A crew of 26 seamen could spend several days stranded aground on their cargo ship in the mouth of the River Shannon after two attempts to dislodge the vessel failed today.
With seas rising and gale-force winds approaching, the Princess Vanya, with her 60,000 tonne cargo of bauxite, remained stranded on a sandbank near Ballybunnion in Co Kerry.
Three harbour tugs made two attempts to shift the Cypriot-registered bulk carrier during the day but tonight gave up, with the Department of the Marine saying the vessel was too hard aground.
With bad weather forecast, it would be Tuesday at the earliest until renewed efforts could be made to move the ship.
In the meantime the crew of 24 Filipinos and two Greeks would remain on board.
Once the weather settled teams would move in to pump thousands of gallons of fuel from the ship to reduce its weight.
That would be easier than removing the cargo, a Department of the Marine spokesman said, and would then allow the tugs to try once again.
"There are now gale force winds of 35 to 40 knots and with a seven metre swell expected tomorrow it is unlikely to be Tuesday until she can be moved.," he said.
He added: "We have increased the ballast around the ship and she is hard aground so she is not rocking or swaying. In the circumstances the crew are remaining aboard."
The vessel was not damaged and there was said to be no immediate risk of pollution to the area.
"Tests have been carried out on the fuel tanks and there is no suggestion that a pollution risk is likely," the spokesman said.
PA