Giant barge to salvage trawlers
WORK on raising the wrecks of two trawlers on which seven fishermen died is almost ready to begin after a giant Dutch crane barge arrived in Irish waters.
The Dutch barge will be used by a Dublin-based firm, Irish Diving Contractors, to raise both the Pere Charles and Maggie B, which foundered off the Wexford coast.
The €1m recovery mission has already been endorsed by the families of the lost fishermen. Relatives of Maggie B skipper, Glen Cott, stressed that the operation was all about finding answers for what happened.
The Maggie B sank in heavy seas near Tuskar Rock near Wexford on March 29, 2006.
Glen Cott (30), and his Polish crewmate, Jan Sankowski (45), both died in the tragedy. The body of neither man has been recovered.
The third crewman on board, Kriston Pawtowski (35), was rescued from the sea.
The Pere Charles sank as it headed back to Dunmore East with a catch of herring on January 10 last. All five fishermen on board perished, including Tomaisin Hennessy (32), Pat Hennessy (53), Pat Coady (27), Billy O'Connor (47) and Andriy Dyrin (32).
- Ralph Riegel
