BACKGROUND:THE official investigation into the sinking of the Tit Bonhommeis expected to focus on a number of key factors, amid much speculation about the cause.
One certainty is that wind direction was not in skipper Michael Hayes’s favour when he and his crew approached the entrance to Glandore Harbour in west Cork early on Sunday morning.
“A strong south-easterly is definitely not what you want when coming back into this harbour mouth if anything goes wrong,” Irish Fishermen’s Organisation chairman Ebbie Sheehan said.
The swell builds from Land’s End, rolling north-westwards across the Celtic Sea and right into the entrance between Goat’s Head and Sheela Point.
If there is the slightest difficulty, such as navigational factors or loss of engine power, there is limited room to negotiate hazards stretching from Adam’s island in to a series of reefs known as the Outer, Middle and Inner Dangers respectively.
Glandore and Union Hall are among the most beautiful anchorages in west Cork and it was this stretch of coastline which was threatened with pollution after the sinking of the Kowloon Bridge off the nearby Stags rocks 25 years ago, with 165,000 tons of iron ore on board.
Skipper/owner Michael Hayes would have made the approach many times both before and since purchasing his 21-metre twin-rig trawler outright from partner Adrian Bendon several years ago.
The father of five is married to Caitlín Uí Aodha, the first female skipper to receive Bord Iascaigh Mhara approval for a fishing vessel back in the 1980s, and spokeswoman for the fishermen’s organisation.
Mr Hayes had commuted from his Co Waterford home of Helvick to fish from Union Hall, working on the prawn grounds between the south coast, the Labadie Bank and the Scilly Isles.
The French trawler built in 1988 is one of a number of similar whitefish vessels which are very popular around the coastline, and which would have been subject to regular surveys. Trips would normally last a minimum of five days, and the forecast was for settled weather from yesterday on the prawn grounds. However, the Tit Bonhommehad only been at sea several days when it set a course for port – a passage which would be set on autopilot, but would involve particular vigilance by those on watch duty during the shore approach.
The fact that the one emergency alert was issued via the VHF radio, but was relayed to Valentia Coast Guard via a 999 telephone call, would indicate that the skipper and crew had seconds to react.
International Transport Workers Federation co-ordinator for Ireland and Britain Ken Fleming expressed his sympathies to all concerned, and has offered support to the families of the three missing Egyptian crewmen.
His organisation has lobbied for a number of years to highlight the pay and conditions of non-EU nationals employed in the fishing industry, and he is concerned now about the financial situation of bereaved families back in Alexandria.
He has issued his contact details: tel 00353-872605297 or email fleming_ken@itf.org.uk