Devon Coast News

The second phase of an ambitious project to gather valuable information on ocean processes and marine life using a fleet of innovative marine robots has just reached its conclusion. Co-ordinated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC), the Exploring Ocean Fronts project took place off southwest England and saw the largest deployment of robotic vehicles ever attempted in UK waters. The marine robots, which are powered by a combination of wave, wind and solar power, are controlled by satellite communications and can cover hundreds of kilometres in a single mission. In the latest phase of the project, three unmanned surface vehicles were used to track fish carrying acoustic ‘pingers’ off the Devon coast.

Developer RWE Innogy is pulling the plug on the 240-turbine Atlantic Array project, report BBC News citing a  Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) source. The 222m (721ft) tall turbines, planned to be situated in an area 200 sq km, (77 sq miles) about 16.5km (10 miles) from the north Devon coast, 22.5km (14 miles) from south Wales coast and 13.5km (8 miles) from Lundy Island nature reserve, would be capable of producing enough electricity for up to 900,000 homes. DECC commented to the BBC that the scrapping of the scheme was a matter for the developer…

According to reports, work will begin on Monday to refloat the container vessel MSC Napoli six months after it ran aground off the Devon coast, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency said. Engineers will aim to pump out 58,000 tons of water during the next three days in an attempt to prevent it breaking up and damaging the environment. A barge with winches and cranes, along with tugs and an anti-pollution vessel are at sea to help in the operation. More than two thousand containers and 3,000 tons of fuel oil have already been removed from the vessel which was deliberately beached off Branscome in January to prevent it sinking after being holed during storms. About 200 containers fell off and some reached the shore, sparking a looting spree.