A car carrier with 154,000 gallons of intermediate fuel oil on board was last night still lodged in a sand and gravel bank, six miles east of Greystones, Co Wicklow.
The 200-metre, 55,000-tonne vessel Asian Parade is carrying 1,700 Japanese vehicles and was en route to Rotterdam from Dublin Port when it ran aground. There are 20 crew on board the Panama-registered vessel, most of whom are Korean.
Although the Irish Coastguard at the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin said last night there was no sign of pollution in the water around the vessel, they said they were watching it closely. The naval patrolling vessel, LE Ciara, was at the scene to monitor the incident and provide assistance. The Irish Coastguard requested the vessel owners to organise a salvage operation to be overseen by Coastguard staff. The salvage operation may include transferring the oil from the Asian Parade to another vessel.
Four tugs, one from Cork and three from the UK, were sent to assist the vessel and bring it off the bank back into navigable waters.