Marine investigators inquiring into the loss of two Donegal fishermen and their boat were unable to complete their work because the wreck was trawled through and broken up by large vessels from Killybegs.
The search for the bodies of the two men on board the Lisa Selina was still continuing when the 31-foot boat was "interfered with" on the sea bed some time in November 1998, several weeks after its sinking on October 31st.
The damage to the wreck prevented any further evidence being obtained to assist the official investigation and the bodies of the two men were never found, according to a report just published by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB).
Mr Michael Boyle (45), of Rosbeg, Co Donegal, and Mr Thomas Moore (24) had gone out to recover crab pots on the day the Lisa Selina, owned by Mr Boyle, sank in Loughros Bay. This was the first opportunity the two men had to check the pots in six weeks, due to continuing gales.
The vessel was reported missing on November 1st and was located, undamaged and sitting upright, on the sea bed by divers in 42 metres of water later that day. From November 1st to November 15th, weather conditions deteriorated again while the search continued for the two men, and on November 15th, when divers returned, it was discovered that the boat had been seriously damaged and broken up.
The MCIB says the damage was consistent with the vessel having been "trawled through", rather than due to bad weather.
Despite radio navigational warnings having been issued four times daily, and the position of the wreck given, a number of large trawlers from Killybegs were seen and reported to be fishing in the inshore area of Loughros More bay inside the six-mile limit.
Interference with a wreck is an offence under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act 1993, and the MCIB says the fishing vessels may also have been in breach of the conditions set out under their fishing licences. It concludes that it is impossible to establish with any certainty the cause of the vessel's sinking due to the damage, but it may have occurred during pot hauling.
In a separate investigation just published, the MCIB says the Irish north-west coast narrowly avoided a pollution incident when the Panamanian oil tanker Princess Eva got into difficulties off the coastline in January 2003 while en route from Copenhagen to Texas.
Two crew members lost their lives in a force 11 gale and a third was seriously injured and had to be airlifted by Irish Coast Guard helicopter to hospital in Galway.
After the accident, the ship sailed into Killybegs, Co Donegal, and was subsequently detained after an inspection by two surveyors from the Maritime Safety Directorate.
The ship was deemed to be unseaworthy and a potential hazard to the marine environment, due to serious fractures.
The MCIB praises the response taken by the Irish Coast Guard and Maritime Safety Directorate, but highlights the lack of a State-owned tug or emergency towing vessel. It says a single-purpose vessel which can deal with emergency towing of large ships and also recovery of oil and treatment of oil spills at sea should be acquired and positioned permanently on Ireland's west coast.
