An Irish-registered Spanish fishing vessel has been detained after a Naval Service officer sustained an injury while trying to board the craft.
The officer from the LE Aisling was attempting to carry out a routine inspection of the vessel some 30 miles west of Loop Head, when the boarding ladder snapped. The man sustained an injury to his leg, but medical evacuation was not required, a Naval Service spokesman said yesterday.
The Dinish was detained for the single offence of allegedly failing to provide a safe means of access for the Naval Service inspection team, and was escorted into Castletownbere, Co Cork, yesterday. The vessel is owned by Eiranova Fisheries, the Spanish firm with a transhipment base in west Cork.
Earlier this week, the issue of a safe boarding ladder arose during another detention, but an arrest for this offence is highly unusual. Unsatisfactory ladders had been a problem in Irish waters several years ago, when it was believed that skippers were using them to try and obstruct the Naval Service.
Under EU regulations on fishery inspections, boarding ladders have to meet 11 conditions. Among these conditions, it is stipulated that a ladder must be kept clean and in good order, the steps must be made of hardwood, with a non-slip surface, and the four lowest steps must be made of rubber of sufficient strength and stiffness. Handholds also have to be provided at the top of the ladder and lighting has to be provided at night. A lifebuoy equipped with a self-igniting light must also be kept at hand, ready for use by the skipper or fishing vessel crew.
The arrest of the Dinish was the second detention in three days by the LE Aisling. On Monday night, it apprehended a British-registered fishing vessel, Solstice II, approximately 30 nautical miles north-west of Achill Island, Co Mayo, for alleged quota and logbook infringements.
This brings to five the number of detentions made by the Naval Service so far this year.