The Department of the Marine has said that a ship which ran aground on Newcastle beach in Co Wicklow yesterday did so deliberately and was not at any time in distress.
The ship, which was employed by Iarnród Éireann to assist in building up the rock barrier to shore up the railway line, was yesterday back in port none the worse for the experience.
Locals walking on the beach early yesterday morning saw the ship lying perpendicular to the beach, its bow clearly resting on the shore.
The vessel bore the name Stillinpaa and flew Finnish flags causing locals to believe it had lost its way and run aground on the Wicklow coast.
However, according to the Department, the ship had notified the marine emergency services operations room that it intended to beach the ship.
This was decided in order to enable the crew to carry out a routine inspection of the hull.
This inspection was done at high tide and when the tide receded the check was completed.
At the next high tide the ship was floated off again and went on its way.
According to Iarnród Éireann, the vessel is engaged in coastal protection work on its behalf, carrying boulders by sea to vulnerable areas of track.
Similar work had been carried out at Greystones during the summer but did not involve the beaching of the vessel.
