Naval Service to discipline 3 over drink

Three members of the crew of a Naval Service ship which lost a member at sea just over two weeks ago face disciplinary action for drinking while on duty.

The Naval Service yesterday said it had no reason to link the disciplining of three men for a drink-related incident on board the trip to the US to the disappearance of a member of the crew on the same voyage.

Able Mechanic Robbie Dean (20), from Cork city, was lost overboard from the LE Eithne on July 20th some 900 miles from Bantry, Co Cork. Despite an extensive search, his body was not recovered.

A Naval Service spokesman yesterday confirmed that an investigation was under way into the circumstances of Able Mechanic Dean's death but stressed that the investigation was standard procedure when a member of the service died on duty.

"Three members of the crew of the LE Eithne have also faced disciplinary procedures in relation to drinking when they should not have been but we have nothing to say there's any link between that and the disappearance of Able Mechanic Dean," he said.

Gardai in Cobh also confirmed they were investigating Able Mechanic Dean's disappearance. They stressed it was standard procedure with a view to preparing a file for a coroner's inquest.

Able Mechanic Dean was last seen 10 minutes before he was due to report for a morning watch and the alert was raised on the ship when he failed to report for duty. The ship turned back and began a sea search which was co-ordinated by the Canadian coastguard.

He had been in the Naval Service for only one year. The LE Eithne was Able Mechanic Dean's first ship and the US visit was his first trip abroad.

He was remembered at a special memorial service at the Naval Service base at Haul bowline on Tuesday where his parents and family were presented with a replica of the plaque dropped by the LE Eithne to mark where he had disappeared. He was only the second seaman in the service to have been lost on operational duty.

The Atlantic crossing was the second undertaken by the LE Eithne and was part of the Tall Ships Festival. The ship visited Newport, Rhode Island, New York and Boston over 10 days.