phelan via Irish Ferries Enthusiasts website.

Cobh Liner visits 2009

2009-03-14T10:50:00.004Z

I have been looking at the provisional list of cruise liner visits due in Cobh in 2009 and there are some interesting ships which have not previously visited the port of Cork.

Once again this year there will be over 50 such port visits by some of the world's most luxurious cruise liners which only goes to show that not everyone is worried about the worldwide recession.

The Independence of the Seas will be back in port at the end of August while many "regulars" will be returning including the Jewel of the Seas, Black Watch, Delphin and Deutschland. Without doubt the highlight of the year must be the visit of the Queen Mary 2 which will take place in November. Althouth the QM2 is now over 5 years in service it will be her first visit to Ireland and will be in port on 21st October, just over 12 months after the farewell visit of her predecessor the Queen Elizabeth 2.

Among the other notable newcomers in 2009 will be the Prinsendam of the Holland America Line and Minerva II.

For a full list (provisional) of Cobh cruise liner visits for 2009 visit the Cobh Tourism website on

http://visitcobh.com/gpage.html

Rising Sea levels spell trouble for Ireland

2009-03-12T10:05:00.007Z

Yet another report is warning of the threat of rising sea levels as icecaps melt at the North and South Poles due to global warning.

In this morning's Irish Examiner a Cork based expert has questioned the wisdom of the development of large scale housing in the city's dockland. Robert Devoy, Professor of Geography at University College Cork is a member of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was echoing the international warning given by learned scientists at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark earlier this week.

Professor Devoy has said that the cost of remedial engineering such as the construction of a barrage at the mouth of the River Lee would be extremely expensive and counselled against large scale residential projects in areas prone to flooding or which may suffer future flooding, such as Cork's docklands.

The IPCC are warning that the world's oceans could rise by 18 to 59 centimetres by the year 2100 and possibly sooner. If sea levels rise by 1 metre or more it could spell disaster for hundreds of millions of people living in coastal regions worldwide.

Cork City centre already has a long history of flooding dating from the city's early origins on a series of islands where the River Lee meets the tidal waters of Cork Harbour. These islands were reclaimed in the 17th and 18th century but we still receive regular reminders of their history with seasonal flooding in the flat city centre. Further downsteam there may be problems too with significant residential developments along the low-lying areas of the shoreline. Examples include Cobh, Monkstown, Rochestown and even Midleton.

Here is an interesting link to an interactive online map that shows some of the areas which would be worst affected. You can zoom right into any area on the planet for a more detailed view. http://www.globalwarmingart.com/sealevel

Horror ship subject of possible arrest warrant

2009-03-10T10:06:00.006Z

At the end of April 2008 I covered the story of a Cambodian registered ship, the m.v. Defender, which was under arrest in the Port of Cork over the non-payment of crew's wages and general conditions onboard ship. It is deeply disappointing that another crew onboard the same ship is now in trouble due to the same type of problem.

The problem with "Flags of Convenience" has been highlighted on this blog on several occasions and I commend the actions of the International Transport Federation and their local officer Ken Fleming for prompt action in this case. The Defender is owned by a Latvian company named Forestry Shipping. The ship was launched in 1969 and has a gross tonnage of 1,600 tonnes.

The ship's crew have stated that they have not been paid for several months and that there is not enough food onboard for their return journey to Ukraine. Between them, nine crew members are owned almost €80,000. This is almost exactly the same circumstance that faced another crew less than 12 months ago when the High Court ordered the arrest of the vessel.

There is now a real fear that the company may simply abandon this old vessel and its crew in Cork. How is this possible?

The Irish government is on record as condemning the use of Flags of Convenience vessels but has so far failed to take action to deal with them. It is now high time for the use of Flags of Convenience to be outlawed on at least an EU and preferrably on a worldwide basis.

UPDATE 28/03/09 - the Defender (what an unfortunate name for a ship with a history like this) is still laid up at John Horgan Quay in Cork city. It appears most of the crew have gone home and there's little sign of life apart from a vehicle belonging to a security company parked on the quay from time to time. There has been silence on the matter from most local politicians and most of the media seems to have lost interest.

Antarctic explorer Forde to be honoured in his adopted home

2009-03-07T10:01:00.005Z

Over the last decade or so much work has been done in reviving the memory of Ireland's arctic and antarctic explorers and names like Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean have become much more well known.

Cork has its own share of such intrepid explorers such as Kinsale's McCarthy brothers (Tim & Morty) and the present day Dr. Clare O'Leary but the one to honoured next week is Robert Forde, originally Moviddy near Bandon but who spent his last years in Cobh.

A memorial to Forde will be unveiled at the Promenade, Cobh next Saturday, 14th March at 2.30pm. The unveiling will be performed by Jim Wilson who has spearheaded the creation of a formal memorial to the Antarctic hero in his adopted home town.

Robert Forde was born in the rural parish of Moviddy near Bandon on August 29th 1875, son of George Forde and his wife Charity (née Payne). Robert joined the Royal Navy at the age of 16 and eventually rose to the rank of Petty Officer First Class. In 1910 he joined with Tom Crean and others under the command of Captain Robert Falcon Scott to take part in the Terra Nova expedition (Terra Nova being the name of their ship). The expedition undertook an extensive survey of the Antarctic and in 1911 Forde and his companions examined the area around Ross Island and the Polar Plateau. An icy promontory was renamed Mount Forde in his honour. Unluckily, or fortunately as it turned out later, Forde suffered severe frostbite and was ordered home for treatment by Captain Scot. This meant he did not participate on the final and fatal attempt on the South Pole.

On his return home Forde found himself serving in the Royal Navy at the height of the First World War where he served on a number of ships. He survived the war and after demobilisation he returned to Cobh where he was to spend the rest of his life. Robert Forde died in March 1959 so next Saturday's unveiling of the monument in the Promenade will also mark the 50th anniversary of his death.

Rationalisation versus Progress

2009-02-16T11:59:00.004Z

Two important pieces of news emerged in Cork Port in recent times. On a positive news it seems that there is now a strong possibility of the restoration of the Swansea-Cork ferry link this year as an initiative has been launched to raise €3 million from local businesses and indivduals, in conjunction with public bodies, to set up a ferry service on the old route.

A carrier has come forward who will step in if the €3m is raised and provide a service while a number of suitable vessels have also been identified. Given the public goodwill and the stated support of local businesses there is a good chance this will actually happen this year. Also positive is the news that the vessel will fly an Irish flag and presumably be subject to the same terms and conditions of any other vessel registered here.

The second development termed as "Rationalisation" is the news that agreement has been reached between the Port of Cork and dockers who are members of SIPTU's Cork No.5 branch which will see all 93 of the port's casual dockers made redundant. Personally I regard this as a retrograde step which will not only see almost 100 workers out of a job - many of them middle aged - but will see the end effectively of a trade unionised docks in Cork. For over 100 years the trade unions in Cork port have been strong and have fought hard for the rights of their members over the decades. They also played a part in the history of this city with a historic 1908 Cork Dock Strike and the Cork Harbour Soviet of 1919. Dockers too gave much assistance over the years to seafarers who fell foul of ship owners and were treated appallingly by their employers under Flags of Convenience. While I am sure the International Transport Federation will continue to keep a vigilant eye on the conditions of seafarers they will be without the eyes and ears of dockers and more importantly the solidarity of the unionised dockers if required.

The upper docks in Cork have fallen eerily quiet in recent times as the move to yuppify the old docklands continues.

It is the end of an era - and not a good development in my view.

High Speed Ferry - low speed rescue?

2009-01-30T08:08:00.006Z

The incident involving a high-speed ferry en route from Stranraer, Scotland to Belfast, Ireland raises some interesting questions. The HSS Stena Voyager is a large high-speed catamaran fast ferry, one of a number of such vessels employed by Stena Line around the UK and Irish coasts. Yesterday (29/1/09) and shortly after the vessel had left Stranraer, a loud bang was heard and on investigation it was discovered that a 35 ton articulated lorry was hanging off the back of the vessel. This was a dramatic enough event which could potentially have destabilised the vessel but it is what happened later that raises questions for me.

According to staff quoted in today's Irish Times, the ship was quickly stabilised and the damage assessed. Luckily nobody was injured and it was clear that the vessel had not sustained major damage and was not in immediate danger. The Voyager returned to the port of Stranraer where it was unable to dock properly and allow its passengers to disembark by the normal ramp at the stern. The large lorry was still hanging there and would have to be removed by emergency services using a large crane. Meanwhile bad weather was setting in.

Since the ramp was not available it was decided to take passengers off using a cherry picker hoist operated by the local fire brigade. With the wind speed increasing it was necessary to remove the passengers one at a time and the entire operation took many hours, leaving some passengers stranded for up to 26 hours.

Now I'm no expert but I would have thought that if this was a conventional ship the obvious answer would be to lower the passengers in the starboard side lifeboats. The ship was in port at this time and the weather front hadn't yet set in. The big question for me is, what would have happened if the ship had been disabled at sea and unable to return to port? But of course the HSS is not a conventional ship - it's lifeboats are not hung from the side on davitts but are behind panels on the side of the vessel, presumably to improve it's aerodynamics and speed. I assume these lifeboats have been approved by the appropriate marine authorities, so why weren't they used? Perhaps it was deemed too dangerous to do this, but it would have been hardly more dangerous than removing people from a ship with a hydraulic hoist in high winds.

Port of Cork faces a challenging year

2009-01-21T10:43:00.006Z

The container terminal at Tivoli, Cork.
The Port of Cork released its annual Chairman's statement yesterday (21/01/2009) amid growing clouds over the Irish and world economy. All in all the port did quite well in 2008 but there was a decline in container traffic and the loss of the Cork-Swansea ferry route continued to hit the region hard.

Throughput in the port for 2008 was 10.1 million tonnes, down slightly from its record 10.6 tonnes in 2007. The biggest decline was in container traffic, decreasing from 200,000 containers to 187,000 (T.E.U.s as they're called in the business - Twenty Foot Equivalent Units). The port company stresses the need for much greater capacity and a move downstream from the overcrowded Tivoli container terminal in Cork city.

The report also shows the strong reliance of the port on the oil and petroleum business, most of it associated with the Conoco Philips Refinery at Whitegate, formerly a state owned concern. Some 5.8 million tonnes of oil and oil products passed through the port in 2008, a decline of 4.5% on 2007.

On the positive side the port is continuing to do well with cruise liner visits with 54 vessels due to call to the Deepwater Quay in Cobh in 2009.

You can read the full report online at the Port of Cork's website at

Good news is promised soon on the Swansea-Cork ferry link. Apparently negotiations have been ongoing for some time but have been kept under wraps. We are promised an announcement by April. Not before time!

The question of the container terminal is a vexed one locally. Last year Bord Pleanála, the state planning authority, turned down an application from the Port of Cork for a new container terminal alongside its existing deepwater facilities at Ringaskiddy however the company have reiterated their determination to try again and are looking at a number of sites around the harbour. Ringaskiddy (again) and Marino Point near Cobh are believed to be key target sites.

Many people in the Lower Harbour area are totally opposed to the container terminal being built at any location in the district while residents in Tivoli want it out of there and clearly it has overgrown that site. I will give my personal opinion at the risk of earning disfavour locally. The container business is vital, not just to the port of Cork but to the region as a whole. Cork is the second largest container port in the Irish Republic and has gained enormously in economic terms from this. The rights of people living in the area must be respected and wherever the container terminal is built it must be able to deal with the traffic levels and contain the noise associated with its activities to a minimum. On the other hand there must also be an acceptance that the existing container terminal is totally inadequate and an alternative location must be found. The second biggest natural harbour in the world must afford space to all legitimate users be it ships, pleasure boats, fishing boats, swimmers, wind surfers , etc.

*An anonymous correspondent has sent in a comment (click 'comments' link below) telling me I need to check my facts and stating that Cork Port is only fourth largest in the state in terms of container traffic. The information I carried in the above article comes from a press release from the Port of Cork company which stated specifically "The Port of Cork is the second busiest Port in Ireland in terms of the number of containers handled". Therefore if the correspondent wishes to dispute these figures he / she should do so with the port authority. I would have to agree with the poster about the growing links between big business and the management of the port. Of course the port is in commercial business, but I personally believe the decision to semi-privatise the port was not in the interests of the taxpayers and represents only a move towards total privatisation. I also tend to agree that Marino Point should be central to the port's operations but the rights of local residents must also be weighed up. The port company's decision not to buy Marino Point when it became available was a mistake as indeed was the original decision to establish the deepwater facilities at Ringaskiddy. This was a politically inspired decision as is the move to run-down Iarnrod Éireann's freight section. We are being privatised by stealth.

Danger of floating logs and flotsam

2009-01-19T13:59:00.004Z

The news that some 1,500 tonnes of timber was washed off the deck of a Russian cargo ship the Sinegorsk in the English Channel this weekend comes as a timely reminder of the dangers to small craft (and even some bigger ships) of floating debris at sea, particularly at this time of year when bad weather can cause the loss of cargo overboard either directly due to storm action or because ships are forced to jettison part of their load.

It is not uncommon to find entire oak trees floating in the ocean, not to mention the danger of 20ft or bigger containers and other loads that will float in water. In the days when all ships were wooden it was a very real hazard and still is for pleasure craft, trawlers and small coasters.

Photo shows lose containers on the container vessel MSC Napoli from which over 100 containers were lost overboard and washed up on Devon beaches in the UK.

We still don't know exactly what sank the Irish sail training vessel Asgard II in the Bay of Biscay last year but it is possible that she hit or was hit by a log or other large item in the water - even dead whales can pose a risk.

Coast Guards and shipping do keep an eye out for large objects so that they can be removed, towed away or have a marking beacon placed on them and it is recommended that anyone seeing such an object at sea or close to a port should report it to the relevan coast guard or police service - you could be saving lives.

Belated New Year greetings!

2009-01-12T12:29:00.002Z

I have finally got around to a posting on the Old Blog Cabin after a period of inactivity due to other things happening which took up my time. I hope I haven't lost permanently any of the regular visitors to the site during that time.

I will add a few more posts over the next few days because a lot has been happening since I last posted a story on December 3rd. The saga of the Irish sail training vessel Asgard II rumbles on and one wonders whether the government's pledge to raise the Asgard if at all possible has fallen by the wayside as Ireland Inc. teeters from one economic crisis to another. The amount involved in raising Asgard pales into insignificance when you consider the important work she did for Ireland over her 28 years of service. It is a shame to have such an important vessel lying at the bottom of the Bay of Biscay deteriorating while officialdom prevaricates about what to do about her.

The decline in the Irish economy can be seen at the Cork City quays presently where the huge car carrier mv Autostar has been laid up for the last three weeks due to a lack of business. The car sales figures for the first fortnight of 2009 have plummetted. This is normally the busiest time of the year for car sales as people seek to get the new '09 car registrations. It is clear that demand has dropped significantly as the recession bites. Autostar will finally sail on Wednesday, 14th December. There are currently only four ships berthed in Cork port with just 10 more due over the next 3-4 days (source Port of Cork website www.portofcork.ie). It is not that long ago since that many and more passed through the port every day.

There is still no definite word on the possible return of a car ferry service between Cork and Swansea although the Cork Independent last week carried a story that a major announcement is imminent. We shall wait and see. Hopefully it will not be another false dawn because the loss of the service is still biting in both countries. The effect on tourism in the south-west of Ireland has been catastrophic.

Reprieve for Valentia & Malin ?

2008-12-03T10:24:00.002Z

Good news this morning as the government has announced that the existing coastguard radio stations at Valentia Island in Co. Kerry and Malin Head, Co. Donegal are to be retained while a new centre is being built in Dublin.

The government announced last year that Valentia and Malin were to close down after more than a century of operation and be replaced with a new station in Galway. The response from the coastal and marine community was one of shock and a campaign was quickly put together to save the two stations which have over the years helped many thousands of mariners in trouble and played a role in saving many lives.

Let us hope that this is a full reprieve for Valentia and Malin and that they will continue to be the eyes and ears of mariners for generations to come and that this isn't simply a face-saving exercise until after the next local elections from a government in retreat from hugely controversial budget measures and growing unpopularity.

Stand up to the EU on fishery proposals

2008-11-13T11:10:00.002Z

It is being reported today (13th Nov 2008) that the European Union is proposing a ban on all whitefish fisheries off Ireland's northwest coast. This comes just five months after fishermen right around the coast were forced to come out and blockade ports because their industry is dying through over-regulation from Brussels and overfishing from other EU and non-EU fleets in Irish waters.

It is quite clear now that EU doesn't give a damn about Irish fishermen and given their refusal to recognise our democratic rejection of the Lisbon Treaty they don't really care about Ireland at all.

Some wise people predicted back in the early 1970s that our fisheries would suffer through EU membership. They were laughed at back then but they were right. Our offshore waters have been pillaged for the last four decades by boats of every nation while Irish fishermen trying to make a living for themselves and their families and to keep their communities alive have been regulated to death. A plethora of agencies watch their every move, including the naval service who monitor them from Haulbowline and from the eight naval vessels which patrol our coast.

Last June when the fishermen were forced to go on strike they had the overwhelming support of the Irish people who of course rejected the Lisbon Treaty in a democratic vote on June 12th last. But of course it's as if that vote had never taken place as an arrogant government, taking instructions from European masters, is intent on rerunning that referendum to make sure we vote "the right way".

The Old Blog Cabin feels it is time for the Irish people as a whole to take a stand for a sovereign state making decisions on behalf Ireland. We should demand a return to a much larger exclusive fishing area for the Irish fleet and stop the harassment of Irish fishermen. It is clear from last weeks huge drug seizure off the Irish coast that there are more important tasks the Naval Service should concentrate on other than making life hell for local fishermen.

Yes there is a need for conservation of fish stocks but lets start by taking out the supertrawlers and giving priority to our own fishermen.

Busy at the Old Blog Cabin

2008-10-24T10:10:00.002Z

Sorry for the lack of posts on the Old Blog Cabin but I've been busy for the last while and haven't had time to follow up on articles. I haven't heard or seen much on the news front since I haven't had the time to look but one piece of good news I did see was that the Irish government is about to advertise for tenders to raise the national sail-training vessel Asgard II which sank in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France on September 11th last.

Investigations into the present condition of Asgard have proved to be encouraging and the vessel is said to be "largely intact" following a survey by Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) recently. Let's hope the Asgard will rise again.

The Amphicar - an idea lost in time

2008-10-24T10:08:00.002Z

Start of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race, 1971
Originally uploaded by State Library of New South Wales

I spotted this on www.flickr.com this morning and couldn't help posting it. What a great idea! I remember seeing one of these or a similar model around West Cork many years ago when I was a small boy and fascinated with the idea of car that could go on water. I'm sure they can't have been too safe though.

Still it would be very useful for a Sunday afternoon's boating - no bother with trailers, winches, mooring places or winter storage - just drive off to work with it every day and take a dip at weekends!

This one was photographed at the start of hte Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race in 1971 and is from the collection of the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Australia.

According to the entry: - "The Amphicar was a German vehicle manufactured 1960-1968. It was the first commercially produced amphibious car and used a Triumph Herald engine over the rear axle to power the wheels and twin propellors. In the water, the front wheels acted as rudders. The body was steel.

From the collections of the Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales www.sl.nsw.gov.au

Information about photographic collections of the State Library of New South Wales acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/SimpleSearch.aspx

Persistent url: acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=146252

Uploaded by State Library

The Onedin Line

2008-10-13T15:01:00.004Z

For no other reason than indulging in a bit of nostaliga I am posting this Youtube video from the very first episode of the Onedin Line, a television drama series from the 1970s which I remember fondly.

The Onedin Line was huge in the 1970s. The first episode was broadcast in Britain in 1971. I'm not sure when it was first broadcast on RTE (Irish television) but it can't have been too much later. It was also broadcast in Europe, the US and around the world and to this day has a dedicated following. The choice of Aram Katchachurian's theme from Spartacus was an inspired one for the theme music and the intro was a stunning combination of this theme and excellent aerial camrawork. Many people still refer to Spartacus as the "Onedin Line theme"

The series centred on the lives of two brothers James and Robert Onedin, their families and some of the crew of James Onedin's ships. Their father, whom we don't meet, leaves the older brother Robert the family business, a small ship's chandlers shop in Liverpool, while the younger brother James has already gone to sea but is left virtually penniless. Nevertheless he works his way up and marries the daughter of a schooner owner to get his hands on the ship. Eventually he ends up the wealthier of the two brothers, with a fleet of ships. Also featuring in the series are Robert & James' sister Elizabeth and the love interests of the three. Peter Gilmore played James Onedin, while Brian Rawlinson played Robert and Jessica Benton was the strong-willed Elizabeth. My favourite character of the series was the irrepresible Mr. Baines (later Captain Baines), played by Howard Lang with such ease that it seemed like he had been at sea all his life.
The ship shown in the opening credits is the Christian Radich, a full-rigged Norwegian sail training vessel. Several other vessels were also used to double for James Onedin's growing fleet.

I am open to correction on this, but I think the Christian Radich came to Kinsale in the late 1970s while it was taking part in some filming off the south coast of Ireland.

QE2 arrives in Cobh for farewell visit

2008-10-01T13:49:00.002Z

The famed cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2 has arrived in Cobh this morning on one of the final legs of her farewell voyage after 40 years of service.

The huge liner reached Roches Point at the mouth of Cork Harbour at around 1.30pm and was escorted in slowly by four or five tugboats and a flotilla of boats.

There was even the unusual sight of one of the Dublin Port pilot boats joining the local pilot boat fleet for the occasion.

Here are some photos of the arrival, taken from Cobh town.

Are these bullets yours? - Lusitania Ammo owners sought

2008-10-01T10:47:00.003Z

Nearly 100 years after she was torpedoed and sunk off the Old Head of Kinsale in Southern Ireland the passenger liner Lusitania continues to make the news.

There was an intriguing story in this morning's Irish Times newspaper which revealed that the Irish Receiver of Wrecks may shortly post advertisements in the country's newspapers to determine who owns a quantity of .303 bullet cartridges which have been discovered at the wreck site.

Now it has long been speculated that there may have been munitions on board the Lusitania - the question was even raised while World War 1 was still claiming millions of lives and has continued to cause controversy since. The British passenger vessel was on its way from Liverpool to New York when it was hit by a torpedo from the German submarine Unterseeboot 20 (U-2) some 12 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale on 7th May 1915 with the tragic loss of 1,198 lives. Only a few hundred bodies were removed from the water, over 100 of them are buried at the Old Church Cemetery in Cobh (then known as Queenstown) and the memory of the event is still indelibly written into the town's history.

Whether the Lusitania carried ammunition is no longer in any doubt. More than 15,000 rounds of -303 ammunition has been discoverd over the past few years by divers working for the wreck's owner Greg Bemis. The Cork Sub-Aqua Club have also located ammunition while diving there under licence. Of course this does not explain the mysterious second explosion which is said to have taken place after the torpedo struck and which is believed to have been responsible for the catastrophic loss of the ship. It is still in dispute how this happened although world renowned author and ship surveyor Robert Ballard (who discovered the wreck of the Titanic, another ship with a Cobh connection) believes it was caused by coal dust exploding. Perhaps we shall never really know.

The wreck of the Lusitania itself is owned by Greg Bemis an American who spent many years going through the courts to prove his claim to the wreck. However the Irish government declared the wreck a Heritage Site under the National Monuments Act and it cannot be dived without express government expression (it's a dangerous diving site anyway at approx 100 metres).

According to the Irish Times a sample of Remington -303 cartridges has been handed over to the Receiver of Wrecks in Cork by agents of Mr. Bemis. The Irish Customs service are now assessing the "material" and if ownership is not ascertained in 12 months then cartridges become property of the salvor.

Will the owners of the ammunition please step forward?

Here's one we missed....

2008-09-28T10:05:00.004Z

In posting the piece about the arrival in Cork Port of the Swedish sail-training vessel Gunilla which is due at Cork's J.J. Horgan Quay tomorrow, I completely missed another sail training vessel which is currently at that location. The Stavros S. Niarchos is a 493 tonne brig which was completed in January 2000. When seeing the name I assumed she was a Greek vessel given the name until I noticed the Union Jack on the stern. She is actually owned by the Tall Ships Youth Trust of the United Kingdom.

Then I looked at the Tall Ships Youth Trust website (www.tallships.org) and noticed that the Stavros S. Niarchos' sister-ship the Prince William is for sale. I immediately thought it might make a good replacement for the recently lost Asgard II but to be honest I just don't know enough about this type of vessel to know if such a ship would be suitable for purpose. But I suppose it would be no harm for the Irish government and the Coiste an Asgard to take a look....

The Stavros S. Niarchos (named after a Greek shipping magnate) leaves Cork at 11am tomorrow (Monday, 29/9/08)
more info on the Tall Ships Youth Trust website:- www.tallships.org

QE2 in Cobh - 2nd October (clarification)

2008-09-25T09:16:00.005Z

The Old Blog Cabin has been contacted by a number of people querying the arrival date of the cruise ship QE2 in Cobh. I can now confirm definitively that it will arrive in the port on Thursday, 2nd October 2008 at approximately 07.00hrs (local time).

I apologise profusely for the error. I gleaned the original wrong information from a website which had also incorrectly stated that the ship would be visiting Dublin.

The ship's full itinerary and those of its sister ships can be found on the official Cunard Line website at

Once again sorry for misleading people.

Here is the itinerary from Cunard's website:-

Sept 30 - Southampton, England - depart 5.00pm

October 1st - Cherbourg, France - 8.00am - 6.00pm

October 2nd - Cobh, Ireland - 9.00am - 6.00pm

October 3rd - Liverpool, England 12.00pm - 10.00pm

October 4th - Belfast, Ireland 12.30pm - 11.00pm

October 5th - Glasgow, Scotland - 12.00pm -10.00pm

October 6th - Cruising the North Sea

October 7th - Edinburgh, Scotland - 8.00am-6.00pm

October 8th - Newcastle, England - 10.30am-10pm.

October 10th - arrive back Southampton, England

Swedish Sail Training vessel bound for Cork Port

2008-09-24T21:26:00.004Z

Sweden's largest sail training vessel, the Gunilla is due in Cork next Monday (29th September) for a short visit. Coming so soon after the sad loss of Ireland's own sail training vessel the Asgard II in the Bay of Biscay it will be nice to see a great sailing ship in port again, although not the same no doubt for those who served on Asgard. The Gunilla, 49 metres long and 380, she is a square sailed ship so she looks more like the Jeanie Johnson than the Asgard (see photo). Gunilla was built in Sweden in 1940 and became a sail-training barque in 1997. She was actually originally a motor yacht and is now operated by Den Seglande Gymnasieskolan (the Sailing Upper-Secondary School).

Gunilla will berth at Horgan's Quay near Cork City centre (opposite Jury's Inn and the Custom House).

(Photo by drewhound on Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/drewhound/486821829/)

Cobh Harbour liner visit season nearing end

2008-09-17T08:52:00.006Z

With the nights becoming longer in this part of the world the most successful season of liner visits to Cork Port for 2008 is gradually drawing to a close with the final scheduled visit being that of the Thomsen Celebration on October 24th. Before that there are still some interesting visits with the highlight being the last ever visit to Cork of the QE2 which will take place on Thursday, 2nd October.

The QE2 will tie up at the Deepwater Quay in Cobh around 9.00am local time and depart at 6pm. The old but still elegant ship will then sail for a final time to Dublin, Liverpool and Belfast before a final trip around the UK coast, a farewell voyage to New York and a journey through the Mediterranean before reaching its final destination in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on November 27th where she will be converted into a floating hotel.

The QE2 was the star of the show at the 1991 Tall Ships Race, not taking from the grace and beauty of the tall ships including our own late lamented Asgard II, but complimenting them. There are still many homes around the Cork Harbour area with large photos of the QE2 surrounded by smaller vessels and with tugboats cascading water over her from their powerful water jets. It is a picture that will endure.

The Queen Elizabeth 2 (to give it its full name) was launched in Clydebank from the yard of John Brown on 20th September 1967 and made her official maiden voyage to New York in May 1969. By 2002 she had logged 2,000,000 miles at sea. QE2 has now been superseded by the Queen Mary 2 (since 2004).

Harbour Pilots - a dangerous but vital job

2008-09-17T08:43:00.002Z

You might remember back in July I wrote an article entitled "Harbour Pilots at Work" outlining the importance to any major port of a pilot service. (http://theoldblogcabin.blogspot.com/2008/07/harbour-pilots-at-work.html). I also mentioned that it was a tough and dangerous job. Regrettably that has proved to be all too true locally here in Cobh where a little over a week ago one of the Port of Cork's harbour pilots had a nasty fall in the course of his duty and received serious injuries. The man in question had to be stretchered off the pilot boat with the assistance of the local fire brigade.

The Old Blog Cabin wishes the man a speedy recovery.

Asgard: Inquiries begin as crew safe home in Ireland

2008-09-13T10:00:00.002Z

Two separate inquiries have commenced into the sinking of the Irish sail-training vessel Asgard II which was lost early last Thursday morning off the French coast, thankfully with all hands saved.

The Irish government's Marine Casualty Investigation Board and its French counterpart are investigating the circumstances of the sinking while it is still unclear if a any attempt to raise the ship can be made. Reading between the lines of comments from various Irish government sources it would seem that a new build may be the most likely outcome since Asgard is in 90 metres of water and raising it would be very costly. A survey of its present condition is yet to be undertaken. Meanwhile there has been some speculation that Ireland's two other large tall-ships the Jeanie Johnston and the Dunbrody - both replica's built in the 1990s - might have a temporary role to fulfill in sail training for the Coiste an Asgard, the body which was responsible for the Asgard and its sail-training programme.

The five permanent crew and 20 trainees arrived back in Dublin last night (Friday) after their ordeal and a short stay on the French island of Bell-Ile where they were taken after rescue.

Some relevant links:

Marine Casualty Investigation Boad - www.mcib.ie (nothing on Asgard yet)

Coiste an Asgard: www.irishsailtraining.ie

and the other Irish tall-ships:

www.jeaniejohnston.ie

www.dunbrody.com

Asgard II sinks in the Bay of Biscay - Update

2008-09-11T07:01:00.009Z

It has been reported this morning (10/09/2008) that the Irish sail training ship Asgard II has now sunk in Bay of Biscay after taking in water and sending out a distress call. The crew were brought to safety earlier this morning..

According to RTÉ News the sailing vessel went down at 08.25 local time (7.25am Irish time) some 20 nautical miles from the French coast, south west of the island of Belle-Île-en-Mer.

The Asgard had been en route from the Cornish port of Falmouth to La Rochelle in France where it was due to undergo minor maintenance.
The alarm was raised and the distress signal was picked up by the UK Marine Coastguard at Kinloss in Scotland.

It has been reported that the 5 crew and 20 trainees (most of them Irish) were rescued by a French naval ship and taken to Belle-Île-en-Mer off the French coast where they are safe.

Most Cork people will remember the Asgard II best from the Tall Ships Race of 1991 but she has been a regular visitor to the port since she went into service after completion in 1981. It was at the time of the Tall Ships race that the Cork singer / songwriter Jimmy Crowley wrote the song "My Love is a Tall Ship" dedicated to the Asgard.

The name "Asgard" resonates through Irish history. The original Asgard, owned by Erskine Childers Snr, was used in the Howth gun-running incident of 1914 in which German guns were imported into Ireland for use in the uprising which eventually took place in 1916. The first Asgard (from the Norse name for the "home of the gods") sailed to Hamburg with Childers, his wife Mary and two others to to collect the guns which were landed in Howth in July 1914. Childers was later executed during the Irish Civil War in 1922. His son Erskine Jr. was to go on to become President of Ireland.

In 1968 the Asgard I was bought by the Irish government who established the Coiste an Asgard as a new sail-training authority and the ship was used for training young people in navigation and seamanship until it was retired and replaced by Asgard II. The first Asgard is now being restored but it is unlikely it will ever take to sea again.

Asgard II, a 106 foot brigantine, was built by Tyrell's Boatyard of Arklow, County Wicklow, under the personal supervision of designer, the late Jack Tyrell.

The loss of the Asgard is a huge blow to Ireland, not just because of her importance in sail-training but as a symbol of this country and the good work she has done in promoting tourism she has also been involved in work with a social element along with involvement in research and environment.

It is of course very good news that the crew of Asgard II are safe. We still don't know if there is any possiblity of raising the vessel. That will, no doubt emerge in time.

More talks, still no ferry - could "Yellow Pack" be on the cards?

2008-09-09T11:20:00.002Z

The clock contines ticking as to whether we will have a passenger / freight ferry between Cork and Swansea next year as talks and tentative negotiations begin. Today's newspapers are reporting that the Port of Cork and Associated British Ports have agreed an incentive package to encourage an operator to sign up for the route which has been without a service for two years now.

There is no specific information as to what type of incentives would be on offer but much is made of the additional journey for freight through other routes and even the increased carbon dioxide levels due to the extra road freight is under scrutiny. A Port of Cork source is quoted in today's Irish Examiner as say that around 10,000 units (containers) a year were transported by the previous operator Swansea-Cork Ferries.

The Old Blog Cabin has strongly supported the return of a service on this route but we would not favour a "yellow pack" operator. It is not so long since more than 500 jobs were slashed by Irish Ferries who replaced unionised workers with low-paid migrant workers from Eastern Europe who had to settle for lesser pay and minimal conditions of employment due to EU law which facilitates this and which is even strengthened by the Lisbon Treaty which the Irish government and EU want to bring in by the back door having been democratically rejected by the Irish people in the June 12th referendum. It would be disingenuous of the Old Blog Cabin to support the International Transport Federation's campaign on "flags of convenience" and not take a stand on the cheap labour route for any ferry on the Cork-Swansea route. Once again we call for the local authorities in conjunction with government to take over the route themselves.

New Irish ships should fly the Irish flag

2008-09-06T08:18:00.005Z

There was an interesting letter in yesterday's Irish Examiner (5th Sept 2008) from a retired inspector of the International Transport Federation, Mr. Tony Ayton, once again highlighting the scandal of "Flags of Convenience", i.e. ships owned in one country but operating from another where tax, labour and safety regulations are more relaxed. I have highlighted this scandal in previous entries on The Old Blog Cabin.

Mr Ayton in his letter welcomed the fact that seven Irish based shipping companies were investing in new or second hand vessels this year, with the benefit of Irish government concessions. Some 21 such vessels are to be purchased this year with another 27 over the next two years. However the former ITF inspector also expressed his hope, rather than expectectation, that the ships would be registered in this country.

To quote Mr. Ayton: "I fear a lot of them will end up just like many beneficially-owned Irish ships do today operating under the notorious flag of convenience system.

This is a system where shipowners are allowed to register and flag their ships in countries that, in exchange for the registration fees, offer a minimum of laws and regulations that have to be applied and which take little or no interest in how the crews of these ships are treated. Consequently, a large proportion of the jobs that this investment will create could be at exploitative wage rates and miserable working conditions".

In January of this year the Irish government, through Minister Noel Dempsey, met with the International Transport Federation and assured them of the government's determination to do something about Flags of Convenience. Let us hope that they will live up to this promise and ensure that these new ships will comply with the best standards in safety and labour law and pay the proper rate for the job to their crews. Otherwise Mr. Dempsey's assurances will have been nothing more than another bunch of empty promises

The Future of Spike Island

2008-08-31T09:07:00.004Z

A well attended public seminar took place in the harbour town of Cobh yesterday (30/08/08) to discuss the future of historic Spike Island in Cork Harbour which has at various times over the past 1,500 years served as a monastic settlement, Viking base, military fortification, convict base, emmigrant centre, famine home and graveyard, naval base and juvenile detention centre.

Organised by Cork County Council and Spike Island Heritage Committee to coincide with Heritage Week 2008, the meeting was addressed by a wide variety of speakers dealing with different aspects of the island's past and proposed future. There was also a photographic exhibition of life on Spike Island over the past century or so.

Local historian, heritage tour operator and chairman of the Spike Island Heritage Commmittee Michael Martin spoke on the history of the island since at least the 6th century; archaeologist Dan Noonan spoke on the initial findings of archaelogical inspection of various sites on the island; marine archaeologist Connie Kelleher described her inspection of various marine wrecks in the area and raised the possibility of the island someday housing a national maritime museum of world standards, tourism consultant Frank Donaldson spoke about another of the Irish Treaty ports, the military emplacements at Lonehort on Bere Island in West Cork; John Hennessy of the Great Island Historical Society spoke about island life on Spike in the 1940s and 1950s, Cobh Tourism chairman Hendrik Verwey dealt with future proposals and possibilities for Spike while Edward Buckley of Great Island Historical Society gave an interesting lecture about Ogham writing (Ireland's ancient Celtic alphabet) and the importance of the Irish language to this country. A number of local politicians and public figures also attended and there were several contributions from the floor (including yours truly).

It was encouraging to see a large attendance at the seminar on a Saturday afternoon in August and shows there is huge interest in local history and heritage and people in Cobh and the harbour area are genuinely interested in the future of such places as Spike Island.

Bits & Pieces

2008-08-22T08:41:00.003Z

It's been a few weeks since the Old Blog Cabin was updated so I will summarise this posting.

During the week it emerged that the Port of Cork is now looking again at the option of Marino Point near Cobh as the location of the new container terminal for the port. There seemed to be a marked reluctance by the port authority to look at this site when they were initially looking for a location for the container terminal which had outgrown its Tivoli site near Cork city. The former Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI) site which already has a natural deepwater basin came on the market after IFI was closed down some years ago and could have been bought at the time. To buy it now would cost a lot more. Ringaskiddy is not completely gone as an option but the lack of a rail link may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle. We will watch for further developments with interests.

There are a number of cruise liners coming to Cork Port over the next week or so. Le Diamant is currently at Cork's North Custom House Quay while Century is due in Cobh in the early hours of tomorrow morning to be followed by the enormous Independence of the Seas making her third visit to Cobh on Saturday while Artemis visits the following Friday, 29th August.

On a sad note I would like to pay tribute to my friend Denis O'Connor who died suddenly last Friday. Denis was a docker at the ferry terminal at Ringaskiddy and a leading trade union representative in SIPTU. He was also a member of the Workers' Party and many other organisations. He had a strong interest in all things maritime and was a regular visitor to this blog. May he rest in peace.

New Harbours Bill raises questions

2008-08-05T11:39:00.007Z

The Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey TD today (5th August 2008) announced a new Harbours Bill that will change the nature of our major port companies, including the Port of Cork, and possibly not for the better.

Up to a decade or so ago the ports were entirely run and owned by the state with boards directly responsible to the Minister. Then they became commercial semi-state, i.e. they became private limited companies with a commercial mandate but still wholly state owned. Many saw this as the first tentative steps towards privatisation. As with other state companies they had been put at arms length from the government and as private companies it would be possible, through further legislation, to decouple them completely and sell them off eventually. Now it seems this privatisation strategy is going a step further with a significant reduction in the number of local authority representatives (in Cork Port company it will go down from five to just one). This will also mean a serious drop in the level of accountability of the harbour boards. It's not quite privatisation yet, but it comes becomes a greater possibility in the medium term.

The new Bill, if passed, would also allow port companies to invest outside their current harbour limits. Another proposal is to extend the harbour limits of a number of port companies to facilitate developments outside existing harbours. Primarily this is to allow Drogheda Port Company in County Louth to develop a new port at Bremore near Balbriggan in north County Dublin. What implications this might have for the Port of Cork vis a vis the ongoing row over the new container terminal remains to be seen.

Obviously one cannot judge a major piece of legislation based only on a Ministerial press release, but I, for one, would have concerns that this is a further step towards privatisation of our ports and if that happens local areas will lose whatever control they have over the development and planning of those ports.

No doubt there are people who will argue that this bill would give the Port of Cork (and the other ports in the Irish Republic) a chance to develop and to invest but there are portends of more negative possibilities. Many people who work in Cork port will remember the Liverpool Dockers Strike of 1995 when the entire workforce of that port was sacked and the port privatised. Liverpool port is now owned by a consortium called the Peel Group which also owns John Lennon Airport, three other airports including Manchester, the Trafford Centre in Manchester and are also involved in wind generation. The company also has involvement in Glasgow port, Clydeport and the Manchester Ship Canal, etc, etc.

There have already been international buyouts of major US ports, could we now see ports like the Port of Cork being owned by multinational companies with no links or loyalty to the region, people, seafarers or port workers? Of course native business interests would also put the bottom line (money) before such considerations. For that reason this blog believes the government should retain ownership of our ports and that local elected representatives should continue to be represented on the port bodies to hold them to account.

The Old Blog Cabin will be looking at this government bill in more detail shortly.

Harbour Pilots at work

2008-07-29T08:22:00.007Z

Looking out at one of the Cork Harbour Pilots boarding a large ship in the dark last night I decided to write an article about this interesting, and sometimes dangerous job. It's a task that takes place 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is essential to any modern shipping port. Under maritime regulations and local port rules, every ship over a certain size must take on a pilot when entering port. The pilot is a fully qualified ships' master who has special qualifications on pilotage and an intimate knowledge of the local port - he (or she) knows literally every rock and sandbank in the port, every twist in the river and every possible hazard to local shipping.

The Port of Cork has had pilots for centuries, starting with rowing boats and advancing to the present day with their two powerful pilot launches and sophisticated radar and ship location technology (AIS). Over the years the pilots have guided many famous ship's in and out of Cork Harbour including the ill-fated Titanic, on her infamous maiden voyage in April 1912. She was piloted safely from her moorings by Cobh pilot John Cotter. Alas the pilots also had their own tragedy in 1942 when five seafarers lost their lives when their pilot boat was caught under the propellors of the Irish Poplar. The five men who died were John Higgins, Frank Lloyd, Frank Powell, Patrick Wilshaw and William Duggan. They are commemorated by a monument near Cobh's old town hall. The memorial is in the form of a replica of the nearby Spit Bank lighthouse (see photo).

Without the harbour pilots the port of Cork would come to a standstill, yet in all weather they must board ships of all sizes and guide them safely to and from the port. The boarding of a ship from a pilot launch is a sight to behold, especially in bad weather, there is no funfair ride that could possibly compare as the pilots have to climb a rope ladder up the side of a moving ship while both ship and pilot boat are rocked by heavy seas and rise and fall into deep troughs and large waves. It's certainly not for the fainthearted!

Today the Cork Harbour Pilots are based at the pilot station in Cobh and have two modern pilot launches, the Gleánn Mór and the Sonia (the latter named after champion Cobh athlete Sonia O'Sullivan). In addition to radar they also have access to closed circuit television cameras which cover the entire harbour as far as Cork city quays and AIS (Automated Information System) which all ships must now carry and which gives the exact position, heading and other live information about the ship. I have included some video of the newest launch, the Gleánn Mór working in rough seas. Incidentally the Gleánn Mór is an Interceptor 42 (42ft long) specially designed as a pilot launch and built by Cobh based Safehaven Marine.

Ferry Disappointing

2008-07-28T08:55:00.003Z

It's now almost two years since the Swansea-Cork Ferry company announced that it could not locate a replacement ship for the mv Superferry II and we have been without a direct ferry link from Cork to the UK ever since. Several attempts have been made to restore the link but all have so far come to nought.

The affect the loss of this vital link has had on local tourism in the South West of Ireland is clear to see. It has also heavily hit the local economy with jobs lost in both tourism and industry as a result. We now approach the end of the 2008 season and we're still waiting for a new ship on the horizon for 2009. If you haven't already done so, please do sign the e-petition on the website www.bringbacktheswanseacorkferry.com via the link on the navigation bar on the left of this page and write to your local politicians, whether in Ireland or the UK.

On a more positive note there was news recently of a move to open a ferry link between Cork and Northern Spain with a Ro-Pax (Freight & Passenger) ship linking Cork with the port of Gijón (pictured) in the province of Asturias which is well connected to the rest of Spain by motorway. So far it's only on paper but the Old Blog Cabin hopes that it will become a reality and not just a pipe-dream which the Swansea-Cork ferry appears to be. We live in hope.

Cobh People's Regatta 2008

2008-07-25T08:32:00.004Z

It's almost Regatta time again and this year's Cobh People's Regatta opens on Friday 8th August with a full programme of events over the weekend. (my apologies as I originally said it was the Bank Holiday weekend, in fact it is the following weekend 8-10th August).

There's a lot more to the Regatta weekend than rowing and sailing but the regatta, one of the oldest in Europe, has plenty to offer for all - plus some challenging boating skills trials.

the Regatta kicks off on Friday at 2.30pm with the Cobh Youth Busking Competition followed by the "Streets of Cobh" Race led by Ballymore Cobh Athletic Club and the ever-popular Wheelbarrow Race from the Main Stage in front of the Cobh GPO to the Top of the Hill - and if you're not familiar with that part of Cobh it is some climb, more of a mountain than a hill.

There will be plenty of live bands playing over the weekend, not forgetting the all-important racing events and the Festival Queen competition.

The full programme of races and other events can be found on the regatta's website at The official Regatta programme in printed form is available in local shops and other retail outlets at €2.

Beautiful Cobh's Toxic Slag Heap

2008-07-02T20:41:00.013Z

Since the news broke last week the media has been full of stories about the toxic slag heap on and beside the former Irish Steel / Irish Ispat site on Haulbowline - a few hundred metres from the town of Cobh and close to many other harbour towns and villages.

Photo shows former furnace hall which was demolished in 2006 causing a huge dust cloud which spread over much of Cobh and the lower harbour. Below is a video of the demolition

It has emerged that a company employed to remove the slag heap has been sacked by the government and has leaked a report which shows that the situation is much worse than thought and there are dangerous levels of lethal toxins such as Chromium 6 and mercury on the site. It was not news the government wanted to hear and now the lawyers are being called in to sort out the legal wrangle. Meanwhile the people of the lower harbour and the 1,300 members of the Irish Naval Service continue to live, work and play beside the site.

On July 1st local resident's and environmental group's representatives met with the Minister for the Environment John Gormley in his Dublin office. The usual press releases were issued by both sides, the most embellished being that of the Minister which was aimed at allaying people's concerns and dampening down the furore. It's called public relations and people like John Gormley are good at it.

The furore should not end, the anger of the people of Cobh and the lower harbour needs to become even more obvious. We want action, we want answers and we want them now!

Tonight even more bad news, the Evening Echo (02/07/08) reports that statistics from the National Cancer Registry show that cancer levels in the town of Cobh are 44% above the national average. We didn't need a statistical analysis to tell us that is very high, but the extent of it is a shock. Higher cancer rates are also found in Carrigaline, Ringaskiddy and Passage/Monkstown - but Cobh Urban is by far the worst.

Irish Steel - or Irish Ispat as it became known when it was sold off for the princely sum of one old pound (IR£1) by the Fine Gael / Labour / Democratic Left government - it finally closed in 2001 - that was seven years ago. High levels of toxicity at the site were first reported ten years before that in 1991. This is half way through 2008 and it's still there. Deadly carcinogens in pools, on the ground on Haulbowline and in the air we breath - and of course also leaching into the waters of Cork Harbour where many of us swim, paddle or travel by boat for work or pleasure.

What has occurred in Haulbowline is a crime. Criminal negligence has put the lives of Irish Steel workers, clean-up contract workers, naval service, port workers and the local people at serious risk. There was also a criminal attempt to hide the extent of the situation. Will we see anyone go to jail? - Highly unlikely. Will any senior official or government minister be disciplined ? - Very unlikely. Will any of those who have suffered death or serious illness as a result of thes toxins (or their families) ever receive compensation? Don't hold your breath. Will the site ever be properly cleared? We will wait and see - but let's not wait too long. In fact we now need to ensure that the issue stays on the national agenda. Don't be silent!

Photo shows Le Ciara passing the slag heap on Haulbowline

Support the Fishermen!

2008-06-05T06:44:00.003Z

The Old Blog Cabin today salutes the Irish fishermen (and women) who will strike for their rights in harbours around the Irish coast and in Dáil Éireann.

Fishing communities in this country have been devastated in recent years with a combination of EU rules, quotas and harassment by the authorities, while our territorial waters have been almost emptied of their bounty. The reason, our fisheries were opened to all comers by a shoddy deal with the European Union and Irish fishermen have no chance of competing with their well-financed EU (and non-EU) counterparts who have almost fished out Irish waters.

On top of that the fishermen have to deal with fuel prices rising out of all proportion to reality due to the US financial crisis. It seems strange that the price of a commodity that comes out of a hole in the ground can sky-rocket because Wall Street gets a cold. With the price of oil heading inexorably towards the outrageous price of $2.00 a barrel fishermen are right to be angry.

The Old Blog Cabin wholeheartedly supports the fishermen and their families because they are the backbone of many coastal communities. It also gives one more reason to say No to the new European Constitution (aka the Lisbon Treaty) which will further strengthen the EUs grip on our country.

QE2 to include Cobh on its farewell voyage

2008-06-04T08:12:00.006Z

It's quite a few years since the QE2 was here for the fantastic display of sail that was the Tall Ships Race of 1991 when Cork Harbour was host to hundreds of sailing vessels, including the world's biggest a the time. Later this year, on October 1st to be more precise, the QE2 will be back in Cobh for its final visit as part of its farewell tour. After that the great ship will do a few more transatlantic trips before departing for Dubai where it will become a floating hotel. Most of the cabins are already booked out for the final voyages.

Great weekend of song in Cobh

2008-06-04T07:51:00.007Z

Along with thousands of others I enjoyed a great weekend of song and boats in Cobh the weekend just gone. I didn't get to all the events but the free sessions in the Roaring Donkey (Sunday) and the Hi-Chapperal (Bank Holiday Monday) were fabulous. The atmosphere was electric as groups from Brittany, Poland and England joined with local performers for a mix of sea shanties and traditional music from the three countries and of course Ireland. Some photos here:-

Rolling home to Cobh for song weekend

2008-05-31T08:27:00.006Z

The Cobh Maritime Song Festival kicked off last night with a concert in the Sirius Arts Centre and the festivities continue throughout the weekend, along with the South of Ireland Pipe Band festival, the Farmer's Market, etc.

I didn't get down last night for the opening, but no doubt I'll sample the music and atmosphere over the next few days.

The video above is of the French group Nordet who will be performing in Cobh over the weekend. (see the festival website at for further details).

Below are the lads from Perły i Łotry of Poland singing "The Boys of Killybegs" at a Shanty festival in Langesund, Norway in 2006. By the way Perły i Łotry means "Pearls and Rascals".

It should be a great weekend in Cobh!

Some news on ferry front, but not this year...

2008-05-31T08:22:00.003Z

I got an interesting e-mail from the Save the Swansea-Cork Ferry campaign yesterday. Apparently the South West almost secured a ship which would have allowed for the restoration of the link between Cork and South Wales, but were just beaten to it by a Russian ferry operator. While this is disappointing, it does at least show that people are trying to do something about the service.

There's more details from the campaign's website at

Cobh Maritime Song Festival 2008

2008-05-12T11:04:00.006Z

It's that time of year again and the Cobh Maritime Song Festival 2008 is fast approaching.

This year's festival takes place on 30th and 31st May and June 1st and promises to be bigger than ever with headline acts including Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Patrick Street, Martin Collins and Jimmy Mageean, Nordet from France, Perły i Łotry from Poland, Fore 'n Aft from England and the Johnson Girls from England.

The weekend will also feature the Ocean to City (boat) Race on Saturday and the South of Ireland Pipe Band Competion in the town centre on Sunday, 1st June.

More details of the festival are available on the Cobh Maritime Song Festival website at

Appalling conditions on ship docked at Ringaskiddy

2008-05-10T12:57:00.006Z

Photo Alf van Beem via Shipspotting.com

Conditions onboard a bulk cargo ship which docked at Ringaskiddy deepwater port in Cork Harbour this morning (10/05/08) are nothing short of appalling. The 170 metre long Lady Chiara (IMO Registration No. 8406327) is reportedly carrying a cargo of molasses but she is registered as an oil and chemical tanker. Molasses is a food product derived from sugar cane and is usually used here in animal feeds.

Reports on today's 1pm news on RTE Radio 1 stated that some of the ships crew had called for assistance from trade unionists which led to a visit by the Irish agent for the International Maritime Federation, Mr. Ken Fleming. It is said that some of the crew's meagre food store is more than a year out of date and and more of it is stinking and rotting while general conditions on board are extremely bad. We hope to have more information soon.

This once again highlights our call for action by the Irish government and European Union on "Flags of Convenience" ships. Lady Chiara is registered in Liberia, which has long been recognised as a Flag of Convenience country.

Cork Harbour Integrated Management Strategy

2008-05-10T09:31:00.003Z

Yesterday saw the launch in Cobh of the much-vaunted Cork Harbour Integrated Management Strategy. The title is a bit of a mouthful and all it's short is the word "protection" after management and it would gain the acronym CHIMPS, but as it is CHIMS promises much. The question Cork Harbour residents and users are asking is, will it work?

The strategy is aimed at bringing together all the stakeholders in Cork Harbour together in a forum and planning the management and future of the harbour. According to the blurb on their press release, "Cork Harbour is a unique resource and presents very real management challenges associated with, for example, flooding, water quality, industrial expansion, environmental protection, marina development and recreational usage. This Strategy is based on a voluntary partnership between key management agencies and local stakeholders including Port of Cork, Irish Naval Service, Local Authorities, Government Departments, Chamber of Commerce, Failte Ireland, community development agencies and the IDA".

Now surely the most important stakeholders in Cork Harbour are the residents of the area and it is to be hoped that their views will be taken fully onboard and that regular public forums are available to them when the future of the harbour is being discussed. Obviously the Old Blog Cabin would like to see this strategy given a chance to prove that it is more than a glossy document and that it becomes meaningful to the residents of the Cork Harbour area. We shall see.

There is a website at www.corkharbour.ie where you can download the Cork Harbour Integrated Management Strategy for yourself.

Defrosting a 1 ton squid!

2008-04-29T09:52:00.006Z

I know it may be the other side of the world from Ireland and Cork Harbour, but I couldn't help posting this story about a 1,089 pound (494kg) squid from Antarctica which is being defrosted live on a New Zealand based webcast.

The Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) can grow up to 46 feet (14m) and is found only in the icy waters of Antarctica. The specimen in question was netted by fishermen who were fishing for the Patagonian Toothfish which is sold as Chilean sea bass. They stuck it in their freezer and brought it back to New Zealand where it was preserved by the National Museum who now plan to defrost it and examine it in detail before eventually preserving it permanently and putting it on display in a 1,800 gallon tank of formaldehyde. Highlights of the dissection will be shown on New Zealand television and the whole thing including shots from several different angles can be viewed on webcam from the National Museum of New Zealand's website at

If you like calamari (squid rings) don't, the animal has ammonia in it's system naturally and the rings would be the size of tractor tyres and I'll bet they'd be just as tough, especially after a year in the tank

Photo above is from the National Museum of New Zealand.

Bring Back the Swansea Cork car ferry

2008-04-28T15:42:00.005Z

The Old Blog Cabin is happy to lend its support to a new web-based campaign called Bring Back the Swansea Cork car ferry (www.bringbacktheswanseacorkferry.com). They have an online petition and I would urge everyone to sign it.

Being without a direct car-ferry link to Britain has seriously affected the south-west of Ireland's tourist industry and has led to significant job losses in the region, not just tourist jobs but maritime and industrial jobs too. Let's hope the people of Cork get behind this campaign and the people of Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford too.

World's biggest cruise liner on way to Cobh

2008-04-27T08:33:00.005Z

Next weekend (3/4th May 2008) will see the world's largest cruise liner the Independence of the Seas visit Cork Harbour on her maiden voyage and tens of thousands of people are expected to head to Cobh to see the giant ship.

The photo above shows her smaller sister ship Navigator of the Seas which still ranks among the world's largest cruise liners. The Navigator is seen here on a visit to Cobh in June 2007 which attracted huge crowds.

The statistics for Independence of the Seas are breath-taking. She has a total of 18 decks and carries 4,370 passengers along with a crew of 1,360. At 160,000 tonnes and 339m (1,112 feet) long this is an enormous ship by any standard and will present a major challenge to the whichever of the Cork port pilots who gets the job of bringing the ship from Roche's Point to its berth at the Deepwater Quay. The pilots have of course become used to handling large liners in the port and are eminently qualified for the job, but still it is no easy feat manouevering such a big ship in limited channel space.

No doubt thousands of photographs will be taken of the event and this author for one will be looking for a good perch for my camera.

Independence of the Seas is due in Cobh at 15:00hrs on Saturday, 3rd May and is due to sail at 18:00hrs on Sunday the 4th May.

Cork ship dispute settled - problem still remains

2008-04-23T11:17:00.003Z

Having been overseas for a short trip I arrived back in Cork to discover that a Cambodian registered ship mv Defender had been detained in Cork Port and was at the centre of a pay row with the International Transport Federation. I have highlighted the question of "Flags of Convenience" before and Cambodia is one such Flag of Convenience. The ship's crew hadn't been paid and were on strike. They were being supported in their action by Cork dockers and the ITF. The dispute has now been settled with four of the crew on their way home, but the problem of Flags of Convenience still remains.

For all the talk of the EU, it has done prescious little to protect the rights of seafarers affected by the Flag of Convenience issue. The Defender is owned by a company based in Latvia - an EU member state, but the ship's registry is in Cambodia - a FOC state. I for one will be voting NO to the Treaty of Lisbon in the forthcoming Irish referendum as the EU institutions are not looking after the rights of European seafarers. There are many other reasons of course for my No vote but workers rights have seriously fallen down the EU's priority list in recent years.

Another thing, in some recent coverage of the Defender debacle, reference was made to this being "the first stand taken by a local labour force in Ireland in support of seafarers" (RTE News). This is patently untrue and Irish dockers have supported foreign crews on many occasions when they were in dispute with their employers, not least the dockers of Cork Port who have an excellent record of solidarity towards their fellow workers, Irish or otherwise. Whether it was the striking British Miners in 1983, the Liverpool Dockers in the 1990s or Latvian seafarers in 2008, Cork dockers were never short of helping out and often put their hands in their own pocket to help out fellow workers.

Piracy on the High Seas

2008-04-05T10:40:00.005Z

It may sound like something from the distant past but piracy at sea is still a problem in some waters, most notably off the north-east coast of Africa with regular attacks on vessels of all types, from busy freighters to luxury yachts.

Yesterday there was news of another attack with the seizure of a large French yacht off the coast of Somalia but in recent times piracy has become even more common. On February 1st of this year a Danish-owned tug, the Svitzer Korsakov was attacked and boarded by up to 20 heavily armed men, also off the Somalian coast. The crew were captured, including a 68 year old Irish engineer, Fred Parle. They were held for a total of 47 days and nearly all their personal possessions were taken by the pirates who had demanded a ransom for their safe return. It is not known whether that ransom was paid, but some newspapers reported that up to US$700,000 was paid over for the release of the crew.

Late last year a Korean freighter was taken over by pirates but was retaken by the crew after a deadly struggle which left several pirates dead and crew members injured.

Modern piracy is less romantic than the swashbuckling stuff we all learned in our youth. There are no parrots or gold doubloons but ransoms can be just as valuable any crock of gold. In fact modern piracy is deadly serious and no joking matter. It just goes to show that life on the sea can be dangerous and challenging.

Roald Amundsen storm video

2008-04-05T10:26:00.004Z

Recently the Old Blog Cabin featured the story of the German sail training vessel Roald Amundsen which survived a major storm (Storm Johanna) off the south coast of Ireland, suffering the total loss of 11 of her sails. Johanna has been described by meteorologists here as being the worst storm of Winter 2007/208. This morning I spotted a video made by the crew which was on another maritime blog Sea Fever (). So here it is:-

The Roald Amundsen is currently in her home port of Eckernförde in the western Baltic.

Navigator of the Seas 04.06.07

2008-03-30T20:59:00.001Z

Navigator of the Seas 04.06.07 013
Originally uploaded by Carrignafoy

This was the departure of the cruise liner Navigator of the Seas from Cobh last year. Her visit brought thousands of people to the harbour town and there was traffic chaos for a while. Next month, 3-4th May 2008, her even larger sister ship the Independence of the Seas arrives in Cobh on her maiden voyage. My advice to anyone coming for a look is get there early!

Irish government's Flag of Convenience charter

2008-03-25T08:04:00.006Z

It is regrettable that the Irish Defence Forces have chartered a Flag of Convenience country registered cargo ship to carry its supplies to Chad where the Irish Army is currently taking part in a European Union mission. This morning mv Zeran (pictured right) is being loaded at Dublin's north quays with weapons, military equipment, food and supplies for the 70 or so Irish troops in Chad. The Zeran is owned by the Polish company Pol-Levant but is registered in Malta, a flag of convenience country (see http://theoldblogcabin.blogspot.com/2007/04/flags-of-convenience-danger-for-sailors.html for previous Old Blog Cabin article on Flags of Convenience).

Flags of Convenience ships are ones which fly a flag other than that of the country where the ships owners are based. A FOC country generally charges less for ships registration but also is inclined to operate lower standards in areas of regulation, safety, pay and conditions for seafarers and make it cheaper for the ships owners to run their fleet while of course it is the sailors and seafarers who suffer. FOC ships often have an undesirable safety and environmental record as less rigorous application of international standards is generally applied.

There was a time of course when Ireland had its own fleet through the Irish Shipping Company but then successive Irish governments have had a poor record on maritime issues.

It is regrettable that the the Irish government could not have chartered a ship from a non FOC country. It should be noted that as recently as January 17th 2008 the Irish transport Minister Noel Dempsey met with a representative of the International Transport Federation to discuss this very matter and the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern decried the practice of using Flags of Convenience in the Irish parliament (Dáil Éireann) as recently as 5th March 2008.

It seems to be a case of saying one thing and doing another.

Roald Amundsen reaches Ostend

2008-03-23T19:53:00.003Z

Glad to report that the brig Roald Amundsen has safely reached the Belgian port of Ostend this afternoon (Easter Sunday), docking at 14.30hrs local time (see previous stories). I have been following her progress on the German Sail-Training Association's webpage at http://http//www.sailtraining.de/index.php?id=28&L=1.

I'd also like to share with readers some of the shipping and maritime sites I have been enjoying recently. Shipspotting.com is a very interesting site for anyone interested in the sea and things maritime. It has more than half a million photographs posted by site users. It's free and can be found at http://www.shipspotting.com/

AIS, that's Automated Information Systems, is a relatively recent development. All ships must now carry a radio transponder which allows their position to be plotted by harbour authorities and other mariners. The system is quite cheap and you can buy your own AIS detector for a few hundred Euro and connect it to your PC allowing you to see real-time positions for ships in your vicinity. Linked up to the internet it becomes the equivalent of air-traffic control for ships. Luckily many internet sites are now offering a version of online AIS. One I discovered recently is http://aislive.com/ - for a free sign-up you can see ships positions for all of northern Europe on your computer screen. The free version shows you an hour behind but if you sign up for the premium service, which is still very inexpensive, you can see the actual position of ships in every major harbour in northern Europe (and a few others) in real-time.

The Cork Harbour cruise liner season starts next week with the arrival of the first of more than 50 liners which will visit the port in 2008 - most of them docking at Cobh's cruise liner terminal at Deepwater Quay. The first arrival will be the Black Prince of the Fred Olsen line which will arrive next Sunday, 30th March around 07.30hrs. She and her sister ship the Black Watch have been regular visitors to Cobh over the last few years. The photo here is one I took of the Black Watch in 2006.

Gute Reisen Roald Amundsen!

2008-03-17T16:53:00.004Z

"Gute Reisen", the German equivalent of Bon Voyage or Slán Abhaile, is my message to the crew of the sail training ship Roald Amundsen as she sails towards Ostend, Belgium on her way home to Germany after surviving last week's severe weather off the southern coast of Ireland.

Unfortunately my camera was not to hand this lunchtime as Roald Amundsen passed the town of Cobh on it's way out to sea but it is to be hoped that they will have a much more pleasant journey than their trip here from Lisbon last week. While the weather will include winds of up to Force 6 tonight it will still be much less than the Hurricane force 12 they experienced 7 or 8 days ago. After a brief stay at Ostend, Roald Amundsen will soon be rolling home to her homeport of Eckernförde in Germany's Western Baltic, close to that country's border with Denmark.

We wish them a safe voyage.

Nice to see the Pont Aven back again

2008-03-15T11:46:00.006Z

The Brittany Ferries Cork-Roscoff service is back again after its Winter break and it was nice to see their flagship Pont Aven pass Cobh again this morning on its way to berth at Ringaskiddy.

No doubt passengers are glad that they escaped the severe weather we had earlier in the week but winds were still strong this morning with heavy rain as Pont Aven sailed by my window, looking well with her new paint job. The photo here is from 2006 though.

Unfortunately the much promised return of a ferry link between Cork and Wales has failed to materialise for a second year.

Sail training ship in Cobh after hurricane

2008-03-13T11:51:00.008Z

The German sail-training vessel Roald Amundsen is in the Irish port of Cobh after 11 of its 18 sails were ripped to shreds by hurricane force winds off the south coast of Ireland (10-12th March 2008). This morning crew members were working to replace the torn sails after several days of severe weather on a voyage from Lisbon, Portugal to Cobh, Ireland.

At one stage the ship's own instruments recorded gusts of 99 knots (114 miles per hour) and the damage to the little ship's sails was plain to see in Cobh this morning (Thursday 13/3/08).

Luckily none of the 41 strong crew, including 15 trainees were injured but the ship's captain Christian Delamotte is reported in the Irish Examiner newspaper today as saying it was the worst weather he had ever encountered in 30 years at sea. The 252 tonne brig Roald Amundsen has her home port at Eckernforde in Germany. She is due to leave Cobh for sea on Monday 17th March.

Below is a link to the ship's English language web page.

http://http//www.sailtraining.de/index.php?id=28&L=1

Huge fire at Haulbowline

2008-03-12T08:18:00.005Z

In the second night of drama in Cork Harbour in the space of 72 hours there was a massive fire in a building at the Irish Naval Service headquarters on Haulbowline Island last night (Tuesday).

Several units of the Cork County Fire service from Carigaline and Crosshaven were joined by units from Cork city and a fire-fighting tug from Cobh in an attempt to control the fire which was fanned by gale force winds. The Cork City Fire Brigade's 'snorkel' extension platform tired to douse the flames at the top of the building but it was clearly out of control and the roof collapsed before 11pm.

The damaged building was under renovation and was being used by UCC for its Coastal marine research department while an upper floor was being converted for use by the naval service itself.

Hundreds of onlookers gathered in Cobh and other towns around the lower harbour and at one stage there was a traffic jam at the carpark in Cobh which directly overlooks Haulbowline. The fire is still burning as I write but has been brought under control. Luckily there were no injuries and naval service personnel were safe.

Storm drama in Cork Harbour

2008-03-10T08:15:00.007Z

There was high drama at the Deepwater Basin in Ringaskiddy in Cork's lower harbour last night (9/3/2008) when two large ships broke their mooring lines and went adrift in winds gusting up to 65 knots (75 miles per hour).

At around 10.45pm the huge roll-on roll-off (RoRo) vehicle carrier Grande Scandinavia (see photo right) reported that it had broken all four of its mooring lines and was adrift inside the Deepwater Basin. The ship's master requested the assistance of a number of tugs as it is a very large vessel (181 metre / 594 feet long, displacing 52,500 tonnes). Cork Port Control at Cobh took charge of the situation and deployed a number of its own vessels and also called for the assistance of several private tugs and tenders to try and secure the ship. Within half an hour a second ship, the 81 metre, 3,000 tonne (266 ft) Cemvale, a cement carrier, reported to Cork Harbour Radio that it too had broken its moorings and was adrift. It's captain also sought asstance.

The ship apparently had its huge bow door open at the time of the incident and as a result was without forward power.

In total up to 10 tugs and service vessels were involved in the operation including both of Cork Port's pilot vessels, the Gleann Mór and Sonia; tugs Breedbank, Alex, Gerry O'Sullivan and Oysterbank; and mooring boats Sheila and Sally. Two injuries were reported on board the Grande Scandinavia, one crew member was injured in the initial incident and a second was injured when he took the full force of a snapping mooring line and had to be stretchered and brought ashore by the pilot vessel Sonia.

It is now reported that the Grande Scandinavia is fast (aground) on the mud bank and will require further assistance.

Well said by Tom McSweeney!

2008-03-04T13:55:00.003Z

I congratulate Tom McSweeney of RTÉs Seascapes programme for his forthright views of the run-down of the marine sector by successive Irish governments in this week's edition of the popular weekly radio programme for mariners.

The marine has truly been neglected by Irish governments since the foundation of the state. Nearly a century of independence has done nothing for the maritime community in Ireland but cause it to decline drastically to the point where it has become unsustainable. Many rural communities are literally dying because of this neglect.

In this weeks programme Tom highlighted the virtual disappearance of the Department of the Marine. Once a stand-alone government department with its own minister, responsibility for maritime matters is now spread over three departments. In additon most ministers and very many of the civil servants dealing with maritime matters have had any real empathy with coastal communities, let alone practical experience of living in a coastal community or working at sea.

The decision to close down or drastically downgrade the long-serving coast guard stations at Valentia Island in Co. Kerry and Malin Head in Co. Donegal is another aspect of this government's ignorance on maritime matters.

Seascapes remains one of the best programmes on RTÉ and the strains of Ronald Binge's classic theme music "Sailing By" is heard weekly in many coastal communities and on board boats and ships of all sizes.

http://http//www.rte.ie/radio1/seascapes/

Rescue drama off Cork Coast

2008-02-02T08:42:00.001Z

As I write the refrigerated cargo vessel m.v. Horncliff is on its way to Cork Harbour with a seriously injured captain and several injured crew members after being hit by a freak wave during a storm up to 400km off the South West coast of Ireland.

The Horncliff, which is carrying a cargo of bananas en route from Costa Rica to Dover, was hit by a huge wave around 21.00hrs GMT yesterday (01/02/08), resulting in its captain being seriously injured with suspected spinal injuries and internal bleeding. Two passengers were also injured but less seriously.

In addition between 60 and 90 refrigerated containers were swept into the sea off the west Cork coast and the Irish coastguard has issued a warning to all shipping in the area to procede with extreme caution.

A rescue helicopter from RMB Chivenor in Devon, England went to the scene, refuelling at Cork Airport en route, but was unable to winch the captain aboard because of the rough seas and pitching of the vessel which has a slight list. The ship is continuing its journey eastward and the latest information we have is that it will now divert to Cork Harbour.

The RAF helicopter is returning to the scene to assess the situation this morning but it is not yet known whether they will make another attempt to airlift the injured captain ashore or wait until the ship arrives in Cork.

There are 31 passengers and crew onboard the Horncliff. Many cargo ships continue to carry passengers.

* Update at 09.21 GMT Saturday 2nd February 2008 - it is now reported that the Horncliff will continue to Falmouth. A RAF rescue helicopter is at the scene and a paramedic has been winched onboard the ship to assess the situation. Depending on this assessment the injured captain may be airlifted to hospital in Truro, Cornwall.

Fight Valentia coastguard station closure

2007-10-25T05:46:00.001Z

The proposal being considered by the Deparment of Transport to decommission Valentia Coastguard Station must be opposed by all who have an interest in Irish maritime affairs. Transport Minister Noel Dempsey (from practically landlocked Meath) is pushing the proposal to recentralise all coastguard co-ordination to two new centres at Galway and Drogheda. If this proceeds 17 people will lose their jobs at Valentia Island in Co. Kerry or be re-located to one of the other centres.

Valentia has co-ordinate marine rescue efforts off Ireland's south and west coast for decades and has done it very well. In 2007 to date more than 600 people can thank Valentia Coastguard for the fact that they are alive and in 2004 it was involved in some 3,000 rescue call-outs.

It is indeed a measure of the present government that it lumps Marine and Transport under one government deparment with Marine being very much the poor relation. As an island nation the marine is vital to our economic wellbeing and our future. We have just had our territorial area extended to give us a 200 mile limit with regard to ownership of underwater resources around off our coast. Minister Dempsey of course does not have a good record in relation to protecting these resourcesa as the people of North West Mayo could tell you. Let us hope that the government will not give away our oil and gas resources for practically nothing as in the recent past.

Getting back to Valentia it is essential that a campaign be mounted in the South West to fight for its retention. We can ill afford its loss.

Choir recital for cancer research at St. Colman's

2007-10-23T08:27:00.000Z

There will be a public concert at St. Colman's Cathedral, Cobh on Saturday, 3rd November 2007 in aid of the Cork Cancer Research Centre at the Mercy University Hospital. The recital will include music and song from St. Colman's Cathedral Choir with conductor Dominic Finn and the Cantilena String Quartet.

Admission to the concert is free but a collection will be taken up during the interval on behalf of the Cork Cancer Research Centre.

For more details on the centre's work visit their website at

http://www.ccrc.ie/

Why not a Municipal Marina for Cobh?

2007-10-16T08:37:00.000Z

The Cobh Marina story rumbles on and is likely to rumble on for at least another 18 months to 2 years as another attempt is made by the developers of the proposed marina to get planning approval. The mood of the meeting at the Commodore Hotel last Friday night was fairly definite - "get the objectors to change their minds". Any renewed planning application will require changes in the plan - that's how the planning laws work.

So where to from now. It seems to me that the main point of objection was the 200 apartments and the hotel/bar complex on site. There were also questions about the foreshore but the real crux was the accommodation and ancilliary buildings. It also seemed to me that while the objectors are standing firm, the pro-marina lobby were also fairly stuck fast on the single proposal of a residential style marina to be built by the present developer and nobody else.

When the possibility of building a marina without the apartments and hotel was raised it was dismissed out of hand - it would cost at least €5 million said the Mayor. Sounds like peanuts to me in today's Ireland. Surely it would be worth considering at least?

Now to the idea of a Municipal Marina - that is one built by the town itself without a developer. Impossible? It would be a loss-making disaster? Well Cork City has a very successful and popular Municipal Golf Course at Mahon, that's not a disaster and municipal marinas are quite common around the world, most of all in that bastion of big business and private enterprise the United States of America. Indeed the US state with the biggest number of publicly owned marinas is Florida - one of the wealthiest places in the world per capita.

Take for example Titusville, Florida - population 42,0

00. It has a municipal marina (see photo) built and run by the city - and did not require the building of hundreds of apartments. It has full facilities for boat repair, chandlery, fuel, etc.
Clearwater, Florida and Leamington, Ontaria (Canada) and Las Dunas (Spain) are other examples of successful city or town run marinas. There are also municipal marinas around various parts of the United Kingdom.

Wouldn't work here you say? Well Kilrush County Clare has a municipal marina, so has Mountshannon on Lough Derg, both much smaller communities than Cobh.

Cobh needs a Marina, but why not be a bit more open minded on the options available?

Public Meeting on Marina

2007-10-10T08:06:00.000Z

A Public Meeting will be held in Cobh this Friday night (12th October 2007) to discuss the situation following the rejection by An Bord Pleanala of the proposed Marina project for Cobh.

The meeting will be held at the Commodore Hotel at 8.00pm and all are welcome.

Cork Docklands development goes to planning stage

2007-09-30T11:19:00.000Z

Earlier this week it was annouced that the Cork Docklands development was going to the planning authorities within the next week. The proposed development is nothing new - it has been on the drawing board for the last six or seven years - but it is now one step nearer to becoming a reality.

The plan will cost in the region of €2 Billion (that's €2,000,000,000) and will include a 30 storey high appartment block and an "iconic building" which will house a restaurant run by a "world renowed chef" and some 600,000 square feet of office space. It will also involve moving the existing city dock business and the oil terminals on the Marina downstream.

Now I would be the first to acknowledge the need to do something drastic with the existing docks. I grew up only a few hundred yards from them and I have strong memories of the smell of fertilizers and chemicals coming from the docks and the nearby Goulding's factory. There were days on which you simply could not open a window, no matter how warm it was, because of the sulphrous air which caught in your throat.

However it strikes me that a lot in this plan is taken straight from the Dublin Docklands development which is itself based on the London Docklands developed under Maggie Thatcher. The term Yuppieland comes to mind.

Part of the proposal is a metro line through the centre of the development. Now excuse me but the last time I went along the Marina it was a pleasant walk on completely flat ground. There are parts of Cork in far greater need of a proper public transport system.

I'm not against the development of this area but I feel it should be a more mixed development - without the high-rise and that the area present east of the Marina ESB power station (the start of the Marina where the old "20 to 1 gun" is located and the area near Pairc Ui Chaoimh stadium) should not be included in the plan - they are part of the Marina, not docklands.

Ferry debacle rumbles on

2007-09-25T11:31:00.000Z

I'm back from the hols and find that the debacle over the Cork to South Wales ferry is still rumbling on with conflicting news from different camps. Minister Micheál Martin says there is hope for a new service - but it needs public money. Nothing about the hundreds of thousands pumped into Swansea-Cork Ferries to start it up and no accountability. No way! The best thing that could be done now is for the local authorities to establish a new ferry company and this time that it should remain with a majority of shares in public hands. Let the business interests put their money where their mouths are.

Huge crowds in Cobh for Festivals and Liner Visit

2007-06-05T12:48:00.001Z

Tens of thousands of people flocked to Cobh last weekend for one of the biggest events the harbour town held since the Tall Ships Race visited Cork back in 1991. The main attraction was the visit of the huge luxury cruise liner Navigator of the Seas with her 3,800 passengers and 1,200 crew.

The Brunomart French market was on the Pier Head this year with lots of stalls selling a wide variety of goods including leather goods, traditional French / Breton sausages, pates, cheeses, sweets and cakes, crepes, etc. while the local Farmer's Market was also present at the Promenade. Other highlights of the weekend were the Maritime Song Festival with events in the Sirius Art Centre, in the Promenade and in some local hostelries like the Roaring Donkey and Pegs Pub in Carrigaloe. The gardaí did a great job in controlling traffic and

Cobh Town Council deserve special mention for having a team of people out very early on Sunday morning to clear up the litter and empty the wastebins for another day.

Cobh Maritime Song Festival 1 - 7th June 2007

2007-05-27T16:33:00.000Z

The Cobh Maritime Song Festival is back again this year and will run from Friday 1st to Thursday 7th June 2007 in the Cork Harbour town. There will be musical acts from Ireland, Poland, the United States, France and England and among the guests will be Sharon Shannon and Declan O'Rourke from Ireland, Banana Boat from Poland and Dan Miller & Bob Conroy from the USA.

The festival will also coincide with the South of Ireland Pipe Band Festival also being held in Cobh and the annual visit to the Cobh Farmers Market of Breton and other continental stalls selling their exotic produce.

for further details go to the Cobh Maritime Song Festival's homepage
at http://www.cobhmaritimesongfestival.com

Argentinian tall ship to drop Cork visit

2007-05-23T08:50:00.000Z

I was disappointed to hear (via Tom McSweeney's Seascapes on RTE Radio 1) that the Argentinian tall ship Libertad (liberty) is not now to visit Cork next month as planned because of the low ESB cables near the Cross-River Ferry at Carrigaloe-Glenbrook. The same reason was given for Cork's failure to land the prestigious Tall Ships Race which we hosted so memorably and successfully in 1991.

The Libertad is visiting Ireland to mark the 150th anniversary of the death of Admiral William Brown, founder of the Argentinian Navy who was born in Foxford, Co. Mayo in 1777 and died in Argentina on 3rd Marcy 1857.

So while Cork has one of the best ports in Europe for hosting such sailing vessels pure bad planning and lack of foresight means that ships with very high masts can't safely get beyond the lower harbour. Isn't about time that this problem was sorted out?

Cork-Swansea freight service hits the rocks after six weeks

2007-05-22T16:26:00.000Z

Remember I covered the story about how the Cork-Swansea car ferry had been withdrawn after they failed to find a suitable replacement for the m.v. Superferry? That was last January. Then in April of this year (2007) I reported that at least they had managed to set up a temporary freight service until the car ferry could be reinstated.

Well it turned out to be more temporary than even I thought because the new service was withdrawn on May 15th after just seven weeks in operation. The temporary replacement and freight-only vessel, m.v. Victoria was simply not up to scratch and they ran into a load of other difficulties.

It only proves my contention that the maritime industry in this country is the cinderella industry and that Ireland continues to turn its back on the sea.

Belching out black smoke

2007-04-15T09:38:00.000Z

If you drive a car in the Republic of Ireland (and most EU countries) you have to have your vehicle tested every two years for safety, equipment, lights, and carbon emissions. The government requires it to be done and you're legally obliged to have a National Car Test (NCT) certificate once the car is two years old or more.

I wish it applied to ships too, especially those of the Irish Naval Service.

A few days ago I saw a pall of thick black smoke over the harbour near Haulbowline Island where the Naval Service is based (in most other countries it's called the navy, but not here). Then I noticed one of the naval ships about a half mile ahead of the smoke and I soon saw that it was the source of the smoke. The smoke was so black and thick that I couldn't make out which naval ship it was, but I could see by its stern that it was one of the older ones which have a rounded stern whereas the newer ones have a flat transom. It was probably the 27 year old L.E. Emer or Aoife.

Honestly the smoke looked like it came from the old days of coal fired boilers. Obviously all powered ships (unless they are electric or solar powered) give off a certain amount of smoke, but this was ridiculous and the black pall hovered over the harbour for half an hour after the ship had gone because it was a flat-calm, windless day.

If I have to service my car then the navy, sorry, naval service should do the same. Get them ships serviced boys.

Flags of Convenience = danger for sailors

2007-04-15T07:41:00.000Z

Yesterday (April 14th) a chemical tanker, m.v. West Sailor, was towed to Cork Dockyard after a fire in its engineroom had crippled the ship shortly after it had delivered a cargo of sulphuric acid at the port of Foynes in the Shannon Estuary for the Aughinish Alumina factory.

It has been reported that seven of the ship's fifteen crew members want to leave the ship because conditions on board are so bad. After the fire crew had to sleep in cabins directly over where the fire had taken place and one is being treated for smoke inhalation. The International Transport Federation (ITF) - the international union for seafarers - visited the ship and expressed concern for the safety of the ship's crew.

The West Sailor is registered in the Maltese port of Valetta. Now Malta is known as a Flag of Convenience country. The ITF describe Flag of Convenience (FOC) as follows: "FOCs provide a means of avoiding labour regulation in the country of ownership, and become a vehicle for paying low wages and forcing long hours of work and unsafe working conditions. Since FOC ships have no real nationality, they are beyond the reach of any single national seafarers' trade union".

Since I was very young I have been fascinated with ships and would look at every ship's flag and stern to find out where it was from. In Cork port, where I live, the majority of visiting ships were registered in ports like Rotterdam, Hamburg, London, Dublin or Antwerp. Nowadays most are registered in Flag of Convenience countries.

As I write there are just seven ships in Cork Port which is quiet (it was 15 yesterday). Of those seven, two are registered in Antigua & Barbuda, with one each from Gibraltar, the Cayman Islands, the French Antartic Territory, Panama and Malta. Every single ship is FOC registered.

This means that ships crew are on lower pay, work in poorer conditions, generally non unionised and of course the rules regarding ship safety go out the window too. If you register a ship in the Port of Cork, for example, you will have to conform to EU and Irish safety law, the Irish minimum wage and the crew are entitled by law to join a trade union. Not so in Flag of Convenience countries who generally employ people from poor countries on the lowest of pay and often that pay is withheld from them and they are left penniless far away from home and usually unable to speak the local language.

Last year you may remember a big industrial dispute in Irish Ferries, which runs passenger / car ferries from Dublin and Rosslare to Britain and the European mainland. Irish Ferries likes to model itself on Ryanair and calls itself "the low fares ferry company". Irish Ferries wanted to sack all its 540 workers and replace them with foreign staff on half the pay and with worse conditions. It also wanted to re-register its ships in Cyprus, a Flag of Convenience country. There was a big row about it and the Irish trade unions threatened industrial action. The government opposed it too and a quarter of a million people took to the streets of Dublin, Cork and other cities in protest. But it didn't matter. The unions did a deal to get the best possible redundancy bargain for their members and some could keep their jobs, but all new staff would be non-union and low paid and the ships were re-registered, mostly in Cyprus.

In the end the workers were forced to accept the deal. The government did nothing except posturing and the unions accepted the deal.

The International Transprort Federations' campaign on Flag of Convenience ships deserves to be supported and this Blog is happy to support it. The ITF has more information on its website at http://www.itfglobal.org/flags-convenience/index.cfm

Double tragedy at Sea

2007-01-12T14:14:00.000Z

The loss of two Irish fishing trawlers off the Wexford / Waterford coast is the latest fishing tragedy to hit the area. As I write seven fishermen are missing, presumed drowned. Five men have been lost from the Dunmore East based Pére Charles while two more are missing from the Kinsale based Honeydew II. Two crewmen were saved from the latter which went down only 13 miles from the Pére Charles.

Fishing has played second-fiddle to agriculture in this country for generations and when Ireland joined the European Economic Community (forerunner to the European Union), Fianna Fáil sold out our fisheries to all comers. Now our Naval Service patrols Irish waters to protect it for ships of all EU nations, not just the Irish and indeed to enforce tight quotas which are needed because our fisheries were wiped out, mostly by our European 'partners'.

Investment in fisheries is a mere fraction of agriculture and many boats are old and dangerous.
Isn't it time Ireland protected its fisheries and our fisherfolk and told the EU to go jump? I think so.

Up the Creek without a Paddle

2007-01-10T13:37:00.000Z

For an island nation Ireland largely turns its back on the sea.

A case in point is the current crisis in the Swansea-Cork Ferry Company. They sold their only vessel, the 35 year old M.V. Superferry a few months ago and now they have no ship for their 2007 season.

If you ever travelled on the Superferry in the last few years or just saw it steaming out from Cork Harbour you would see how much it had deteriorated. Anyone with half a brain could see it needed replacing. The Cork-Swansea route is a tough one - across St. George's Channel and past the famous Mumbles, graveyard of ships.

The ferry itself was born of crisis. Back in the 1980s the B+I Line went bust and the Swansea-Cork route was no more. The Cork - South Wales link goes back to the mid 19th century with no less than five separate ships called Innisfallen until the B+I collapsed. So in the mid 1980s the local authorities (Cork City Council and Swansea City Council mainly) got together with the local port authorities and stevedores and set up the Swansea-Cork Ferry Company to reopen the link with South Wales.

Over the years the local authority / public involvement in the company was diluted and the privateers took over. Now their mismanagement leaves a ferry service without a ship and 30 people without a job. Many more downstream jobs are on the line if something urgent isn't done.

* Update: April 2007 - I am glad that a freight ship has finally been found to carry goods between Cork and Swansea. The m.v. Victoria went into service on the route in late March, but it does not carry domestic passenger traffic, only commercial traffic. At least it will provide a vital economic link once again, but we still don't know if the full passenger / freight service will ever be renewed. At this stage, I am not hopeful.

Welcome to the Old Blog Cabin

2007-01-10T11:23:00.000Z

I must admit I know next to nothing about blogs. I've seen a few and found them interesting so I decided to take the plunge and create my own. So I created The Old Blog Cabin and put up a few posts - then I forgot about it for a few months. So now I'm back and am going to change things a bit.

If you're interested follow me in this journey and see where it leads.