An investigation is to be begun today by the British Marine Accidents Investigation Branch into a collision 28 miles off the Dublin coast in which an Irish trawler was almost sunk early yesterday.
The crew of the Renegade, a 90ft trawler fishing for prawns out of Howth, said they had been the victims of a "hit and run incident on the sea" when they were struck by an unknown cargo vessel shortly before 1.30 a.m.
The crew claimed the vessel, four to five times their size, slowed down after the incident, but then continued its journey. The crew also believe those aboard the vessel ignored a mayday signal sent at 1.30 a.m to all boats in the area.
The Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, said Irish naval authorities would co-operate with the investigation.
Mr Carl Hiltunen, watch manager of Holyhead coastguard, said the vessel which struck the Renegade was "large" but he did not have any other details.
He said a search of the immediate area where the incident happened had been carried out.
However, by last night the vessel had not been traced by the coastguard and the work will now be continued by the investigation body, which will look at radar information and contact relevant ports to identify passing ships.
A spokesman for the Irish Marine Rescue Service said the area just above St George's Channel was busy with cargo vessels.
Leaving the scene of a collision when vessels have been damaged is a maritime offence and carries severe penalties, said the spokesman.
The collision left a hole and heavy dents in the Renegade's port side. The impact tilted the trawler on to its side and water poured into parts of the deck. Crew members lowered a life-raft into the sea, believing the boat was going to sink.
They praised the quick response of another Irish trawler, the Mellifont, which was first on the scene.
An RAF helicopter, from Valley in Wales, also assisted the operation by providing a pump to discharge water from the hull.
The coastguard at Holyhead responded to the mayday message, as did several fishing vessels nearby, including the Mellifont, which operates from Clogher Head, Co Louth.
The Mellifont pulled up alongside the Renegade and took four crew members off. The chief engineer and the ship's skipper stayed on board to stabilise it.
The RAF helicopter and the Howth lifeboat were next on the scene and assisted the crew to pump water out of the boat.
The Renegade was towed into Howth harbour at about 7.30 a.m.
Fine Gael's spokesman on natural resources, Mr Michael Finucane TD, called for an immediate investigation into the collision.
"This was a truly disgraceful incident and showed a flagrant disregard for the lives of those on board the fishing vessel," he said.
"Minister Michael Woods must make every effort to identify the merchant vessel involved and take appropriate sanctions against it."
The "ramming" of the Rene- gade was a "frightening warning" of what could happen if hazardous nuclear material was transported across the Irish Sea, said the Green Party.
"At the very least, the Irish Government must immediately amend legislation to prevent nuclear cargoes entering Irish waters," said its spokesman on nuclear affairs and the marine, Mr Trevor Sargent TD.