Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Port Control

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Port Control

    In many european ports,you find numerous craft including RIBs and Fast Patrol Boats,carrying out spot checks on visiting vessels. Should the Naval service,or even the NSR have such a role?
    In Europort,it is not uncommon to be boarded by Customs,Emmigration and River Police all at the same time. And dont forget the Pilot.
    I have seen the Garda Boat in cork Harbour,once,during the visit of a US Naval vessel,since then its a free for all. The Customs have a high powered RIB also,but it is usually only out when there is intelligence on incoming "cargo".
    Should the Naval service provide a better presence in our harbours,given the amount of smuggling that is going on? Failing that,should the garda have more than one pleasure boat on the shannon doing the job?
    Fail to prepare....prepare to FAIL!

  • #2
    I agree Farel'.

    The NSR is a very under-utilised branch of the Defence Forces. It could provide Port Control countrywide. This is currently one of it's official tasks however, in reality, it is not equipped for the role.

    Yet another case of shortsightness and lack of imagination on the government's part. (i.e. a voulnteer service that would cost little to equip and could provide much needed security/intercept capabilities).

    Silver.
    IRISH AIR CORPS - Serving the Nation.

    Comment


    • #3
      Ship's master gets suspended sentence

      May 28, 2003

      (17:20) A ship's master who pleaded guilty to being drunk and in charge of a trawler in Cork Harbour last December, has been given a six month suspended sentence.

      35-year-old Declan Cummins from Arthurstown, New Ross, was also fined €875.

      It is understood this was the first prosecution of its kind in the history of the state.


      Cobh District Court was told how the trawler, Silver Harvest, was seen moving erratically in and out of the shipping lane and nearly colliding with the jetty and pipeline at the Whitegate oil refinery on 8 December last year.
      This is what I am talking about. Who would be responsible for this?

      Jennie O'Sullivan reports from Cobh, Co Cork 56K
      Fail to prepare....prepare to FAIL!

      Comment


      • #4
        I think this could fit in this category also.
        From De Paper
        Trawler owner may face prosecution


        By Seán McCárthaigh
        THE owner of a trawler which sank off the coast of Co Wexford last year could face criminal prosecution after the official report into the accident found the boat was “unseaworthy, overloaded and unstable”.
        Five people, including three generations of the same family, died when the Pisces sank on a fishing trip shortly after leaving Fethard-on-Sea on July 28.

        The investigation by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) concluded that several lives could have been saved if there had been sufficient life-saving equipment on board the Pisces.

        The five who died were New Ross undertaker, Jim Cooney, his son-in-law, Seamus Doyle; his 14-year-old grandson, Mark Doyle and their two friends Martin Roche and John Cullen.

        Four others on board the Pisces, including its owner and captain, Patrick Barden, were rescued from the sea by the skipper of the St Coran, Tommy Roche, who was praised for his quick reaction to a distress message from the sinking vessel.

        Speaking in Dublin yesterday, the MCIB chairman John O’Donnell said there was a requirement for a “tightening up” of policing on marine safety and licensing issues. “I don’t think enough spot checks happen and standards have to be raised throughout Ireland,” he said.

        He said there were gaps between the Department of Marine and the gardaí as to the enforcement of legislation in the area. In particular, the MCIB chairman said there should be increased liaison between the two bodies to ensure more spot checks on vessels.

        The Pisces report also issued 20 recommendations, calling for improved legislation and greater enforcement of existing codes and practices regarding marine safety.

        Mr O’Donnell said the board was precluded from attributing fault or blame for any accident. The Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, who had sought to delay publication of the report, has still to decide whether any prosecution will arise out of the tragedy.

        An examination of the wreck of the Pisces found major defects including rotten timbers, inadequate pumping systems and poor stability. The report also noted the Pisces did not hold a passenger boat licence as required for use as a commercial sea fishing vessel. It also failed to comply with legal requirements on safety and radio equipment.

        The MCIB rejected claims by Mr Barden that all the faults identified in the report had resulted from the recovery and salvage operation on the Pisces. Several relatives of the victims have called for the boat’s owner to be prosecuted.

        Mr O’Donnell also expressed concern that the number of fatalities from marine accidents had increased from six in 2002 to 13 so far this year up to the start of May.

        Mr O’Donnell said the board was precluded from attributing fault or blame for any accident. The Director of Public Prosecutions, James Hamilton, who had sought to delay publication of the report, has still to decide whether any prosecution will arise out of the tragedy.

        An examination of the wreck of the Pisces found major defects including rotten timbers, inadequate pumping systems and poor stability. The report also noted the Pisces did not hold a passenger boat licence as required for use as a commercial sea fishing vessel. It also failed to comply with legal requirements on safety and radio equipment.

        The MCIB rejected claims by Mr Barden that all the faults identified in the report had resulted from the recovery and salvage operation on the Pisces. Several relatives of the victims have called for the boat’s owner to be prosecuted.

        Mr O’Donnell also expressed concern that the number of fatalities from marine accidents had increased from six in 2002 to 13 so far this year up to the start of May.


        Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

        Comment


        • #5
          I dont think this one needs further explanation.
          from www.examiner.ie
          Safety rules useless if not policed


          Had five people been killed in a road traffic accident, including three generations of the same family, there would be no question that the Director of Public Prosecutions would instigate an investigation to establish any basis of culpability.
          In the case of the tragedy of the Pisces the standard of onus cannot, and should not, be any lower than that which would apply to a tragedy of similar proportions ashore.

          What occurred off the coast of Fethard-on-Sea less than 12 months ago, was, with hindsight, a disaster waiting to happen once the ill-fated boat put to sea.

          That it was able to do so in an "unseaworthy condition" and "basically unstable" is an indictment of the system that pertained at the time but which, mercifully, has begun to change.

          Given that this is a Bank Holiday weekend, and many people will engage in water sports, especially with the anticipated good weather, the conclusions of the report of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) are a salutary reminder of the precautions that should be taken generally, but in relation to boats in particular.

          The tragedy that was the Pisces could have been twice as disastrous, but thankfully, five other people aboard the floating death-trap were rescued.

          The MCIB report said the vessel did not hold a passenger boat licence and would not have qualified for one because of its poor condition and lack of safety equipment. Also, it did not carry sufficient lifesaving aappliances for everyone on board and the provision of a suitable inflatable life-raft "would have ensured that all on board might have survived".

          Among recommendations contained in the report is one that unlicensed passenger vessels should be investigated and prosecuted.

          Copies of the draft report, which is intrinsically the same as that published, had been forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the gardaí and the State Solicitor for Co Wexford.

          The DPP had requested that publication of the report be delayed to allow him time to consider the question of possible prosecution.

          Were a prosecution not put in train, it would seem to purport that the drownings were an appalling accident and somewhere in the realm of an act of God, unconnected with the serious safety defects onboard.

          That, patently, according to the MCIB report was not the case and, therefore, culpability and onus must at least be investigated by the DPP's office and apportioned accordingly in cause of common justice if so warranted.

          Yesterday, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Dermot Ahern said that a wide range of safety measures and regulations had been initiated since August last year, after the tragedy.

          He also promised that a new safety code for lifejackets and safety equipment for all leisure craft would be introduced shortly, and not before time.

          Such measures, already implemented and yet to be introduced, are too late for the unfortunate victims of the Pisces tragedy and their families, although they have to be welcomed.

          It is to point out the obvious that the introduction of safety measures of themselves is pointless unless the necessary resources are put in place to police them.

          Equally, people have a responsibility towards ensuring their own safety, but they are also entitled to expect that when hiring boats, the vessels meet statutory safety requirements which have been inspected by the relevant authority.


          Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

          Comment


          • #6
            I can remember when I was a kid there were these fellas in Dun Laoire harbor, who were I think OPW(board of works) employees. They wore black uniforms with white hats and I think they had some sort of patch on their sleeve saying "Harbour Constable". Anyone else remember these guys? Are they still around? Did they/Do they have any real law enforcement powers?

            What about the Dublin Port and Docks Police? Are they still around? Have they obtained any real effective police powers yet? I remember having a run in with one of them back in early 1990's. But I never saw or heard anything about them after that.

            Later.
            No-one, I think, is in my tree...

            Comment


            • #7
              I have never seen the DL you described but the port and docks police rings a bell, not a recent one mind.
              "It is a general popular error to imagine that loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for it's welfare" Edmund Burke

              Comment


              • #8
                Golden one, or anyone else....?
                Anyone got anything on OPW Harbour Constables or Dublin Port and Docks Police.
                Anyone..............?
                No-one, I think, is in my tree...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Never heard of either myself,then again I never worked in the DMA,apart from the odd visit to Court and the Joy.
                  Nothing similar in Cork or Shannon,Irelands Largest Harbours.


                  Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    There are still harbour police in Dun Laoighre port. I was talking to one last month when some luggage went astray off the ferry. He found it too.

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X