INIS Hydro delivers on key objective of future collaboration in seabed mapping

A closing seminar marking the end of INIS Hydro showcased the mapping achievements and capacity building of the data gathered over the 3-year project.

In the splendid Titanic Quarters in Belfast, delegates from many marine disciplines gathered for the event that also discussed further uses of the high resolution bathymetric survey data of 1,400 km2 of seabed in the Republic of Ireland, (Dundalk Bay), Northern Ireland (SE Mourne Coast, Carlingford Lough, Dundrum Bay) and Scotland (Firth of Lorn and Kintyre).

The INIS Hydro team on ‘Titanic’s’ staircase

Opening his key note speech, Sir Alan Massey, KCB, CBE Chief Executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency, admitted that at launch in July 2011, the project seemed like a “hugely ambitious” cross-border project:“

Two-and-a-half years on, I now have the opportunity to celebrate the results and successes and to learn about some of the hard work that has taken place under this impressive programme.”

Fitting location

Sir Alan added it was apt the event was being held on the site where the Royal Mail Ship Titanic has been built but which sank on 14 April 1912 with the loss of 1,500 passengers and crew following a collision with an iceberg.

“This was an early catalyst for the adoption of the first International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea or SOLAS Convention. The passing of Titanic raised many questions around prevailing safety standards at sea. So many in fact that the British Government proposed a conference to develop international regulations and ‘determine by common agreement certain uniform rules with respect to the safety of life at sea…’,” he said.

With the development of SOLAS, the conference was attended by 13 states, and introduced new international requirements dealing with safety of navigation for all merchant ships; the provision of watertight and fire-resistant bulkheads; life-saving appliances; fire prevention and fire-fighting appliances on passenger ships.

Safety at sea

The SOLAS Convention was adopted on 20 January 1914 but did not enter into force until July 1915 following the outbreak of war in Europe. It was signed by just 5 States, but led to extensive application regulations in Britain, France, the United States and Scandinavia.

“Today, the SOLAS Convention has 159 contracting states. And my organisation – the Maritime and Coastguard Agency – plays a vital role in providing the navigational infrastructure for a safer shipping industry throughout UK waters and beyond,” he added.

At the MCA, the hydrography team feed directly into the national effort to discharge our SOLAS obligations through the provision of ‘hydrographic services’ in association with the UK Hydrographic Office.

Regarding safety at sea, Sir Alan outlined the “very good relationship” established with the Commissioner of Irish Lights and the Irish Coastguard. “This project [therefore] is a great opportunity for expanding on this natural alliance with our close international neighbours.

“I see this project as one of the flagship initiatives that my organisation undertakes, and I feel strongly that this is the kind of thing that the MCA should be doing.

“Organisations are increasingly seeing partnerships as a beneficial methodology central to the delivery of programmes, as this provides more scope to reach more communities and deliver more outputs. It also provides opportunities for additional funding and resources which makes good plain common sense when it comes to ever increasing pressure on strained budgets,” he added.

Data usage begins

Sir Alan identified two “key deliverables” and benefits already achieved, namely by a renewables developer in the Scottish Kintyre region to form a valuable construction and engineering planning resource, “and marine scientists at SAMS who have solved the ‘centuries old Scottish mystery’ of just what does cause the Corrywreckan whirlpool, the third largest whirlpool in the world!”

He added that by making these data freely available to all via the internet, they will hopefully be used in various applications by many organisations across [the] marine sectors, “and will support demand from academia, offshore developers, marine planners and policy makers.”

Sir Alan also highlighted the pro-active support in knowledge sharing opportunities between diverse organisations and the sharing of best practice with partners with little or no hydrographic expertise.

“But the most rewarding thing – so my team tell me – to come out of this project has been the relationships that have been built between our respective organisations and the opportunities that these relations have been able to realise and develop for future collaboration,” he concluded.