A Co Wexford skipper, who was drunk while in charge of a trawler in Cork Harbour last December, received a six month suspended sentence at Cobh District Court today.
It is the first case of its kind to come before an Irish court.
Declan Cummins (35) pleaded guilty to being intoxicated while in charge of his trawler, Silver Harvest, on December 8th, 2002, having nearly collided with an oil pipeline on that day.
Deputy Harbour Master, Mr Michael McCarthy told Cobh District Court that the 30-foot trawler had been seen zig-zagging erratically in the harbour and that at one point, it was headed for a pipe line carrying oil from a refinery in Whitegate.
However, the Wexford-born fisherman, from Arthurstown, New Ross, managed to change course with just 100 yards to spare.
The Deputy Harbour Master told Judge Murrough Connellan that if the trawler had not averted colliding with the pipeline, containing diesel, oil and gas, the impact would have had catastrophic consequences.
"It was an extremely dangerous situation", Mr McCarthy said, adding that a concerned port operator, who monitored the antics of the trawler on radar, had alerted him to the danger.
The court heard upon boarding, officials discovered Cummins to be so drunk that he was unable to stand and had no idea what he was doing, and that he had to be helped into a Garda squad car later that evening in Cobh.
Cummins pleaded guilty to being drunk while in charge of the trawler, in a channel, which sees over 5,000 vessels using its lanes each year.
The court heard that the defendant was an experienced fisherman of 21 years, that it was a once-off occurrence, at a time when he was experiencing personal problems and that he had "fallen to temptation" in drinking before heading out to sea.
Imposing a six-month suspended prison sentence, Judge Murrough Connellan warned that the behaviour of the defendant on the day was "quite chilling" and could have had appalling consequences.
The District Court Judge ordered Cummins to be on good behaviour for a year and also fined him €750.