The Société Monégasque d’Assainissement (Monegasque Sanitation Company) (SMA) celebrated its 80th anniversary in the presence of HSH the Sovereign Prince and other dignitaries.
After a brief tour of the SMA’s technical premises, the Sovereign Prince then greeted the Society’s 250 or so operatives individually.
The main missions of the SMA, a State Concessionary Company, are cleaning public highways, collecting household waste and treating waste by incineration and energy recovery. Monaco’s cleanliness is often highlighted and praised, and is one of the major assets of quality of life in the Principality.
Also in attendance were Her Excellency the Minister of State, Marie-Pierre Gramaglia, Minister for Environmental Affairs, Public Works and Urban Planning, Thomas Battaglione, Director General of the Société Monégasque de l’Electricité et du Gaz (Monaco Electricity and Gas Company) (SMEG) and Deputy President of the SMA, and Edgar Enrici, Director General of the SMA.
RAMOGE 2018 exploration – Atalante stops in Monaco
This campaign has collected data on the habitats and species present in these deep zones and to provide information on the pressures these areas of ecological interest are undergoing (waste accumulation in particular).
The team of scientists took advantage of this visit to the Principality to share their work with the authorities and representatives of the three member countries of the RAMOGE Agreement.
When the scientists have processed the data, the RAMOGE Agreement will reveal the results regarding the state of conservation of biodiversity in the area, which will promote preservation measures.
Atalante is equipped with a ROV Victor 6000 remote controlled underwater vessel, containing a range of investigation tools (cameras, clamps and vacuum cleaner for samples / samplings, sediment cores).
The team is composed of scientists from the three countries of the Agreement, from the following research organizations: French Agency for Biodiversity, Ifremer, National Museum of Natural History, GIS Posidonia, CPIE, ISPRA, University of Genoa , Directorate of Environment and Scientific Center of Monaco.
Among the most visited sites, the Prince’s Palace (2,634 visitors), the Oceanographic Museum (2,350), the Monaco Top Cars Collection (1,949), the Exotic Garden (1,523) and the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology (1,200).
The theme for this day was “The musical heritage” and some visitors were able to enjoy concerts and musical performances during their visit. In particular, the Palladian of Monaco, the students of the Rainier III Academy, U ‘Cantin d’A Roca, the choir organists and the Municipal Music were produced.
AS Monaco owner Dmitry Rybolovlev denies sale rumours
Multiple newspapers have claimed that Dmitry Rybolovlev is planning to sell AS Monaco, citing his unhappiness at the club’s current performance in Ligue 1.
His spokesman, however, denied the rumours of an impending sale, saying he is happy with his investment.
Mpabbe with Falcao. Photo: Facebook AS Monaco
The Sun newspaper initially reported that he is considering selling up and investing in an English Premier League team, but the newspaper later corrected that story. The newspaper had claimed that Rybolovlev was courting investors from the United States and United Arab Emirates for a sale of AS Monaco. Le 10 Sport also reported that he has been receiving concrete buying interests.
Responding to the reports, Rybolovlev’s spokesman said there are no negotiations taking place. Dmitry Chechkin said, “Dmitry Rybolovlev has no plans of selling his share in AS Monaco. He considers this project both important and successful and is confident that it will continue as such.”
AS Monaco suffered another defeat in Ligue 1 on Tuesday, losing 1-0 to Angers in a match that saw no shots from Monaco players.
Lieutenant-Colonel Norbert Fassiaux is now at the head of the Fire Brigade Corps of Monaco, following the change of command between Colonel Luc Fringant and Colonel Tony Varo.
Born in the Principality, Lieutenant-Colonel Fassiaux is the son and grandson of Monaco firefighters. He completed university studies in Marseille before joining the Brigade of Firefighters of Paris. He joined the Monaco brigade in 1983 as Lieutenant.
Promoted to Captain in 1995 and Commander in 2008, he was Colonel Tony Varo’s assistant since 2010. In 2015, Fassiaux was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel.
The new Head of Corps has four priorities in his missions:
maintain the path laid down by his predecessors who led the Corps on the paths of excellence and innovation;
strengthen the listening of the staff and the quality of the human relations;
to lay the foundations of the Corps of Firemen of tomorrow, as well on the level of the personnel as that of the barracks;
pursue a thoughtful modernity policy (with, for example, the exploitation of the future Event Management and Emergency Operations Management Center or the use of drones at the intervention sites ….) by adapting the know-how make current while respecting military traditions.
The top 10 new yachts at the Monaco Yacht Show 2018
The Monaco Yacht Show boasts more than 180 vessels from 5m to over 95m and 78 of these are brand new, being unveiled for the first time. In case you don’t have time to visit them all, we asked Monaco-based superyacht expert Patrick Coote to give us his “Top 10 Must-See Yachts” launched in 2018.
OCEANCO – DAR 90m
Quite apart from her impressive size it is DAR’s stunning exterior design by Luiz De Basto that really makes her stand out from the crowd. Beautiful, flowing contemporary lines have become a bit of a hallmark for Oceanco and DAR is no exception. The interior design by Nuvolari Lenard incorporates some of the latest advances in glass technology and her superstructure is completely finished in reflective glass.
PRIDE MEGAYACHTS – ILLUSION PLUS 88.5m
Illusion Plus is the largest yacht ever built in Asia and she’ll be unveiled in Monaco for the first time. She’s been a long time coming but everyone is eager to see the quality that’s been achieved by the Chinese yard with their team of European project managers. The yard has very competitive prices and is hungry for new orders. If the quality levels are high then we may well have a viable new superyacht shipyard to consider, ready to keep the European shipyards on their toes.
TURQUOISE – GO 77m
Ten years ago, Turkish yachts were generally deemed poor quality in comparison to those from Holland and Germany. No yard has done more to dispel that belief than Turquoise Yachts. So much so that Dutch builder Oceanco stepped in and bought a significant stake in 2014. The 77m GO is the largest yacht built by the yard to date. She has elegant, flowing lines and was designed inside and out by H2 Design in London. She represents a landmark achievement for the yars that just keeps going from strength to strength.
ABEKING & RASMUSSEN – ELANDESS 74.5m
The elegant, contemporary and low profile of ELANDESS clearly bears the signature of London-based design company Eidsgaard which was responsible for both her interior and exterior. Her dark hull, white superstructure and striking plumb bow make her instantly recognisable. Abeking & Rasmussen is not the biggest superyacht builder but their build quality is exceptional. Look out for the “Nemo Lounge” with its spectacular views both above and below the waterline.
MANGUSTA – Gransport 54m
Overmarine have been building yachts in Northern Italy for over 30 years and helped to pioneer the development of high performance, fast, open boats. They’ve come to dominate this sector over the years and my goodness they do it well. If you want breakfast in Portofino, lunch in Monaco and dinner in St Tropez then this is the way to do it in style. The all-aluminium yacht can reach 29 knots at full speed and yet still offers a range of 4,200 nautical miles.
HEESEN – Irisha 51m
Heesen is one of those yards that just seems to get it right every time. Irisha may not boast crazy new technology or unusual features but if you want to see a solid example of high-quality Dutch yacht-building then look no further. Another design from Eidsgaard in London, she can sleep up to ten guests in five staterooms with nine crew to look after you. The interior styling is relaxed, timeless and elegant, while her exterior offers generous deck areas for relaxing or entertaining, making her an ideal charter yacht.
CONRAD – VIATORIS 40m
If the phrase “Polish-built superyacht” makes you splutter into your breakfast cereal then you obviously haven’t seen the new 40m from Conrad in Gdansk. From her Reymond Langton exterior profile to her sumptuous interior design she is every inch a quality yacht. Even down in the engine room and technical spaces one is continually impressed by the workmanship and level of detail. With her unique sundeck offering vast sunpads, pool, gym and sauna, she is well worth a visit if you’re looking for Northern European quality at a competitive price.
EVADNE – ROCK 24m
The phrase “small is beautiful” couldn’t be more appropriate for Evadne’s brand-new pocket-sized explorer yacht called ROCK. One of the smallest yachts in the show at just 24m, she is a whole lot of boat, wrapped up in a striking contemporary design by Vripack Yacht Design. They’ve applied their big boat design expertise to create a staggering 170 m² of interior space as well as 140 m² of exterior deck. She can accommodate eight guests and boasts an owner’s cabin on the main deck with panoramic windows.
BRABUS – BRABUS SHADOW 800 11.2m
Brabus is a name usually associated with luxury automobiles but here they’ve taken the latest 11.2m chase boat from Axopar in Finland and they’ve pimped it to the max. The limited run of just 20 boats used the 37 Sun Top as the base vessel (designed by the hugely talented Jarkko Jamsen) and then piled on a long list of enhanced features including black paint, red leather and carbon fibre on the outside, as well as more leather, custom lighting and a 42” television in the spacious cabin. If you’re going to do 52 knots, you may as well do it in style.
PASCOE – ELANDESS 10m OPEN LIMOUSINE
Limo tenders are staple items on pretty much every new superyacht over 60m. It’s no longer about simply getting from the shore to the yacht on an inflatable RIB. Now it’s all about arriving in privacy, style and comfort, safe and dry in a luxurious tender. Pascoe have made great strides in recent years, developing boats for guest transportation that are well designed, good quality and competitively priced. This is their latest delivery, fully customised to complement the mothership and well worth a look.
Patrick Coote is the CEO of NAUTIQ Family Office, based in Monaco.
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