German U-boat on Cork coast to be disabled

The Naval Service has been ordered to remove mines from a German U-boat on the Cork coast amid fears that unauthorised divers may trigger an explosion on the submarine, which is lying close to an underwater gas line.

The Naval Service has inspected the wreck of the UC42 on a number of occasions and recently discovered that seals it had put on the submarine had been tampered with. Unauthorised divers are suspected of having gained access to the site.

The UC42, which sank at the entrance to Cork harbour on September 10, 1917, is laden with mines. It was laying mines from special underwater tubes when an explosion occurred in its stern, resulting in the loss of all 27 crew onboard.