The Naval Service patrol ship LE Aoife is en route to southern waters to return a tiny passenger to home territory.
Spike, a loggerhead turtle who has been adopted by Kerry since she found herself accidentally in Irish waters, is due to be dropped off somewhere along the Gulf Stream. The marine reptile was washed ashore on Achill Island, Co Mayo, in a fragile state two years ago and was nursed back to health at the Dingle Aquarium, Mara Beo.
Yesterday, the Naval ship renamed her Tina turtle, after the singer. The mission is the first of its type for the Defence wing, and for the LE Aoife which has a better-known reputation for detentions of fishermen.
Under the command of Lieut Cdr Pearse O'Donnell, the ship took possession of the fragile cargo off the north Kerry coast yesterday, and is expected to steam as far south as weather permits before returning to the naval base at Haulbowline at the end of the week. The berth is a special tank, which is equipped to keep Tina suitably damp at all times.
Mr Kevin Flannery of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources in Dingle says Tina has doubled her weight and is ready to resume marine reptile life. Mr Flannery is a rare-fish expert and founder of the aquarium, and has seen many turtles, both leatherback and loggerhead, blown off course into these temperate-cold climes.
Loggerheads are omnivores, being both vegetable and animal feeders. Like all sea turtles, they are an endangered species. They frequent tropical waters and tend to go into thermal shock when swept up into these latitudes, as their reptilian circulatory system is not geared to deal with temperature drops.
Removal of eggs from Caribbean beaches by humans and destruction of coastal habitats has further decreased the turtles' chances of survival without active intervention by conservationists.
A number of North American coastal areas run turtle watches, and sea turtles which come ashore in New York are brought to the New York Zoological Society aquarium for eventual transportation back to warmer waters around Florida.
