THE location of yesterday's sinking of the Irish trawler Exodus will be crucial to the official investigation. Outside the 12 mile territorial limit, the State has no jurisdiction beyond economic matters such as fish stocks.
However, the collision between the Exodus and the British registered Spanish vessel, Sea Horse, did occur within the 12 mile limit, according to the Department of the Marine, which gives the State a free hand in the inquiry.
Weather conditions will also be a factor. Conditions were good, with visibility between five and six miles, according to fishermen in the area.
Following the collision, two members of the crew of the Exodus took to a life raft, but the sinking occurred so quickly that the skipper, Danny "Boy" O'Driscoll was in the water when picked up by the Spanish craft.
The crew tried to resuscitate him, but he was still unconscious when the Irish Marine Emergency Service helicopter reached Cork Regional Hospital and he did not survive.
The Exodus was a 35 year old French built wooden vessel 16 metres in length, based in Castletownbere, Co Cork. The Sea Horse is 32.6 metres and is owned by a company in Milford Haven. The two craft were engaged in different fishing methods at the time - a fact which has been a cause of conflict between vessels off the south west coast in the past.
The Exodus was trawling for whitefish, while the Sea Horse is a longliner. Spanish and French longlining vessels, setting up to and over seven miles of gear, risk losing their equipment if they encounter a trawler in the same area.
Angry exchanges have taken place between French Spanish, Irish and Cornish crews in the past, and the Irish South and West Fishermen's Organisation has kept a record of sworn statements, which are forwarded regularly to the Department of the Marine. As most of these incidents take place outside the 12 mile limit, the State has no power to act.
The Naval Service can send out a patrol vessel, but its authority is purely moral, although its officers can board a vessel to examine fish catches, or can inspect a ship for suspected illegal imports, such as drugs, under the Vienna Convention.
So far, Ireland has failed to ratify international legislation on piracy, which would enable officers of the State to investigate claims. In serious cases outside the territorial limit, the Department of Foreign Affairs has taken the issue up with the flag state - to good effect, according to the fishermen's organisation.
Last year, two French fishermen were found guilty of negligence after their vessel rammed an Irish fishing boat, the Orchidee, resulting in the deaths of two of its crew. The incident happened outside territorial limits, but the civil case was heard by the flag state - France - after a joint investigation by French and Irish authorities. It took four years to come to court.
The first mate of the French vessel, Agena, was sentenced to a year in jail and a crewman to three months - both suspended for five years - for their part in the collision with the Orchidee in 1992. Two Waterford fishermen, Jimmy Power (27) and Bobby Doran (19), died.
The court heard that the French skipper abandoned his watch for 10 minutes, leaving the vessel in the hands of an inexperienced crewman who did not know how to steer the 100 ft steel hulled craft. It collided with the 60 ft wooden hulled Orchidee some 65 miles south west of Milford Haven.
Fishing organisations have issued frequent warnings about the safety factor involved in conflicts between Irish and Spanish fishing vessels. The conflict is over two different types of fishing method passive longlining, used by Spanish vessels, and trawling by Irish boats. Spanish craft are generally larger and steel built, whereas many of the vessels in the ageing Irish whitefish fleet are wooden.
