The State's lack of a towing vessel for marine emergencies has been highlighted in the official report on a "near miss" involving a passenger ferry close to the Tuskar Rock lighthouse off the Wexford coast.
Some 220 passengers and crew on board the Stena Europe could have been involved in a serious situation if the vessel's drift had been different when it lost all power off Rosslare, Co Wexford, on January 30th, 2003, according to the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB).
The MCIB report on the incident, which has just been published, notes that the shore response led by the Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre (MRCC) in Dublin was "professional and timely" and helped to ensure the "best possible outcome".
No one was injured in the incident, which prompted a major rescue alert on both sides of the Irish Sea. About 30 minutes after the ferry had left port for Fishguard, Wales, with 155 passengers and 65 crew, it suffered a complete loss of propulsion in all four engines and drifted down on to, and then past, Tuskar lighthouse. The 24,000-tonne ferry can carry more than 1,300 people.
Irish Coast Guard and RAF helicopters and lifeboats from Kilmore Quay, Arklow and Rosslare were tasked, while several vessels including the Naval Service's LE Niamh and the Marine Institute's Celtic Voyager offered assistance.
However, the vessel regained power at 2 p.m., about 1½ hours after the breakdown, and was able to continue on its voyage, docking at Pembroke later that evening.
The MCIB investigation found that the ferry's power loss was due to a series of events, precipitated by the failure of an O-ring seal on a cylinder head on one engine.
Consequent loss of cooling water affected all four main engines, and two cross-connection valves which might have protected two of the engines were open at the time. Loss of air pressure delayed restarting the main engines, but the report says that the bridge team on board the ship were "professional and timely" in their response.
A number of measures, including a weekly check of all main engine cylinder-head studs, have already been implemented by Stena Line UK and Stena Europe since the incident, the report says.
It recommends regular checks of all running and standby plant for abnormal running conditions and part failure, and it notes that particular attention should be paid to start air pressure systems which are becoming increasingly complex. It says marine engineers should make themselves fully aware of the operational status of all machinery under their control.
The MCIB report notes that there was a tug in the area, the Oysterbank, which was available to help, but points out that there is no seagoing tug permanently stationed at Rosslare Europort.