The Captain and the of Asgard II are highly praised for their professionalism in today's publication of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board's report of the investigation into the loss of the sail training vessel "Asgard II".

The impact assumption and liferaft issue in the report are already issues known about for some time.

The vessel which sank in the Bay of Biscay on 11 September 2008 while on route to La Rochelle, France was carrying 5 crew and 20 trainees.

All on board were evacuated safely from the vessel and transferred to the ships life rafts where they were brought to the island of Bel Ille by the French coastguard.

Minister or Defence, Mr. Tony Killeen commented that while the findings into the cause of the sinking are inconclusive it recognises that the vessel was equipped and maintained in excess of the statutory requirements and that higher safety standards were in place on the ship which were above those required by legislation.

The Minister also noted that the report acknowledges the leadership shown by the ship's Master, Colm Newport and he commended his and the crew's handling of the emergency situation.

The full report is available for download below.

Click this link for all Afloat's coverage of Asgard II's sinking, and the plans to raise, dive and replace her

Raise the Asgard - Afloat's 2008 online petition

This morning's report into the sinking of Asgard II will indicate that collision with an underwater object such as a submerged container was the likely cause of the ship sinking. The final report of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board into the loss of the brigantine sailing ship STV "Asgard II " on 11th September 2008 will be published this morning.

On 10th September 2008 the STV "Asgard II" departed Dournenez, France bound for La Rochelle, France with 5 crew and 20 trainee crew onboard. At approximately 01:00 hrs GMT on 11th September 2008 when off St. Nazaire in the Bay of Biscay water ingress was observed in the Trainee Mess. At 01:05 hrs a Pan Pan message was broadcast. At about 01:15 hrs a Mayday Relay message was received by French Search and Rescue (French SAR) as the water in the Trainee Mess continued rising rapidly. The crew attempted to pump the flood water without success.

The ship was abandoned by liferaft at approximately 01:50 hrs. Two French lifeboats rescued all 25 persons from the liferafts.

During the abandonment the floor of one of the three liferafts launched failed and the persons onboard were successfully transferred to the other liferafts. No loss of life occurred and there were no injuries reported.

Click this link for all Afloat's coverage of Asgard II's sinking, and the plans to raise, dive and replace her

Raise the Asgard - Afloat's 2008 online petition

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has published its Report of Investigation into the Loss of a Crewmember Overboard from the MFV "Alma Amy" on 17th October 2007. The report found that on Wednesday 17th October 2007 Mr. Marijus Rudakov fell overboard from the MFV "Alma Amy" and drowned in an area off the South East coast of Ireland known as "The Smalls" approximately 50 miles southeast of the Wexford coast. (As shown in Appendix 8.5).
The cause of the death was determined by post mortem examination as being due to cardiorespiratory arrest secondary to drowning. The full report is available for download below.

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board has issued a report of Investigation into the loss of a crewmember overboard from the MFV "MDAC" on 15th July 2009. The report says while shooting a string of lobster pots on the morning of 15th July 2009 from the MFV "MDAC" off Fenit, Co. Kerry, Mr. Patrick Egan's leg became caught in a bight of rope and he was pulled over the side. Mr. Denis Williams, the Skipper, stopped the engine and took all way off the vessel. He then hauled Mr. Egan back on board the boat but was unable to resuscitate him. Mr. Egan died due to acute cardio-respiratory failure and drowning. The full MCIB report is available for download below.

The Marine Casualty investigation board has issued its Report of Investigation into the grounding and subsequent foundering of an Emerald Star Line Caprice 8, a Charter boat, The boat ran aground on rocks in the vicinity of Mountaineer Rock, off Ryan's Point on Lough Derg, Co. Tipperary last October 9th. The four persons on board were taken off by the Portumna Fire and Rescue RIB and ferried across the lake to Williamstown Harbour. The vessel was noted to have been severely holed. The vessel was pulled off the rocks and subsequently sank while under tow. There were no fatalities and no pollution associated with this incident. A copy of the report can be downloaded below.

The Marine Casualty Investigation Board has advised reports into the "Skellig Light II", Claddaghduff and "Ikom K" accidents will be released later today. Check back here for full details as we have them.

An investigation into the sinking of the FV "Strath Marie" off Inishowen Head, Co. Donegal on 14th March 2008 has found no direct cause for the loss of both lives. The FV "Strath Marie" left Bunagee Pier, Culdaff, Co. Donegal to lift strings of pots. Crewmembers Mr. Francis McDaid and Mr. Daniel McDaid were on board.

The weather forecast was for south to southwest Force 3 or 4 with good visibility and slight to moderate sea state. The reported weather conditions on the day were better than the forecast. At 17.17 hrs. on 14th of March 2008 a "999" call was made as the "Strath Marie" was overdue.

At 18.13 hrs. on 14th March 2008 the first casualty was recovered from the water and at 20.38 hrs. the second casualty was recovered. Both men were brought to Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry where they were later pronounced dead.

Parts of the fishing vessel were later recovered and examined along with other evidence to try and establish the cause of the loss of the FV "Strath Marie". The full report is downloadable below.

 

A Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) report into the death of Mr. Alain Adler after the six metre boat in he which he travelling capsized from a pier in West Cork in 2008 has found there was no single cause for this casualty. It was the accumulation of several poor decisions which resulted in the capsize of the vessel and related fatality. The post mortem found that Mr. Alder died as a result of acute cardio-respiratory failure and drowning associated with hypothermia.

In the early hours of 5th December 2008, ten people set off from Colla Pier near Schull, Co. Cork in an open boat (with sealed deck) powered by a 30 HP outboard engine to spend the weekend on Coney Island, which lies about one kilometre off the coast of Cork, in the south west of Ireland.

Shortly afterwards the boat capsized resulting in the death of Mr. Alain Adler.  The post mortem found that Mr. Adler died as a result of acute cardio-respiratory failure and drowning associated with hypothermia.

The report also concludes that although several members of the group were familiar with boats and the dangers of the sea, none wore the lifejackets/PFD's provided.

The full MCIB report is downloadable below.mcib