Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 27 Feb 1990

Vol. 396 No. 3

Written Answers. - CONCERN Ship.

Nora Owen

Question:

84 Mrs. Owen and Miss Flaherty asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the circumstances of the disappearance on 12 February 1990 of the CONCERN ship, Svea Atlantic, carrying £2 million worth of humanitarian aid for Ethiopia and the subsequent reappearance of the ship minus this aid.

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Collins)

The ship, Svea Atlantic, which CONCERN had chartered from a Danish company to bring famine relief supplies to the famine stricken people of Ethiopia, was reported as having been attacked and boarded off the port of Massawa on 12 February by elements of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. The ship had been due to dock that same day at the port of Massawa, which was the scene of military confrontation between the EPLF and Ethiopian Government forces in a resumption of fighting in the north of the country. All communication with the ship was lost from 12 to 19 February when it was released by the EPLF, which admitted having off-loaded the cargo. My latest information is that the Svea Atlantic is now on its return journey to Europe.

During the week the ship was held, my Department sought by various means to obtain concrete information about the ship. Exhaustive inquiries were made through the Irish embassies in Copenhagen and London and, through the Department of the Marine, with Lloyds Maritime Information Services and the International Maritime Organisation. However, none of these sources was able to provide very definite information as to the ship's whereabouts or as to the safety of its cargo and crew. Regular contact was also maintained with CONCERN throughout. The ship's captain was finally able to make radio contact with the ship-owners on 19 February, when he indicated that the ship was undamaged and the crew were safe and well but that the cargo had been taken off.

The Minister of State, Deputy Seán Calleary, issued a statement on 13 February condemning the attack on the ship. He recalled the statement by the twelve member states of the European Community on 23 January which had strongly deplored attacks on civilian shipping in the Horn of Africa region earlier this year. It was pointed out by the Twelve, and reiterated by the Minister that, as well as violating accepted standards of international conduct, such attacks risked undermining international efforts to relieve the threat of famine. The Minister called for the immediate cessation of such attacks. This statement was brought to the attention of the EPLF.

Foreign Ministers of the Twelve meeting in Dublin on 20 February said in a statement that they were deeply disturbed by recent military confrontations in Ethiopia at a time when internationally supported peace efforts were under way and when measures to provide much needed humanitarian assistance to the stricken people of Eritrea and Tigray were well advanced. They called on all concerned to take all necessary measures to ensure emergency aid reach the threatened populations and called once again for attacks on shipping to cease.