THE search of a ship detained in Castletownbere, Co Cork resumes this morning.
Members of the Customs National Drugs Team, along with gardai and Naval Service divers, start the third day of searching following the directions of a marine engineer, who has indicated the parts of the ship which should be examined.
The four crew of the Panama registered Tia, a small freighter tracked along the south west coast by the Naval Service and followed into Bantry Bay on Tuesday night, are in custody. They are being held in Castletownbere and Bandon Garda stations under the 1996 Drug Trafficking Act, which allows for up to seven days detention without charge.
Two other men are being held under the same legislation in Dublin, following their arrest on Wednesday.
One of the crew is believed to be from Co Cork. The others are African, British and Icelandic.
Yesterday the Tia was moved to Dinish Island, a part of Castletownbere port across the harbour from the main dock of the fishing fleet. Gardai have sealed off part of the island, linked to the mainland by a bridge, and armed officers are patrolling near the ship.
The vessel was carrying no cargo when detained, and yesterday the main focus of the search was the double bottomed ballast tanks, where evidence of new welding was found. Cutting equipment was brought in and a number of steel panels removed, but so far nothing has been discovered.
Although ships from South America are routinely partially searched, Customs and the Garda are determined to do a "full search" of the Tia, which involves virtually dismantling parts of the ship.
The inside of the 700 tonne coaster, which sailed from Surinam in South America towards the end of last month, is said to be in bad condition, and officers are proceeding gingerly for fear of damaging it.
The search has been made even more difficult because of what gardai describe as the "honeycombed" pattern of its panelling. Throughout yesterday, the combined operations team spent hours dismantling these panels at the quayside at Dinish island, but by late yesterday evening nothing had been discovered.
A huge team of Garda experts has assembled in the west Cork fishing village and will remain there until the vessel has been fully examined.
The ship is believed to have been heading for Rathmullan, Co Donegal, when a damaged rudder forced it to seek shelter in Bantry Bay. Denmark appears to have been its final destination.