The boat that sank off the Wexford coast resulting in the deaths of five people had only two lifebelts and one life jacket on board, a jury was told.
The trial of Patrick Barden, owner and skipper of the Pisces, began at Wexford Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.
Mr Barden is facing seven charges after his boat sank almost a mile from the harbour at Fethard-on-Sea with 10 people on board on July 28th, 2002.
He is charged with five counts of manslaughter, causing the deaths of Martin Roche, John Cullen, Séamus Doyle, his son Mark Doyle and his father-in-law James Cooney. He is also charged with reckless conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm to others by putting to sea in a vessel that was unseaworthy, overloaded, unstable and insufficiently equipped with life-saving equipment.
A seventh count charges him with being the master and owner of a dangerously unsafe ship, contrary to Section 4 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1981.
Mr Barden has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Senior counsel for the prosecution Michael O'Higgins said he would bring evidence that the Pisces had been modified and that the plywood deck put on it was not watertight and was quite unsuitable for the purposes for which it was used.
He said Mr Barden knew this and took "crude steps to lessen the problem", including using silicone to try to block up holes and gaps. Mr Barden was a very experienced seaman, he said, with 27 years in the merchant navy and then in small-time fishing until 2002. "He was no beginner, no learner".
The boat, Mr O'Higgins said, would be found to have significant problems with the hull, including soft and rotten planks, and the caulking, a material used to seal gaps between planks, was missing in some places.
"Mr Barden was well aware that the Pisces was a boat that took in water," he said. He had to pump the boat out every 10 minutes.
The Pisces went to fish at two sites on the day of the incident in poor visibility, the court heard, before moving on to a third. The fog was thick at this stage and the boat was in contact with another fisherman, Tommy Roche. Passengers noticed excessive water. The boat keeled over to the starboard side, they moved to balance it out but the boat sank within a minute.
"Mr Barden was not unaware that boats carried life-saving equipment," Mr O'Higgins said. "But there were two lifebelts and one life-jacket on board." He said that if there had been a life-jacket for everyone on board they may not have died.
"But there was horrifying pandemonium when that boat sank," he said. "No steps at all were taken which would preserve their lives if a tragedy occurred."
Some 14 witnesses took the stand yesterday, including the four passengers who had survived. They described their experiences on the Pisces, all noting the speed with which the boat sank.
The survivors were rescued by Tommy Roche, who had also taken an angling party out to sea that day.
Another fisherman, Mattie Watters, recalled having heard Mr Barden's distress call. "I'm in trouble. She's full of water, she's sinking," he said.
James Snellgrove, an engineer employed by the Department of the Marine and working with the marine casualty investigation board, gave evidence that on examination he found the hull of the Pisces to be rotten in some places and with caulking missing. The boat was found to let in water upon testing.
The case continues.