Smuggling ship to be sunk in Killala Bay for artificial reef

THE sinking of a ship to create Ireland’s first artificial reef in north Mayo is expected to take place within the next week, weather permitting.

The infamous smuggling ship, the ‘MV Shingle’, which is currently the property of the Revenue Commissioners, is expected to arrive in Killala Bay next week.

Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd, which is made up of a group of diving enthusiasts, was granted permission to sink the ship in July. However, before this can be done, an Underwater Archaeological Impact Assessment must be submitted.

The assessment is due to be completed this week, and it is expected the green light to sink the ship will be given within 24 hours of the assessment being submitted.

Once this final hurdle has been cleared, the ‘MV Shingle’, which is currently in dry dock in New Ross Harbour, will be towed to Killala Bay where it will be sunk.

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Big investment

CROSSMOLINA-based councillor Michael Loftus who is involved in Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd told The Mayo News that he does not foresee any further delays. If the weather conditions are favourable, he expects the ship to be at the bottom of Killala Bay within the next week.

“The ship is literally in New Ross boxed up and ready for shipping. Once the archaeological assessment is completed and the council rubber stamps it, Revenue will bring the ship up from New Ross once they get a good weather window to do so.

“It will take three days to bring it up, and we are hoping that the Revenue will be able to bring it up from September 9. It is very exciting for us… the most frustrating part is we cannot specifically a date, but once we get permission we expect the Revenue to get the ship up as soon as possible,” he said.

Those behind Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef Ltd have invested up to €35,000 of their own money into the project, and they have also received €50,000 in funding from Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) towards it.

Cllr Loftus, who is a member of the Gráinne Uaile Sub Aqua Club, first raised the possibility of creating an artificial reef for diving at a tourism SPC meeting in 2018.

The ‘MV Shingle’, which was seized in 2014 after customs officers discovered 32 million packets of cigarettes worth €13 million on board the 60-metre-long vessel, was identified as a possible ship.

World attraction

REVENUE was due to scrap the ship, but it agreed to make it available to Killala Bay Ships 2 Reef. It also carried out all the work to clean up the ship, make it environmentally safe to sink and render it diver friendly.

“We were fortunate with the Revenue Commissioners, who were so good to us. They did so much of the heavy lifting,” commented Cllr Loftus who thanked all the State agencies for their cooperation throughout the process.

“It has been a challenge to get it done. This was something which was never done before and we had to do so many reports to get a MAC [Maritime Area Consent] licence and planning permission. We have a great relationship with the Department of Marine… they have been really good to help us.

“We have a great committee who have done fantastic work on the project and who all see the benefits of it to the community. Both Mayo and Sligo County Councils have been behind us all the way,and the Revenue Commissioners really saw the benefits of it.

“I know it may have been a slow process, but when you do something right and do it well it is well worth it,” he said.

As Ireland’s first artificial reef, Cllr Loftus expects the ship wreck to attract divers from around the world, bringing economic benefits to the region.

“Going away to places around the world to dive you see the benefits of the artificial reefs to the communities and how well they do. It has always been our dream to get a wreck in Killala Bay, as it would do the same for our communities here in north Mayo and west Sligo. We had 100 divers down last week for a dive rally and all they were talking about was the wreck which was going to come to Killala Bay,” he said.

“It will be the first marine artificial reef off Ireland, and with the connection with Knock Airport, the amount of people who will potentially come to dive will be enormous.”