Efforts will be made in Norway today to salvage the 60-metre Irish fishing vessel MV Paula, which sank at the quay wall near the port of Maloy early yesterday.
All 11 crew on the 1,300-tonne vessel managed to get ashore before the hull hit the sea bed, with 250 tonnes of mackerel worth up to €250,000 on board.
Three of the crew did not have time to bring their passports, and most were in their bunks when the ship's emergency alarms sounded at about 7 a.m.
The vessel's owner, Mr Mick Doyle, of Doyle Fishing Enterprises Ltd in Killybegs, Co Donegal, told The Irish Times that it was still too early to say what caused the accident.
"It is a huge loss given the vessel's value at €15 to €16 million, but we could have been looking for bodies, so I am thankful that no one was hurt."
The 10-year-old vessel had been fishing for mackerel since it left Killybegs on January 8th, and had already landed several times at the Domstein Selje factory and shipyard near Maloy.
A Norwegian newspaper, Verdens Gang, yesterday attributed the accident to the removal of a filter while the ship was being cleaned.
"Everything went rather fast. In about 40 minutes the stern was standing on the bottom of the harbour," said Mr Asbjørn Bøstrand, of the Domstein Selje yard.
Mr Doyle said there was no question of any criminal damage. "It could have been a leaking pipe; the vessel could have touched the bottom; but this may become clearer when it is raised."
A barge is due to arrive in Maloy today to begin efforts to lift the vessel's stern from its position in seven to 10 metres of water.
The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) is expected to carry out an inquiry in conjunction with the Norwegian authorities as it is an Irish-registered vessel.
An official from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources was also making arrangements yesterday to travel to Norway.
The Minister of State for the Marine, Mr Pat "The Cope" Gallagher, made contact with the vessel crew and owner yesterday, and asked the Irish Ambassador to Norway, Mr Donal Hamill, to assist the crewmen with temporary passports where required.
Mr Doyle said four of the crew, including the skipper, Mr Tom Doyle (no relation), his son Michael, and two engineers, would remain in Norway while the rest of the crew would be flown home.
The MV Paula, which was built in Norway in 1994, is a "tank boat" in that fish are kept in chilled saltwater tanks to prevent bruising. On landing, the fish are discharged with water, and the ballasting on such vessels requires constant monitoring.
Mr Doyle said if the vessel could be repaired it would be. "We will lose the rest of the season as any repairing could take a long time."