Oil pollution incidents in Irish waters could be tackled by dedicated ships next year under a new arrangement drawn up by the European Maritime Safety Agency.
The agency has finalised contracts this week to strengthen pollution response in Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, whereby seven oil tankers will be able to convert to deal with pollution incidents at short notice.
Former Irish Coast Guard director Capt Liam Kirwan has welcomed the initiative which aims to guarantee a "consistent and effective service", according to the maritime agency.
However, he said the Government still needed to look at the provision of emergency towing vessels for the east and southwest coasts as recommended in a consultancy report to the former department of marine.
The three ships identified for oil pollution clean-ups off the Irish and British coasts have been named as the Forth Fisher, Mersey Fisher and Galway Fisher.
All three ply these waters and are owned by British company James Fisher Everard.
All vessels will be equipped during the first half of next year and will become available for pollution incidents from mid-2008.
The maritime agency has already contracted a fleet in the Baltic Sea and Mediterranean/ Atlantic sea areas. The total value of the new contracts has been quoted at €18.4 million over three years.
The agency says the fleet was developed in response to a general increase in seaborne oil tanker traffic, especially from the former Soviet Union, and the socio-economic and environmental sensitivities along the European coastline.