The underwater search for the bodies of three fishermen lost off Mizen Head on the St Gervase has been stopped by the Naval Service, following sustained diving on the wreck. The 10-strong diving team found no trace of the men on the St Gervase, which was lost just over a month ago after leaving Castletownbere, Co Cork, on a fishing trip.
The body of one of the four crew on board, Timothy Angland, was recovered by the divers shortly after the sinking.
However, to the anguish of the bereaved families, the bodies of Gary Kane, the 28year-old skipper, from Donegal, Jacques Biger (34), originally from Brittany, and Kieran Harrington (18), from Castletownbere, are still missing. A 20-year-old man, Aidan Burke, from Millstreet, Co Cork, was lost overboard on a Union Hall vessel the same week.
Bad weather and the hazardous location of the fishing vessel in 30 metres of water off Mizen Head hampered efforts to make dives in the days following the first recovery. A Naval Service patrol ship was stationed in the area for much of the past month to take advantage of weather opportunities.
Access to the hull was further restricted by gear attached to the vessel which posed a risk to divers. When a section of the vessel's bow was found several miles from the wreck, it became clear that the boat was already breaking up. Last weekend's extensive search confirmed that the St Gervase was in several pieces. The operation was one of 16 involving the Naval Service diving team during 2000, when there was also a significant increase in fishery arrests in Irish waters. Some 46 vessels were detained for various offences, compared to 31 last year. Co-operation with Britain on monitoring British-registered Spanish ("flagship") vessels also increased in the past year.
Information is now routinely sent from the National Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) at the Naval Base in Haulbowline, Cork harbour, to the British agriculture and fisheries ministry and the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency.
Satellite monitoring of all fishing vessels over 24 metres in length was introduced last January at Haulbowline, and at any one time the position of up to 300 vessels is received. Over 33,000 entry, exit and catch reports from foreign fishing vessels entering Irish waters were handled by FMC staff.
Patrol ships were involved in 30 search and rescue operations, and offshore surveillance also continued as part of drug interdiction responsibilities.
The fleet's oldest ship, the LE Deirdre will not see another year at sea. It is being tied up earlier than its 2002 decommissioning date, to allow for the crewing of a new ship which is due for delivery in June. The new ship is modelled on the latest vessel, LE Roisin.
