Delay in salvage of trawler criticised

THREE weeks after the loss of three fishermen on the Jenalisa off Dunmore East, Co Waterford, a Fianna Fail councillor related to one of the victims has criticised the delay in salvaging the vessel.

"We're frustrated, annoyed and disappointed," Mr Geoff Power told The Irish Times yesterday. First attempts to raise the 40 footer are not expected until Wednesday, because of delays in delivering the salvage equipment to Dunmore East.

The Department of the Marine has said it is doing everything in its power to ensure that the salvage is carried out "as quickly and as carefully as possible".

It will be the first time a vessel - has been raised by the Department for an investigation, a spokeswoman said.

Mr Power, who is an uncle of Mr Niall Power (25), one of the two Dunmore East men still missing, said he could not understand why the tenders for salvage work had not been sought immediately - after the vessel was found 19 days ago.

Only one body, that of crewman Mr Conor O'Grady (22), was found on the day the vessel sank - February 4th - and there has been no trace of the bodies of Mr Power and the skipper/owner, Mr Peter Nolan (39), since.

The Jenalisa was found by a joint Naval Service/Garda sub aqua team on February 8th, four days after it disappeared.

The gill netter was sitting upright, but listing to starboard, on the seabed about 2 1/2 miles southwest of Brownstown Head in 36 metres of water.

The Minister for the Marine's order for recovery was not issued until February 16th, and a tender was awarded to North East Diving Services Ltd of Co Louth last week.

"The relatives are very concerned, and very anxious that the vessel be raised, as there is a possibility that two bodies could be on board," Mr Power said. "There has been very little communication with the Department of the Marine. You would imagine that it was a nuclear submarine they were planning to lift."

The Department of the Marine said the priority was to find the bodies of the missing men, and the time lag from February 8th to 16th was to allow divers to examine the vessel.

There had already been an extensive air/sea rescue effort, coordinated by the Irish Marine Emergency Service (IMES). When the Jenalisa was found, it was examined by a joint Naval Service/ Garda sub aqua team under the command of Lieut Eddie Mulligan.

Bad weather postponed further efforts underwater until the following week, when tangled netting prevented access.

The decision to raise the Jenalisa was taken as part of the official inquiry by Capt Barry McGrath of the Marine Survey Office. Broken weather has been the major factor influencing timing, according to the Department.

The south east is known to be one of the most treacherous parts of the coast, but there has been a particularly heavy accident toll in the Waterford estuary over the past two years.

There have been 18 recorded deaths at sea in this region alone since 1994, and 22 in the southeast region to Helvick Head.

The Waterford and Wexford coastline is still being combed by the IMES coast and cliff rescue units for the two missing bodies.

The LE Ciara is due to be stationed off Brownstown Head today, where an exclusion zone is in place.