asked the Minister for the Marine if, in the interests of safety at sea and to meet the wishes of the bereaved families, he will publish the result of the inquiry into the sinking of the fishing vessel, Boy Shaun, off Malin Head, County Donegal, on 20 September 1987.
Written Answers. - Shipping Casualty Inquiry.
50.
In accordance with the provisions of section 465 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, a marine surveyor of my Department carried out a preliminary inquiry into the loss of the Boy Shaun, which occurred on 20 September 1987.
The statutory purpose of such an inquiry 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 marine surveyor who carried out the inquiry interviewed and took sworn statements from a survivor of the casualty and the skipper of another fishing vessel which was in the area at the time of the casualty. He also had reports from the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre, the Meteorological Office, Malin Head Radio Station and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Having considered the inspector's report and the available evidence, it has been decided that the holding of a formal investigation would not elicit any further information with regard to this casualty.
The report of the preliminary inquiry is confidential to the Minister and it is long established practice not to publish such reports. I might also add that although the Deputy's states that publishing such reports meets the wishes of bereaved families it is my understanding that in many cases the contrary is true.