Navy averts potential ecological disaster off Galway coast

Claire Murphy: 'We could have been looking at a serious pollution incident on the Wild Atlantic Way.'

A potential ecological disaster on Ireland's west coast was averted when the naval service intervened to prevent a cargo vessel laden with oil from crashing against rocks.

Aqua Transporter, which was carrying 32,000 cubic tonnes of fuel and two cubic tonnes of lubricating oil, had lost power and was drifting towards rocks. If it had collided, its contents would have caused a major pollution incident along the Wild Atlantic Way.