Search begins for missing crewman

An engineer on a cargo ship is feared drowned after going missing in the Irish Sea.

The 22-year-old man was reported missing this morning as the boat headed south past Arklow off the coast of Co Wicklow.

Coast Guard helicopters from Waterford and Dublin were involved in the search with RNLI crews.

The man from Slovakia was last seen on the boat at 10pm last night as it headed south a few miles off the entrance to Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

Coast Guard officials said the alarm was raised at 8.45am this morning.

The LE Ciara has assumed the role of on scene coordinator in the search for a missing crewman from a merchant vessel off the East Coast.

The Air Corps have also deployed a CASA Maritime Surveillance aircraft to assist with the search using its specialist maritime surveillance suite.

The LE Ciara is co-coordinating the search between the Defence Forces, the Coastguard and UK search assets.

The LE Ciara is currently shadowing the Antiguan registered 'Sehn Sirius' on a retracing route from South to North to search for the missing crewman.