The fire on board Stena Line's high-speed catamaran HSS Stena Explorer off the Kish Bank early yesterday comes only two months after a docking accident in Dun Laoghaire which holed the ship above and below the waterline.
The £65 million vessel collided with a dolphin mooring buoy during fresh weather conditions on March 4th. Although listing, it managed to dock and the 322 passengers, 70 cars and freight were disembarked normally.
Repairs were completed within a week and the vessel returned to service. An investigation by the Department of the Marine was commissioned, and the company said design of the mooring dolphins would be re-evaluated, given that they had not taken the strain.
The high-speed catamaran has had a challenging career since it was introduced on the Irish Sea route, but the success of the craft can be judged by the fact that Stena's rival, Irish Ferries, has ordered a £29 million catamaran for the Dublin-Holyhead route which has been built in Australia.
The Stena vessel's introduction on the Irish Sea was delayed several times. The HSS's first deadline was missed in 1995, due to delays at the shipyard in Finland.
A new deadline, March 30th, 1996, was set back on foot of tests by the UK marine safety authorities. The ship, with a capacity of 1,500 passengers and 375 cars, made its first 99-minute crossing in April 1996, after the UK marine agency approved the use of emergency escape chutes from the vessel, which has no passenger deck.
Teething problems continued to crop up, however, including complaints from Dun Laoghaire bathers about large waves generated by the vessel on its approach.
A naval architect was engaged following a potentially serious incident at the Irish Lights depot in Dun Laoghaire, when seas were reported to have surged towards the dock where navigational buoys are stored.
During trials, the HSS agreed to halve its speed on the approach from the Burford Bank. However, further marine safety regulations restricted the vessel; it cannot leave port when waves are more than four metres high.
