The Irish tricolour will "vanish from the high seas" unless the Government moves to put the shipping industry on a competitive footing with other EU fleets, a leading shipbroker has warned, writes Lorna Siggins.
Mr John Dundon of Mullock and Sons shipbrokers made his comments as a second Arklow ship sailed into Irish waters under a foreign flag. The Arklow Sea, a 3,193 deadweight-tonne bulk carrier owned by Arklow Shipping Ltd, is registered in Holland and has a Dutch captain and crew.
The ship completed its maiden voyage from Antwerp with a cargo of fertiliser when it docked in Limerick at the weekend. The arrival marks the first time a maiden voyage has finished in Limerick port in living memory.
Mr Dundon said everyone in the marine industry welcomed the income tax concessions introduced for sailors in the last Budget. However, these measures on their own would do little to encourage Irish shipowners to employ Irish crews, he said.