Verdicts of death by accidental drowning were returned by a jury yesterday at the inquest into the loss of seven fishermen who died in two separate trawler mishaps off the Co Wexford coast in the past two years.
The jury of four men and two women returned their verdicts after hearing evidence regarding the sinking off Hook Head of the Ballycotton boat Maggie B, on March 30th, 2006, and the Dunmore East boat, Pere Charles, on January 10th, 2007.
The skipper of the Maggie B, Glynn Cott (30), was lost along with his Polish crewman Jan Sankowski (45), while Tom Hennessy (32), his uncle Pat Hennessy (48), Billy O'Connor (50), Pat Coady (27) and Andriy Dyrin (32) from Ukraine died when the Pere Charles sank.
The inquests heard evidence from the sole survivor of the Maggie B, Polish crewman Kryzsztof Pawtowski, about how they had collected the trawler following modification work at Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford and were sailing back to Cork when the sinking happened.
Mr Pawtowski told how at about 10pm on March 29th, 2006, Glynn Cott lifted the cover on the engine, discovered it was covered with water and raced to the bridge to tell Mr Sankowski and the witness.
"The next thing the boat turned over to its starboard side - the boat took about two minutes to go down," said Mr Pawtowski who, like the two deceased, did not have time to put on a life jacket before he ended up in the water.
"Immediately after the boat went down, I saw a life raft and I swam for it. Jan was immediately behind me and also started swimming for the life raft. I heard him swimming behind me; I don't know how far behind me he was, I didn't see him again".
Mr Pawtowski said he last saw Glynn Cott on deck just as the boat turned over and he told how he shouted and screamed for both men but got no answer. He spent over an hour in the life raft before he was picked up by a lifeboat.
The skipper of the Susannah G, Denis Harding, told how he was fishing with the Pere Charles for herring on January 10th last and was heading back to port at about 6.30pm when Tom Hennessy radioed him to say the Pere Charles had been breached and to be on standby.
The Pere Charles was up to three-quarters of a mile ahead of him and he could see the trawler's two red port lights ahead of him. He could also see see the vessel on the radar.
The Pere Charles suddenly disappeared from sight and from radar contact, at which point he immediately raised the alarm, he said.
Garda Jim Furlong gave evidence of the search for survivors from the stricken vessels and told how Naval Service divers carried out a search of the Pere Charles after locating it at a depth of 30m (98ft) but no bodies were found aboard, nor were any washed up on shore from either vessel.
The trawlers were raised last month and brought to Arklow where they were put on the quayside and searched by a Garda search team assisted by divers from the Garda Sub Aqua Unit.
No bodies were discovered on either boat but some personal items were recovered, he said. The jury returned verdicts of accidental drowning in all seven cases as a result of the sinkings.
South Wexford coroner Jimmy Murph and Supt Tom Saunderson expressed their condolences to the bereaved on their loss.
Mr Pawtowksi's solicitor, Orla Phelan, told the inquest that legal action had been initiated against the owners of the Maggie B over the fact that modifications were carried out on the boat without supervision and certification by a naval architect.