5 Japanese crew die in tuna ship accident

THE bodies of five Japanese fishing crew are expected to be brought to Cork this weekend, following a gas leak on their tuna ship some 240 miles off the Galway coast.

Difficult 25-to-30 mile north-north-west winds were reported last night, when the vessel with 16 crew, including one injured, and five fatalities was boarded by a party from the naval patrol ship, LE Aisling. Five dead were confirmed, with no injuries, and the vessel was not under power. A tug has been requested from the ship's agent to tow the vessel to Cork.

Late last night the ship's engine room was still full of gas and an army spokesman said there would be no attempt to tow the boat into Cork until a boarding party of two Naval personnel, with breathing apparatus, carried out a full inspection of the engine room in the morning.

Because of maritime law, it appears that the LE Aisling will have to tow the boat into Irish waters, before a conventional tug takes over and completes the passage to Cork.

The Minister for Defence and the Marine, Mr Barrett, has expressed his "concern and sympathy" at the incident, and the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation has also extended condolences.

First reports of the accident, said to have occurred sometime yesterday morning, were received from the ship's Cork agent yesterday afternoon. The second of two Japanese fishing vessels detained by the Naval Service for alleged illegal fishing within the Irish 200-mile fishery limit had just berthed at Castletownbere, Co Cork, with about £1 million worth of fish and gear on board, while the first arrested vessel had secured a bail bond and was preparing to put to sea.

Shortly after 4 p.m., a request for urgent ship assistance was made to the Irish Marine Emergency Service (lMES) by the agent through Falmouth coastguard, which is responsible for this sea area. The LE Aisling, which had returned to patrol the grounds where some 30 Japanese vessels have been standing-off over the last three days, was diverted to the scene.

The accident is understood to have occurred when the crew was investigating a leak of freon gas from the freezing area in the main engine room. Reports of an explosion could not be confirmed.

The ship's Irish agent, Mr Des Morrissey of RA Burke and Co Ltd., Cork, said that the vessel is attached to the Japan Tuna Fisheries Company and is one of some 200 vessels working in the north Atlantic on the tuna. Four Japanese vessels were standing by, he said, as the Taisei Maru had cut power to avoid a gas explosion. Of the 21 crew, 13 were Japanese and eight Indonesian. There was no serious damage to the vessel, he said.

As there were no English speakers on board - and no Japanese on the LE Aisling - interpretation was being provided on VHF radio through the ship's agent. The language factor also determined the ship's escort to Cork, which is not the nearest port to the scene.

No decision had been taken last night on an investigation, as the accident was reported outside Irish jurisdiction in international waters.