Rescue operation mounted after fire reported on cruise ship

A rescue operation was organized in Lough Derg this afternoon after the occupants of a private cruise ship reported a possible fire on board.

At around midday, the Irish Coast Guard requested the Lough Derg RNLI to launch its lifeboat to assist a family of four on board a 28ft cruise ship which was reported to be on fire. There were two adults and two small children on board the boat at the time.

Surveillance officers at the Irish Coast Guard’s maritime rescue sub-centre on Valentia Island in Kerry also tasked the Coast Guard’s Killaloe unit with the task.

At 12:26 pm the lifeboat located the stricken boat just south of Lough Derg Navigation Mark E. By then the family had transferred to an 18ft fishing boat, which was in the area at the time and offered help. The occupants were found safe and sound, unharmed and wearing their life jackets.

The captain of the accident vessel informed the lifeboat crew that when he noticed smoke and a pungent odor coming from the engine casing, he immediately shut down the engine and the smoke emission ceased. However, he was unable to deploy the ship’s anchor as it required the engine to be running to operate.

Once the engine had cooled, the RNLI helm allowed the captain and an RNLI volunteer to board the stricken vessel. The captain discovered that a piece of cloth had come into contact with the engine exhaust system and identified it as the source of the smoke and odor. He took off the cloth and the crashed boat’s engine started immediately when tried.

The woman and the two babies were then transferred from the fishing boat to the lifeboat. The lifeboat crew then prepared to accompany the stricken ship to Dromineer Harbor with its skipper and an RNLI volunteer on board.

However, at 12:45 p.m., the engine of the accident boat failed. The RNLI helm requested that the mother and two babies be transferred from the RNLI lifeboat to the Coast Guard rescue boat and taken to Dromineer.

Given the remote location and the impossibility of securing the cruise ship, the helm made the decision to tow the stricken ship to the nearest safe harbor, at Dromineer. The accident ship was safely docked in the port of Dromineer at 1:44 p.m.

Christine O’Malley, lifeboat operations manager at Lough Derg RNLI, advises boat users “as we approach the summer season, remember to have your boat fully serviced before setting off. If you find yourself in difficulty call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.”