Families hope Pere Charles is lifted today

RELATIVES of the five fishermen lost when the Pere Charles sank in January are hoping that today will finally give them the answers they want about their loved ones.

Salvage experts worked through the night on the operation to upturn the trawler which went down off Hook Head. It’s expected to be lifted from the seabed sometime today.

The salvage operation proceeded as planned after the families of the drowned men had crisis talks yesterday, following contact from the Coast Guard service.

After concerns were expressed by the Coast Guard about a change in the salvage company’s plans, the relatives agreed that the work should continue.

The company, Irish Diving Contractors Ltd, said it wanted to lift the Pere Charles as it lay, upside-down on the seabed.

However, the Coast Guard insisted the original plan, to turn the boat before raising it, should be adhered to. Family members were adamant the salvage company be allowed to proceed as it saw fit. With the weather due to change from calm to stormy, they feared the project could be jeopardised, but agreement was eventually reached.

“We agreed that we would leave them go ahead with what they were doing,” said Bernie O’Connor, daughter of drowned fisherman Billy O’Connor, last evening.

“They’re going to bring the boat to shallow waters and turn it upright then.”

It’s understood that nets are being used to drag the trawler, and that efforts are being made to seal any access points to ensure any bodies or other items which may be on board are not lost in the process.

Coast Guard director Chris Reynolds said he had contacted the families to ensure they had all the facts about the various options.

“If they had views, one way or the other, that would influence our decision.”

The crane barge used on Sunday and Monday to raise the Maggie B left the harbour in Dunmore East after midday, heading for the spot off Hook Head where the Pere Charles has rested for the past 10 months.

Family members watched from the harbour wall as the Dutch-based barge slowly made its way out to sea.

Louise Doyle, fiancée of skipper Tom Hennessy, expressed her frustration with the new delay.

“Time is of the essence now, the weather is going to change, they’re saying, on Thursday, and the Pere Charles is expected to be a bigger job than what the Maggie B was, so we’re just hoping that everything will go our way now,” she said.

Meanwhile, divers from the Garda Water Unit carried out another inspection of the Maggie B.

More work to stabilise that trawler, which sank with the loss of crewmen Glen Cott and Jan Sankowski, took place in preparation for its journey to Arklow for a full examination.