THE MASTER of the sail training ship Asgard IIhas expressed "disappointment" at the decision by Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea to leave the ship on the seabed off northwest France.
Capt Colm Newport told The Irish Timeshe is still in discussions with a Dutch company about its salvage, and has questioned the competence of the advice given to Mr O'Dea in relation to difficulties with raising the hull.
The ship’s master ensured the safe rescue of his four fellow crew and 20 trainees when the brigantine began taking water some 22km west of Belle-Ile en route to La Rochelle on September 11th last.
Capt Newport says the vessel can be raised and treated, pending full restoration, and he believes that the State has an obligation to remove the ship from French waters.
Coiste an Asgard, the ship’s management committee, confirmed last night that no contact had as yet been made with the French authorities about the Minister’s decision to leave the hull on the seabed. A spokesman said the French government had not requested its removal.
Mr O’Dea confirmed yesterday that he is taking the committee’s advice to abandon salvage plans and build a replica of the vessel of steel. “Spending in the region of €2 million on a salvage effort, the outcome of which is uncertain, is something we cannot afford at this time,” he said. “While I cannot commit public monies to a salvage operation, I am open, over the coming months, to considering any realistic and funded proposals from private individuals or groups as to the future of the Asgard II vessel,” he said.
Mr O’Dea said he had accepted Coiste an Asgard’s “recommendation to initiate planning for the procurement of a new vessel that will be similar in design to Asgard II but with a steel hull”, and said that steel would be less expensive to build and maintain than wood.
"I would also hope that the future Asgard IIIwould have facilities to cater for persons with physical disabilities, something the Asgard IIcould not," he said.
Pending acquisition of a new vessel, berths for the national sail training programme would be provided this season on the Norwegian sail training ship Christian Radich during the tall ships race, and limited berths on the Naval Service training yacht, Creidne, which is being refurbished.
Fine Gael defence spokesman Jimmy Deenihan said Mr O’Dea’s decision was “inevitable”, given his “hesitation” in the period immediately after the sinking.
“Not one but two salvage feasibility surveys were commissioned in that period and the available weather windows were wasted when a salvage operation was possible,” Mr Deenihan said.
"The crew of the vessel have expressed their 'distress and dismay' at the news and I share in their disappointment. The Asgard IIhas served generations of Irish sailors well and the alternative sail training arrangements announced by the Minister pale when compared to the service provided by Asgard II." Mr O'Dea issued a second statement last evening in which he accused Mr Deenihan of making "false claims".