Comhairle Fo-Thuinn, the Irish Underwater Council, has defended the decision taken by its former vice-president, Billy O'Connor, to assist in the search for the body of the missing Co Wexford fisherman, Pat Colfer, off the Saltee islands on Thursday.
Mr O'Connor, New Ross, Co Wexford, was reported missing less than eight metres below the sea surface on Thursday night, and Irish Coast Guard units were involved in a search yesterday for him and for Mr Colfer, skipper of the lobster boat, Rising Sun. An extensive 80-mile search area was covered by Irish Coast Guard helicopters, lifeboats, shore units and co-ordinated by the Naval Service ship, LE Emer.
A team of technical divers affiliated to the underwater council intend to dive in the area today if weather permits, although the Irish Coast Guard has appealed to diving clubs to stay away and has reimposed a one-mile exclusion zone, backed up by ministerial order, for safety reasons.
The eight-metre (26ft) lobster boat, which capsized and sank with three people on board on Tuesday, is believed to be lying in about 50m of water south of the Saltee islands.
Mr O'Connor went missing while returning from a successful preliminary search of the boat on Thursday with his buddy diver, Harry Hannon. The former chairman of the Hook Sub-Aqua Club and former vice-president and executive officer of Comhairle Fo-Thuinn was a friend of Mr Colfer and his brother.
It is understood that Mr Colfer's relatives and friends were upset that no dive had taken place on the vessel by the Naval Service on Thursday, and asked Mr O'Connor if he would make an attempt.
Mr O'Connor and Mr Hannon are trained in using rebreathing equipment, which allows divers to stay longer at depth, and have been involved in many of the major search and recovery operations off the south coast in recent years, including the Pisces sinking off Fethard-on-Sea, Co Wexford, in July 2002.
Dom McGlinchey, president of the council, expressed sympathies to the families of the two fishermen who died and Mr O'Connor yesterday. He rejected criticisms made by the Irish Coast Guard yesterday of the decision by civilian divers to make the descent in the weather conditions.
"Billy O'Connor was a highly respected diver with knowledge and expertise of this area and there is no way that he and Harry would embark on such a dive if it was not safe," Mr McGlinchey said. Both were trained in extended search and recovery and Mr O'Connor had also trained many club divers, he said.
"The two identified the boat, were unable to locate the body of Mr Colfer and were very close to the surface on a decompression stop when something happened," Mr McGlinchey said.
Decompression stops are undertaken when returning from depth to allow gases extra time to be released from the system. The two divers would have used a line during the expedition and had their own rigid inflatable vessel.
The Irish Coast Guard has confirmed that an exclusion zone had been lifted later on Thursday, as marine investigators had no need for it and there was no pollution.
However, the divers had been advised against going out.
The Naval Service has also rejected criticisms of its role, made in the Dáil on Thursday by Sinn Féin TD for Dublin South-West Seán Crowe.
Mr Crowe said Naval Service personnel had threatened criminal prosecution if anyone breached the exclusion zone.
"We do not have the remit to impose an exclusion zone," a Naval Service spokesman said.
Naval Service divers were engaged in recompression at the Naval base in Haulbowline yesterday in preparation for the search of the lobster boat.
Plans were being made to transport their recompression chamber and remotely-operated vehicle to the site by the Irish Lights vessel, Granuaile, which has a stable platform and the ability to lift a vessel if necessary.
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The Galway lifeboat was called to assist the Aran island cargo ferry yesterday when the vessel ran aground shortly after leaving Galway docks. The 40m Mamaia, owned by Lasta Mara Teo, was on a delivery run to Inis Mór from Galway when it ran ashore at the Galway enterprise park.
A line was thrown aboard by the lifeboat and the vessel was refloated on the rising tide. None of the four on board sustained any injuries.
