AN IRISHMAN is among five sailors who have been detained in Iran after their yacht is reported to have strayed into Iranian waters.
David Bloomer, originally from Malahide, Co Dublin, was on the Kingdom of Bahrain yacht when it was stopped by the Iranian navy while it sailed from Bahrain to Dubai.
A statement issued last nigth by his Team Pindar, which owns the boat, admitted that it may have strayed “inadvertently” into Ira- nian waters.
The boat had been due to take part in the 360-mile Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race, which starts tomorrow.
Mr Bloomer, who is in his early 60s, has been living and working as a radio presenter in Bahrain since the 1980s.
He is also a qualified off-road driving instructor and has travelled through the Sahara, the Amazon in Venezuela, the Namib and Kalahari deserts, the Empty Quarter in Saudi, and the remote Easter Island.
He was formerly a member of Howth Yacht Club and he also rowed with the Trinity College Dublin team.
He used to work as a sales man- ager for IBM before he emigrated to Bahrain.
Mr Bloomer is married but has no children. He has a brother living in Dublin.
The other crew members – Luke Porter, Oliver Smith, Oliver Young and Sam Usher – are British. The statement from Team Pinder said all five are safe and well.
Their families have been informed.
British foreign secretary David Miliband said that officials had contacted their Iranian counter- parts as soon as they became aware of the situation.
He explained: “FCO [Foreign and Commonwealth Office] officials immediately contacted the Iranian authorities in London and in Tehran on the evening of November 25th, both to seek clarification and to try and resolve the matter swiftly.
“Our ambassador in Tehran has raised the issue with the Iranian foreign ministry and we have discussed the matter with the Ira- nian embassy in London. I hope this issue will soon be resolved.
“We will remain in close touch with the Iranian authorities, as well as the families.”
