Heavy fines or two years in jail for angling skippers who breach safety regulations

BOAT owners hiring out their vessels for angling trips could face up to two years in jail or heavy fines for breaching safety regulations from next summer.

They have been given a year from last June to bring their vessels up to strict standard which they must attain to get a licence.

The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources estimates there are more than 600 boats which offer sea angling trips within three miles of shore.

At the moment, such boats do not require a licence unless they also operate a paying passenger service. Any vessel which carries up to 12 people requires a licence under rules in place for a number of years.

The licensing conditions include requirements that life jackets be available or be worn by all passengers and, depending on the size of the boat, having a life raft, flares, radio and anchor on board.

The department is overseeing the regulations for angling, which form part of the Merchant Shipping Act 2000.

Maurice Mullen, director of the department’s Maritime Safety Directorate, said there will be maximum penalties of up to 127,000 and/or two years in prison if an offence comes before the Circuit Court. Speaking in the wake of the Wexford boating tragedy in which five people died, Mr Mullen said: “A lot of boats used in sea angling already have a passenger licence, so they are up to standard. But the deadline for the new regulations was set in early June and you have to give people time to comply with them.”

However, vessels used for personal leisure or taking out friends remain unregulated although the directorate advises people to carry life jackets and other equipment at all times.

Fine Gael Marine spokesperson Simon Coveney said it was hugely important to make efforts to change people’s behaviour to help avoid future tragedies: “We have to ensure that angling boats meet the regulations as soon as possible so we don’t have a tragic repeat of what happened at the weekend.”

“It’s important to change the mindset of people who go to sea, whether it’s for fun or work. There was a thinking that life jackets were very cumbersome, that’s no longer an excuse,” said Deputy Coveney.

He said that pleasure craft should be licensed the same as all working vessels, and they should also be required to have sufficient life jackets on board to cater for all passengers. “We have managed to successfully bring a lot more people around to wearing seatbelts in cars, there shouldn’t be any difference,” he said.