Navy divers leave for Irish Lights vessel
The Granuaile has been contracted from Irish Lights by the coastguard and it’s hoped that a “window” today in atrocious weather conditions will allow it to be used as a diving base by the naval services as they attempt to recover the bodies of the five fishermen who went down with the Pere Charles last Wednesday evening.
The decision to bring in the Granuaile was made to improve safety conditions and provide stability for divers, following Sunday’s aborted attempt when rough seas prevented the team from going far enough into the water.
“The lads were being thrown around,” Chief Muiris Mahon of the navy explained to the Irish Examiner. “They went to about 15 metres but within a second it was back to 10, because of the swell. We just had to get them out.
“Today, instead of diving from a bobbing rigid inflatable boat (RIB) as happened on Sunday, the navy officers will, if the operation goes ahead, be diving from a platform on the Irish Lights ship while using the RIB as a safety boat.”
Yesterday was spent loading more than 12 tonnes of diving equipment onto the ship, including a recompression chamber which weighs three tonnes, a remote operational vehicle (ROV) which weighs about six tonnes, a 600 metre reel, and tanks.
Up to 14 divers will be heading from Dunmore East harbour to the Granuaile today, bringing with them the (RIB) which has been on-site since last Thursday.
A “weather window” is anticipated this morning, with winds expected to reduce from yesterday’s force 6 and 7 strength to about force 3 or 4, while changing direction from south-west to north or north-east and helping to calm the sea waters.
However, that window could well prove a narrow one as south-westerlies are forecast to prevail again this afternoon, at gale force 8.
Members of the navy team hope to set off in the RIB at about 6am or 7am today.
“We don’t want to miss an opportunity,” navy lieutenant Tony O’Regan told the Irish Examiner.
The use of a recompression chamber during the operation will allow the divers to spend longer in the water — between 20 and 30 minutes each — than with a regular sub-aqua kit which would yield a maximum of 15 minutes underwater.
After an hour spent getting equipment ready this morning, weather permitting, the dive operation will then get under way, using two divers at a time with a standby diver at the surface, a safety boat, and a recompression operator.
The divers will all carry cameras on their heads, allowing those back on the ship to assess what’s down there, and once the divers come out of the water, they can’t go down again for at least 24 hours.
In the event of conditions proving unsuitable for divers to enter the water, the ROV can be sent down and operated remotely from the Granuaile by the navy team.
Its cameras can relay pictures from the deep sea and will be used to survey the scene, about two miles off Hook Head, if there’s no way of getting a dive down far enough.
“It’s very frustrating,” added Chief Mahon, “but as soon as the weather clears it will happen.”
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