Owner of 'Asgard II' to seek return of artefacts

SAIL TRAINING organisation Coiste an Asgard says it will be seeking the “return” of items retrieved by Irish divers from the …

SAIL TRAINING organisation Coiste an Asgard says it will be seeking the "return" of items retrieved by Irish divers from the wreck of its ship Asgard IIoff the northwest French coast this week.

The leader of the Irish diving team, Eoin McGarry, said he had no problem with returning the items, including the ship’s bell, compass and wheel, to the care of the State.

“This is why we went down in the first place,” he said, speaking from the French island of Belle-Ile yesterday. “And Coiste an Asgard knew we were undertaking this expedition.”

Coiste an Asgard, which is legal owner of the wreck, said that “neither the Minister [for Defence]” nor its board had granted “any person, company or organisation permission to dive on or retrieve any artefacts from the vessel”.

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“If any items have been removed from the vessel, Coiste an Asgard would expect the items to be returned,” it said.

It also said that any attempt to dive on the wreck in 83 metres of water represented an “unacceptable level of danger to any person involved”, due to the ship’s condition, the tangle of masts and rigging at the site, and the depth.

Mr McGarry, an experienced deep-sea diver from Co Waterford who has dived on the Lusitania, among other wrecks, said that the diving team had completed its expedition.

It had confirmed that the ship was no longer in a condition to be salvaged successfully. He also said that there was no exclusion zone around the wreck in the Bay of Biscay, and that it was therefore a target for sports divers.

“How would Coiste an Asgard feel if the ship’s bell was hanging in some French bar, because it is open season for any diving team?” Mr McGarry asked.

“I have letters from former defence minister Willie O’Dea, and I’ve had correspondence with Coiste an Asgard, and it was fully aware of our intentions and didn’t have the courage to stop us.”

Mr McGarry said that arrangements had been made for temporary conservation of the items recovered. "We did this dive for Irish people who care about Asgard II," he said.