Vol. 398 No. 8
9 Mrs. Taylor-Quinn asked the Minister for the Marine the up to date position on the inquiry into the fires on board the Sealink ship the St. Columba, and the B & I vessel Norrona; and when the outcome of each inquiry will be placed before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
14 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Marine the investigations which have been held into the fire on board the B & I operated vessel Norrona, on 9 April 1990; if any review of safety procedures is planned in the light of this incident; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
44 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Marine if he will make a statement of the role of his Department in connection with matters arising from (a) the fire on board the Sealink ship St. Columba on 31 January 1990 and (b) with the fire on board the B & I ship Norrona on 9 April 1990; and the additional steps which he has taken to protect persons travelling on passenger sea vessels to and from Ireland in view of these occurrences.
I intend to take Questions Nos. 9, 14 and 44 together.
As the passenger vessel St. Columba is registered in the United Kingdom and as the fire on board the vessel on 31 January last occurred while she was outside Irish territorial waters my Department did not have the authority to carry out an investigation into the accident. The marine accident investigation branch of the UK Department of Transport, being the responsible authority, have conducted an inquiry. Sealink, the owners and operators of the vessel, are conducting their own independent inquiry and have already indicated that the report will be made available to my Department so that the benefit of any lessons learned could be passed on to Irish-registered passenger ferries.
As the Norrona is registered in the Faroes, a Danish territory, and as the fire on board the vessel on 9 April last occurred while she was outside Irish territorial waters, my Department, as in the case of the St. Columba did not have the authority to carry out an investigation into the incident. The responsible body in this case is the Danish Maritime Authority and they are conducting an investigation. The B & I Line who were chartering the vessel at the time of the fire are conducting their own internal investigation and will make available to my Department the results of their inquiries. Dyfed Powys police in Wales are conducting a criminal investigation as there are reasonable grounds for believing that arson was the cause of the fire.
Lessons to be learned from the Danish and UK inquiries will be submitted to the International Maritime Organisation, which is the United Nations' specialised agency responsible for safety at sea, for detailed consideration. Amendments to international safety conventions will be made, if necessary, in order to implement any recommendations relating to fire prevention, detection and extinction which that organisation may adopt.
The on-board and shore response to both fires ensured that at no time were either of the vessels, or their passengers and crew, in great danger.
A working group have recently been established by me to examine existing arrangements for dealing with marine fires to prepare a formal marine fire response plan and to identify the resources necessary to implement such a plan. It is proposed to hold exercises at a later date to test this plan. The working group comprise representatives from my Department, the Air Corps, the Department of the Environment, the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the Fire Services.
In January of this year, and before the recent fires, the National Ferry Safety Committee, which are chaired by my Department, held a seminar for senior personnel of Irish-registered passenger vessels. The seminar included a presentation and detailed discussion on fire prevention, detection and extinction which proved of benefit to participating personnel. Further seminars are planned for the future.
My Department were recently in communication with the owners of all passenger ferries operating out of Irish ports and the relevant port authorities stressing the need for constant vigilance in ensuring on-board and port security respectively, and requesting an urgent review of security arrangements. All have responded positively to our request.
I welcome the Minister's announcement that he has set up this working group to investigate marine fires and to formulate a plan in relation to it. Is information available to the Minister in relation to the St. Columba as to why two engines went on fire at the same time and why there were not fire proof protectors between the two engines to prevent that occurrence? Is the Minister in a position to tell the House why — although the passengers were told that the fires were out at 3.30 p.m. — they were not taken in tow for another four hours? What was the reason for this delay? How close was the boat to capsizing? In regard to the Norrona, as the Minister is President of the EC Council of Fisheries Ministers, is he aware of any sanction operating at EC level? While I appreciate the powers of the UN Convention surely there must be restrictions within the EC which can be put into operation in cases like this? Is the Minister in a position to elaborate on that?
On 31 January a fire broke out on the St. Columba. The ship left Dún Laoghaire at 8.30 a.m. and the fire broke out at 11.20 a.m. As anybody who has travelled the route knows, it was then the responsibility of the United Kingdom which was quite close. The reaction and the systems which went into operation were splendid and were carried out very effectively. The emergency drill was put into operation immediately and, unlike what happened in another incident quite recently, the drill was known and immediately implemented. When the ship's complement were fighting the fire additional firemen and equipment from Gwynedd were air-lifted on board. The main fire was successfully extinguished at 12 noon but the machinery was damaged. This immobilised the ship and provision had to be made to have it towed, which caused the delay. The fire was dealt with expeditiously, efficiently and without panic. The ship had 199 passengers and crew aboard who all disembarked safely.
With regard to the European Community question, the regulations in regard to safety are dealt with by the IMO of which we are a member and to which European countries subscribe. They observe the regulations of the IMO and contribute information to it which, if necessary, leads to any necessary amendments, improvements or reforms in the regulations.
Deputy Taylor-Quinn rose.
I am sorry, the time for dealing with priority questions has long since been exhausted.
May I ask a brief question?
No, I am sorry. We must move to other questions.
