We've heard lots about millennium bugs, but what about metal munchers? It now transpires that a micro-organism with an appetite for modern steel may have spread from Scotland to Co Donegal.
So hungry is this unidentified bug that it could pose a threat to the safety of several fishing quays, according to Mr Joey Murrin, chief executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation (KFO). His organisation is demanding an immediate statement from the Department of the Marine about the level of risk of structural collapse or risk to life on any of the piers in Killybegs harbour.
Unofficial reports from divers working on a survey of the harbour indicate there is severe corrosion affecting the town pier and the Black Rock pier.
This may be traced to a bug which has already eaten through piers around the coast of Scotland, according to Mr Murrin. The micro-organism's expensive appetite is costing ports millions of pounds, and the trail of destruction stretches from Ullapool to Shetland.
The unidentified bug, believed to be a combination of two bacteria, destroys modern steel up to 20 times faster than ordinary rust, and is said to thrive in sea temperatures in this region. It is said to leave an orange patch underneath black sludge at the low tide mark on steel piles. Beneath the patchy, shiny steel is marked by tell-tale holes.
Mr Murrin said that when the KFO originally confirmed the harbour piers were unsafe, the "usual sceptics" rubbished the claims as a "publicity gimmick". These people "now have egg on their face", he said.
A spokesman for the Department of the Marine said the cause of corrosion on steel piles in the port had not been positively identified, and there was no evidence it was caused by the micro-organism reported in Scotland. However, the symptoms were consistent with a phenomenon known as accelerated low water corrosion, which is a highly localised problem identified in several western European ports. Corrosion is caused by oxygen, and the group of bacteria linked to this are oxygen producing, hence the acceleration.
No other port had reported the problem so far, the spokesman said. Site work for the department, which is being carried out by Kirk McClure Morton engineering consultants, should yield further information but the report is not due in until later this month or early September.
Killybegs, the country's leading fishing port, needs extensive harbour works costing up to £20 million. The harbour accounts for 24 per cent of total fish landings in the State, worth more than £32 million annually. Last month the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, disappointed many when he announced that a capital programme limited to £1.5 million would be carried out. He also approved expenditure of £200,000 this year on site and hydrography investigations for a new berthage option outside the existing harbour.
