Maritime Cork: ‘Ghost ships’ of Christmas past

On the River Lee I saw a Cork City Fire Brigade crew aboard their rigid inflatable boat putting a new outboard engine through its paces.

Swift water rescue has become a feature of fire-brigade operations. The city brigade responds to between 50 and 80 river rescues every year. The engine upgrade will further enhance response capability in emergencies.

Pat Poland, a former member of the brigade, has been researching the origins of the Marine Service and Maritime Inscription 1939-46, which was the precursor of the naval service. He has unearthed interesting old pictures as part of his research of the Emergency years, as the Second World War was known in Ireland.

Pat sent me a virtual photograph of former naval service vessels, created with the help of Chat GPT artificial intelligence. The image is reproduced at the top of this column and it envisages how the former naval corvettes Macha, Maev, and Cliona might have looked at Christmas 75 years ago passing the former Daunt Rock lightship.

“To create the image, I simply described what I wanted to the Chat. It’s a bit unnerving, actually.”

Indeed it is, Pat, but a nice image on this Christmas Eve.

Jakub Reaches South Africa

Flying the Irish flag, Jakub Ziemkiewicz’s 19ft Bibi of Cork Harbour has reached Cape Town, placed seventh in the McIntyre mini-globe round-the-world race. His arrival was described by race organisers: “Blasted flat by a sudden gust and a 35-knot headwind at the harbour entrance, he ducked into a private marina for the night. The next morning, he clawed off a lee shore breakwater, entering the harbour with just enough mainsail to save Bibi. He arrived in Cape Town still shaking, wearing a Snoopy aviator hat.”

This was the end of a 15,000km race leg, including through the Southern and Indian Oceans, which was very testing for the sailors. Their average speed was 5.1 knots, though in gusts some reported eight knots. That’s very challenging for these plywood, home-made yachts, which faced wind gusts of 40-45 knots. Eleven of the original 15 starters remain in the race, which began at the end of December last year, from Lagos in Portugal.

“All have faced incredible challenges and demands. None of it has been easy,” say the McIntyre race team.

The next part of the race, leg four, will start from Cape Town after the fleet has spent Christmas there, on Sunday, December 28, at 12.00 UTC (that’s 2pm local time) heading to St Helena.

After an eight-day pit stop there, they sail onto Recife, in Brazil, another pit stop and then leg five to the finish at Antigua of the total 24,300 nautical mile (44,000km) race. The yacht’s are predicted to begin reaching there from March 23 next.

Head of Maritime College to Join Cork Port

The National Maritime College is losing another head to Cork Port. Paul Hegarty will be going there as chief commercial officer. This follows previous college head, Conor Mowlds, who also moved from NMCI to the port’s commercial role. He has been chairing Cruise Ireland and is leaving the port for an international job in the maritime sector.

Matthew to be Scrapped?

When the MV Mathew finally moves from Cork Harbour, it could be scrapped. The drugs ship has been in the harbour since its detention on September 26, 2023. Periodic movements from Cork Port’s Marino Point to either Passage West or Cork Dockyard have been necessary when the Point is needed for operational discharging of other ships.

Cork TD Seamus McGrath, a member of the Public Accounts Committee, has questioned why there wasn’t more preparatory work to dispose of the bulk carrier. Revenue is responsible for the vessel, whose detention has cost the State €12m, so far. Regulatory issues in ship sales can be difficult. Scrapping will cost more. It could be another few months before there is a final decision, with weekly costs to maintain it about €100,000.

That’s a “societal cost”, says Revenue Commissioner director general Ruth Kennedy, given that its cargo was €137m of cocaine.

Thanks

Happy Christmas to all readers, with thanks for the emails and maritime news and comment. More marine news and comment on my SEASCAPES Podcast
tommacsweeneymaritimepodcast.ie.

Email me: tommacsweeneymarine@gmail.com.