Sinking Ship

Sinking Ship The spectacular marine environment around Ilha De Mozambique will be devastated if this abandoned ship is allowed to break up. Action is needed now

The marine environment around Ilha De Mozambique is spectacular, but, like other places on the planet, it is stressed and could do with a little help. Sadly however, the opposite is happening. Somebody has recently dumped a great big ship on the local beach and now the outlook for our mangroves, coral reefs, turtles, dolphins and all the other sea creatures has suddenly got a whole lot worse. The

ship is the DSV Discovery, it belongs (or did until very recently) to Portuguese commercial company Arqueonautas, S.A. They no longer have a license to operate in Mozambique, and having failed to find a buyer for the ship, it appears they have simply decided to abandon it, and now it has sank. There are many problems with this, but the most pressing is that no attempt has been made to clean up the ship before it went down and so as it breaks up it will discharge all kinds of harmful toxins into the sea. Already it is leaving an oily scum on the surface and bits of plastic and other stuff are breaking free. The real trouble begins a year or two from now when the hoses perish and hundreds or even thousands of litres of hydraulic oil flow into the sea. After that we need to worry about the engine and gearbox oils, coolants, battery acid, asbestos and who knows what else. Sadly when we looked into what can be done we found that there aren’t many options available. The Discovery’s cannot be moved to another port because of its condition and the inconvenient fact that it no longer floats. It cannot be commercially scrapped because there are no cranes here to lift the heavy metal sections and also (due to weight restrictions on the bridge) no big trucks available to carry the scrap metal away. It seems the only real option is to accept that it is here to stay, but to try find a way to turn the situation around so that it becomes a positive for both the island and the marine environment. We suggest refloating the Discovery, removing all contaminants, and then having it carefully towed to a site nearby where it can be re-sunk to form an artificial reef. If done properly this will provide a boost for the marine environment as well as the islands two main industries: fisheries and tourism. Obviously, this wont be easy but it may not be as difficult as you might think. To begin with the hull appears to be ok, what water enters the ship does so through various pipes and intakes that should be easy to plug. When it comes to emptying water out of the hull so it can float, there are two options being discussed: the first would require a bit of engineering to allow water to drain freely on the low tide but not refill again on the high tide. The second is to plug the intakes and pump the water out, the cost of which may be bore by Arqueonautas. (They still maintain this is what they intend to do but as each tide cycle passes it seems less likely). Perhaps they can be shamed into action. Please show your support, "like this page" and follow the progress. Help us reach out to people with the skills to make a difference

Finally things are happening
12/08/2020

Finally things are happening

The DSV Discovery has been abandoned on the beach for 2 or 3 years and nobody seemed able to find a solution. Finally their is action.

17/07/2020
looking after the sea and all that swim in it
30/06/2020

looking after the sea and all that swim in it

Please note that this video will be available to stream for 24 hours after it premieres. Blue whale voices have dropped the equivalent of three white keys on the piano in recent years. Why? What role have humans played in this and other changes to the lives of these mysterious and charismatic creatu...

The ship, the moon and planet Venus
28/04/2020

The ship, the moon and planet Venus

We can't bury our heads in the sand. Its time for action
03/03/2020

We can't bury our heads in the sand. Its time for action

This is a climate emergency. We are joining with many other tourism organisations large and small around the globe to lead on climate action.

29/12/2019

The wreck of the Kathiawar in 1937, Goa Island, Mozambique. History including court notes along with tips for snorkelling the wreck now

Well at last some news on the fate of the ship abandoned on the beach of Ilha De Mozambique. In discussions with the own...
20/12/2019

Well at last some news on the fate of the ship abandoned on the beach of Ilha De Mozambique. In discussions with the owner I've secured his agreement to sink the ship to form an artificial reef. Its a breakthrough, but the work is just beginning.

Next stage is to do a costing while at the same time testing the port Authority on permission to do this. One idea is to sink the Discovery alongside the wreck of the Kathiawar, already a popular snorkelling site near Ilha De Goa. The advantage here is that because there is already a wreck marked on the maps no further hazard to shipping would be created.

Obviously the week before xmas is not the best time to get in to this, it can wait until the new year. But I'd encourage anyone with skills, experience or even just enthusiasm to speak up and get involved.

The ship could become a home for transplanted coral like they are doing in Kenya. What a beautiful dive site that would ...
26/11/2019

The ship could become a home for transplanted coral like they are doing in Kenya. What a beautiful dive site that would create

A coral reef restoration project on a tiny island off Kenya’s south-east coast is reaping dividends for local people

Can we turn this story around and have dugong back in all their former Range? This would include Ilha De Mozambique
13/11/2019

Can we turn this story around and have dugong back in all their former Range? This would include Ilha De Mozambique

Dugongs were abundant along Mozambique’s coast, but today most of Mozambique’s dugongs are concentrated around the Bazaruto Archipelago.

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Ilha De Moçambique

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