THE 65 year old skipper of the 700 tonne coaster which is under arrest at Castletownbere in west Cork denied yesterday that his ship was ever used in connection with drug smuggling.
The skipper, Mr Sigusder Aengensson, with an address in Malmo, Sweden, who has not been charged, is being detained with three other crew members under the Criminal Justice Drugs Traffic Act, 1996.
When an application was made by Chief Supt Noel Smith before Judge Con O'Leary at Bantry District Court yesterday for an extension of the detention period, the skipper went into the witness box to outline his version of events.
He said that he had brought the vessel to South America to collect timber, but the cargo never materialised. There followed a "gentleman's agreement" with an unnamed party in South America, and he then headed for the Azores and Denmark, expecting to pick up new business.
Steering difficulties emerged off the Irish coast. First the automatic steering system broke down, and then the manual system failed. On Tuesday night last - the night the coaster Tia was arrested - the skipper said he was having his supper on board the vessel, which was at anchor off the Fastnet in west Cork, when an armed boarding party appeared.
He was taken to the bridge by Naval Service officers at gunpoint, arrested and handcuffed. The skipper said he had never been involved in drug smuggling, neither had his crew, or the vessel.
Applying for an extension to the detention period of 72 hours, Chief Supt Smith said the search of the Tia was a complicated and detailed exercise.
Although the application was opposed by solicitors acting for the four crewmen, Judge O'Leary granted it. The four men are being detained at Garda stations in Bandon and Castletownbere.