A pilot for the Port of Waterford Company who was stranded on a Dutch vessel and taken to Rotterdam because of industrial action at the port company is returning home today.
Last Friday night Mr Pat Heffernan piloted the MV Vanguardout of Waterford Port to a point near Dunmore East where he was supposed to be picked up by the port's pilot boat.
However, three boatmen involved in an industrial dispute over terms and conditioned refused to let the pilot boat go out to sea to collect Mr Heffernan.
Despite talks between the boatmen, gardaí and the chairman of the Port of Waterford Company, Mr Ben Gavin, the boatmen refused to let the boat out as part of their industrial action.
Mr Gavin told ireland.comhe had no option but to let the MV Vanguardleave for Rotterdam with Mr Heffernan on board with no passport and no luggage.
On Saturday, the Port of Waterford Company was granted a High Court interlocutory injunction against four named striking boatmen to prevent those involved in industrial action from interfering with port operations.
Mr Gavin said that the Irish civil service was very efficient in getting Mr Heffernan's passport faxed over to Dutch authorities. He added that Mr Heffernan was well looked after by the Irish embassy in Holland.
The Port of Waterford Company will meet with SIPTU - who are representing the boatmen - at the Labour Relations Commission on Thursday for talks aimed at settling the two-week-old dispute.
The dispute centres on a change in terms of the boatmen's contracts. The boatmen work on what are called "standby contracts"; when two men are on standby at any one time the company would now like one of those men to be in attendance at the port.