asked the Minister for the Marine if his Department monitor submarine movement in the Irish Sea and the continental shelf; if he has received any reports from inquiries undertaken by his Department on the unaccountable sinking of small fishing vessels around the Irish coast; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Submarine Movement.
24.
I would not be aware in my capacity as Minister for the Marine of submarine movements in the Irish Sea and the continental shelf.
It is understandable that when a fishing vessel sinks for no apparent reason speculation will take place about the cause. In recent years it has been suggested that there was submarine involvement in some cases.
I have ordered preliminary inquiries under section 465 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, into a number of sinkings of small fishing vessels which have been described as unaccountable in newspaper reports. Fishing boats may sink for a large number of reasons such, for example, as instructural defects, human error, unfavourable weather conditions, and the purpose of section 465 is to have a mechanism for establishing the cause.
The statutory purpose of preliminary inquiries is to enable the circumstances of a shipping casualty to be established and to determine whether the circumstances are such as to warrant the holding of a formal investigation under section 466 of the Act. The reports of preliminary inquiries are confidential to the Minister and it is long-established practice not to publish such reports.
I can, however, say that the possibility of submarine involvement was investigated in each case brought to my attention. Involvement of submarines in sinkings has been established and admitted in only one case which was in 1982.