Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: Detained trawler

28th March 2021

Sailors from Indonesia Stranded in Dún Laoghaire Harbour Repatriated

Sailors from Indonesia were accompanied to Dublin Airport by a garda escort following the trawler, Magan D which was towed to Dun Laoghaire Harbour early last month, after drifting for days in the Irish Sea because of engine failure.

Indonesian sailors stranded on a trawler in Dún Laoghaire Harbour since early March, as Afloat reported, are on their way home after their repatriation terms were agreed.

The 14 sailors left the Magan D shortly before 8am and were accompanied to Dublin Airport by a garda escort.

The Spanish-owned British registered trawler was towed into Dún Laoghaire three weeks ago after drifting for several days in the Irish Sea because of engine failure.

It was detained by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency

The Indonesian crew had been working on the ship since July last year but had not been paid since January.

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife. It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat. Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!