Despite the serious damage, the buoy did not sink. This was attributed by the manufacturer to the fact that closed cell marine grade foam is used in its manufacture. The company's sales and marketing manager John Hirst said, 'Eason Marine works closely with its suppliers and customers to ensure the most up to date plastic compounds are used, offering the appropriate strength, durability and UV stability. I think the Antigua incident shows just how durable and strong plastic buoys can be when compared to their steel competitors.'

Eason Marine's modern factory near Worksop has one of the largest rotation moulding machines in the UK, which can accommodate the manufacture of 6.5m high navigation buoys.

These weigh in at 2,030 kilos compared to 6,800 kilos for the steel competitors.

During manufacture the buoys were tested by researchers at the Joint Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities, with particular attention paid to the buoys' roll and heave motions.

The key findings of the tests showed that Eason Marine buoys' low centre of gravity result in short natural periods for roll and heave, which avoid resonant motions and enable the buoys to better ride the waves.

MJ Information No: 20009