An unemployed man from Co Louth was yesterday fined £5,000 sterling in Derry Magistrate's Court when he pleaded guilty to breaking nine maritime safety regulations. Kieran Caffrey (36), an unemployed father-of-three, from Brookville Park, Drogheda, was also ordered to pay costs of £12,000 sterling. His co-accused, John Nabb (40), an unemployed man from The Hill, Clogherhead, Co Louth, who also admitted the offences, was given a conditional discharge for two years on condition he too pays costs of £12,000 sterling.
The magistrate, Mrs Bernadette Kelly, was told the prosecution arose after a Belize-registered ship, Royal One, which was owned by Mr Caffrey, got into difficulties in Lough Foyle last March 4th, when transporting a cargo of 500 tonnes of logs into Derry port. The crew of four was winched to safety during a force eight gale after the Croatian captain had sent out a mayday signal.
"In the gale, the load shifted and caused the ship to list 40 degrees to starboard," a Maritime and Coastguard Agency barrister told the magistrate. "One ton of the logs ended up in the sea and this enabled the ship to right itself to a 15 degree list. The captain made a mayday call and in the rescue operation two helicopters, a Royal Navy auxiliary vessel, two tugs and a life-boat were used. The crew were winched to safety but as the winchman was lowered down, he was dashed against the side of the ship on a number of occasions".
The court was told the total cost of the rescue operation was £43,720 sterling and when the agency inspected the ship nine safety deficiencies were found. The inspectors discovered that the Royal One did not have an adequate supply of life-saving equipment and that the defendants had failed to ensure the water-tight integrity of the cargo hold.