Google’s vice president for communications Peter Barron admitted the firm has used bases in Ireland and Bermuda to avoid paying high rates of corporation tax on its profits.
Google’s parent company Alphabet is expected to announce today that it has amassed £30 billion of profits from non-US sales in Bermuda. Around a tenth of this – £3 billion – will be profits generated in the UK …. It also emerged yesterday that the Government had ordered Tory MEPs to vote against a proposed EU crackdown on Bermuda, which has a 0 per cent corporation tax rate. Google has no office and no staff in Bermuda. Its presence is said to amount to little more than a plain PO Box – numbered 666!
In September 2012 Google, a founding partner of the XL Catlin Seaview Survey announced that they were taking their streetview platform “underwater”. In February 2014, at The Economist World Ocean Summit in San Francisco, Catlin Seaview Survey premiered this short video which celebrates the work the team have done to date.
19 countries, countless dives and 1 million images, and to think – we’re just getting started!
Documenting Bermuda’s Reefs: The XL Catlin Seaview Survey
The XL Catlin Seaview Survey, a project focused on documenting the health of coral reefs globally, included survey work around Bermuda. This initiative, a collaboration between Underwater Earth, The University of Queensland, and XL Catlin (now AXA XL), aimed to establish a baseline record of coral reef conditions.
A key component of the survey was the use of specialized underwater camera systems to capture 360-degree imagery. This data was then utilized to assess reef health and monitor changes over time.
Notably, the survey partnered with Google to make the captured imagery accessible through platforms like Google Street View. This collaboration allowed for wider dissemination of the survey’s findings and provided a virtual means of exploring coral reefs, including those surrounding Bermuda.
The survey work conducted in Bermuda contributed to the broader global dataset, providing information on the state of local reef ecosystems. This data is available through the Global Reef Record, serving as a resource for researchers and conservation efforts.
In addition to the general Seaview Survey, XL Catlin also supported the Nekton Deep Ocean Survey, which focused on the deeper waters surrounding Bermuda. This separate initiative explored the biodiversity of the deep-sea environment. The 2 surveys should not be confused.
The XL Catlin Seaview Survey’s work in Bermuda, in conjunction with Google’s platform, provided a valuable contribution to the ongoing documentation and monitoring of coral reef ecosystems.
