TWENTY-FOUR DAYS after the first instalment of the Galway ferries saga, the Thor Gittacargo ship will this morning set sail for Mauritius with its cargo of two passenger ferries securely on board.
The Danish-registered ship is expected to embark on its 25-day passage to the southern Indian Ocean after the Clan Eagle 1joined its sister ferry Clann na nOileáinon the deck of the cargo ship at 1.30pm yesterday.
The two virtually new fast ferries were built to serve the Aran Islands but were auctioned off after the company that owned them went into receivership. They were constructed in France five years ago at a cost of between €5 million and €6 million.
The apparently straightforward project to bring them to their new home in Mauritius hit choppy waters from the start when the original cargo ship sent to collect them, the Pantanal, dragged its anchor on to rocks off the Connemara coast.
The Thor Gittawas called in to replace the stricken vessel, but its first attempt to lift a ferry was spoiled when a lifting strap failed, injuring three men on board.
Some days later the Thor Gittawas placed under arrest by order of the Irish Admiralty Marshal, before a crane alarm halted the second attempt at lifting the ferries last Saturday.
However yesterday afternoon, a volley of cheers sounded as the Clan Eagle 1was secured to the deck of the ship. According to Galway harbourmaster Capt Brian Sheridan, it will be ready for the open seas early this morning.
"Thankfully the final lifting operation went without a hitch today," Capt Sheridan said. "The wind speed climbed gradually all morning to 25 knots, but the second ferry was lowered in time. High tide is around 9am tomorrow, so we expect the Thor Gittato sail then."
The Thor Gitta is scheduled to stop en route at Les Sables d’Olonne in France, Pointe Noir in Congo, Cape Town in South Africa and Pemba in Mozambique, before reaching Mauritius.