MINISTER FOR the Marine Simon Coveney has said the running aground of a ship on the south Connemara coastline yesterday “should not have happened” and would be investigated.
Speaking in Rossaveal, Co Galway, last night, Mr Coveney said: “My understanding is that the captain of the ship was advised not to anchor where he anchored by the harbourmaster’s office here. He ignored that advice.”
The matter was being treated as an international or “priority one” incident, he said, given the fact the cargo ship had 370 tonnes of heavy marine fuel on board.
“This is a German vessel, so there is responsibility on its owners and on the German state to ensure that everything is done from their point of view to co-operate with the authorities,” Mr Coveney said.
In a statement last night, the operator of the ship, the Pantanal, said there was no pollution risk.
But Mr Coveney continued: “Sometimes instances like this can go from a difficult management situation to an environmental catastrophe. I don’t think that’s likely to happen in this case. If this were to leak into the harbour here, it would cause very serious environmental damage.”
He paid tribute to the response efforts of Rossaveal harbourmaster Capt John Donnelly and the Irish Coast Guard. He said he understood the vessel’s fuel tanks were protected, and would not puncture unless the hull broke up. In the event the ship remained on the rocks, arrangements would be made to take the fuel off, he said.
Protective booms were placed around the vessel before high tide yesterday evening, and Mr Coveney said two tugs were en route from Killybegs, Co Donegal and Co Clare to try to refloat the ship at high tide at 5am today.
He described it last night as a “very awkward problem”, with “a large ship in very shallow water, a force eight gale forecast this evening coming from the south, which is about the worst possible wind direction they could get”.
“Hopefully, with the help of the two tugs, and the ship’s own engines, they will be able to pull the ship off in the morning without any damage to the hull that would cause a leaking of fuel,” he added, confirming that divers had inspected the vessel.
The 7,000-tonne ship registered in Newfoundland and flying the Antigua and Barbuda flag had sailed from the Mediterranean, arriving on Wednesday. The ship’s anchorage broke in heavy south-west to west winds some time before 6am yesterday, and it was forced up on the shoreline in a narrow channel in Casla Bay.
Valentia Coast Guard alerted the Irish Coast Guard Costelloe Bay unit, along with the Garda at Carraroe. No injuries were reported on board.
The ship was due to pick up two fast ferries berthed in Rossaveal which were recently sold to Mauritian interests. The MV Clann Eagle I and MV Clann na nOileáin were owned by Bád Arann Teoranta, which went into receivership.
Valued at €5-€6 million, the virtually new ferries were sold for a “seven figure sum”, believed to be more than €1 million.
The company, Harren and Partner of Bremen, said in a statement last night: “There is no risk of any pollution, and the vessel’s underwriters, together with our emergency response team, are working on refloating plans together with tug assistance. There is no visible nor obvious damage to the vessel, and we are optimistic that this unfortunate grounding can be resolved soonest,” it said.