Harbour authority concerned over trawler wrecks open to public view

THE ARKLOW harbour authority has expressed concern that the wrecks of two trawlers, in which seven men died, remain on the quayside at the the port nearly seven months after salvage.

The Arklow Harbour Commissioners, the company which operates the port, said it has received numerous complaints as to why the Pere Charles and Maggie B which sank in separate incidents off the southeast coast, remain on public view. The vessels were raised from the seabed and brought to the Co Wicklow port in November last year to be examined as part of the official inquiries into both incidents.

The chairman of the commissioners’ board, Paddy Mordaunt, said it was inappropriate for wrecks associated with such loss of life to be there for so long.

“We are very unhappy with the situation and we want the vessels . . . kept out of the public eye,” Mr Mordaunt said.

The port has written two letters to the Irish Coast Guard, under whose authority the vessels were taken to Arklow, to express their concern about the situation.

A spokesman for the Irish Coast Guard told The Irish Times: “The investigation by the Marine Survey Office into the sinking of the two vessels is ongoing and until the final outcome is reached the vessels will . . . remain where they are.”