Salvaged 'Asgard' items returned home

LORNA SIGGINS, Marine Correspondent

Mon, Jul 12, 2010

THE BELL from the sail training ship Asgard II rang for the
first time in 22 months yesterday when a group of divers
brought it back to Ireland from France.

The diving team led by Eoin McGarry from Co Waterford
intends to hand over the bell, ship’s compass and steering
wheel to Coiste an Asgard, the State sail training
committee, in the coming days.

Mr McGarry and his team arrived in Rosslare, Co Wexford,
from France almost a week after two deep-sea dives saw the
recovery of the items from a depth of 83m in the Bay of
Biscay.

The dive team also confirmed that the ship, which sank on
September 11th, 2008, is no longer in any condition to be
salvaged successfully.

Minister for Defence Tony Killeen said he was “happy that
nobody was injured” as the vessel, as he understood it,
was in a hazardous location with loose rigging.

Coiste an Asgard, which is under the aegis of Mr
Killeen’s department, said last week it had not authorised
the dive, but the divers said the wreck was not the subject
of a protection order or exclusion zone – and could have
been stripped by other divers.

They said they undertook the dive on behalf of Irish people
who cared about the brigantine. Plans to replace Asgard II
were cancelled by the Government last year, and the entire
national sail training programme was axed in last year’s
budget.

Mr Killeen said he was still “actively pursuing” the
replacement of ageing Naval Service patrol ships, but had
not yet been able to secure final Government approval. Hull
plating had to be installed on the LE Aoife earlier this
year, Mr Killeen confirmed when he marked the 30th birthday
of sister ship LE Aisling in Galway docks at the weekend.
Holes had previously been identified in the LE Emer, also
built in Cork more than three decades ago.

It has been anticipated Mr Killeen would make an
announcement about plans for a €180 million ship
replacement programme over the weekend, but he said
discussions were still continuing.

The commitment to replace two ships, with an option of a
third, had been made by Mr Killeen’s predecessor, Willie
O’Dea. The original replacement programme was to have run
from 2008 to 2012, but was frozen due to budgetary
constraints.

The LE Aisling’s birthday was marked with an inspection
of a guard of honour and a birthday cake by Mr Killeen,
Naval Service chief Commodore Frank Lynch, ship commander
Lieut Cmdr Roberta O’Brien (31) and Galway harbourmaster
Capt Brian Killeen in Galway docks.

Also present was former minister for defence Bobby Molloy,
who in 1979 was instrumental in procuring the ship. Many of
the original crew and all previous captains attended the
onboard reception.

The ship was involved in the Marita Ann gun-smuggling
incident in 1984, the confrontation with Spanish fishing
vessel Sonia in the same year, and the search for bodies
from the Air India explosion off the southwest in 1985.
Mr Killeen noted that LE Aisling had steamed 540,000
nautical miles and had been involved in many life-saving
search and rescue operations.

© 2010 The Irish Times