A Donegal woman has landed a dream berth aboard Titanic discoverer Dr Robert Ballard’s exploration vessel Nautilus for the trip of a lifetime.
The Nautilus
Susan Heaney will join the Nautilus team on the Montserrat leg of the vessel’s Caribbean Sea expedition from October 21st to 29th.
Susan, from Fahan, is Titanic Belfast’s Ocean Exploration Centre manager and has been chosen as an Educator at Sea.
She will be the first Irish woman to board the famous vessel for a role she describes as an “opportunity of a lifetime”.
Susan will stand watch alongside scientists and engineers, as well as participate in live interactions with shore-based audiences via Exploration Now, a 24-hour interactive online portal, bringing expeditions from the field to both experts and future explorers ashore, via telepresence technology.
Dr Robert Ballard with Titanic Belfast OEC Manager Susan Heaney
Susan and the team will collect samples using their state-of-the-art ROV (remotely operated vehicle), investigate several unexplored underwater volcanoes and even use their equipment to explore two villages which were completely swept into the sea by a volcanic eruption in 1997.
Learning of her selection following an intensive qualification process undertaken earlier this year, Susan said: “I am so excited to be joining Nautilus because, by broadcasting the expeditions live in Titanic Belfast’s OEC and online, it’s the perfect opportunity to fill our guests with the enthusiasm for ocean exploration which everyone involved in this project has.”
Titanic Belfast CEO Tim Husbands said: “It is a great achievement for Susan, and for Titanic Belfast, that she has been chosen to be an Educator at Sea on the exploration vessel Nautilus. Her experience on the ship will give us a great insight into the important research work Dr. Robert Ballard continues to conduct in our oceans, as well as benefitting our overall education offering at Titanic Belfast.”
Susan graduated in 2004 from Letterkenny Institute of Technology with a BSc (Hons) in analytical science followed by a post-graduate diploma in research practices, and she is currently working towards completing a PhD in marine biotechnology.
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