The multinational crew of a disabled freight tanker made an urgent appeal for help last night, some 12 hours after the Irish Coast Guard had been informed that the vessel was in difficulty off the south coast.
The Irish Coast Guard said it was making every effort to assist the vessel and was "working with owners' representatives" in relation to towing it to safety. However, the International Transport Federation (ITF) said it was "surprised" at the delay in the Irish authority's response to a "genuine humanitarian situation".
ITF Irish inspector Ken Fleming of Siptu released a transcript of a message from the Filipino crewmen on board the stricken vessel claiming they were refused permission to seek help from the rescue services and stating that they were in trauma.
He also understood there may have been an issue over payment for towing the vessel and this was putting people's lives at risk.
The alert was raised shortly after 2am yesterday when the Maltese-registered and Polish-owned tanker West Sailorreported a fire in its engine room. It is unclear as to whether the ship issued a Mayday.
The 95-metre ship had deposited a load of sulphuric acid at Aughinish Alumina on the Shannon estuary and was on its way to the Belgian port of Antwerp.
The 15-strong Polish and Filipino crew on board the vessel managed eventually to bring the fire under control, but the main engine failed to restart.
The Fenit lifeboat and the Coast Guard helicopter based in Shannon were mobilised and the Dublin Coast Guard flew 12 firefighters from the Dublin fire service to Kerry airport and these were put on standby.
A number of fishing vessels including a Killybegs trawler also stood by in the area.
For much of yesterday, the 3.5-tonne ship was adrift on the tide about seven miles off Brandon Head. However, by late afternoon when the engines had failed to restart, Valentia Coast Guard ordered a tug from Castletownbere to attend the vessel in the hope of towing it to a port in the Shannon estuary.
The Naval Service patrol ship LE Aoifealso offered to assist and was en route to the vessel last night.
An Irish Coast Guard spokeswoman said it had been in touch throughout the day with the vessel and had offered to evacuate the crew, but this had not been accepted.
The spokeswoman said the Irish Coast Guard was working with the ship's owners in relation to towing the vessel.
Mr Fleming said the immediate priority was to ensure the safety of the crew and he hoped to board the vessel to investigate pay and conditions.