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\n Clogherhead Harbour is one of County Louth\u2019s most important fishing and coastal assets, yet what we are witnessing is a total breakdown in regulation and responsibility.\n <\/p>\n
Independent Councillor Declan Power has condemned the environmental and safety failings at Clogherhead Harbour following the sinking of an illegal fishing trawler last Tuesday night, which could have resulted in a significant diesel spill \u2014 estimated at approximately 1,200 litres \u2014 into the harbour waters.<\/p>\n
Describing the incident as\u00a0\u201cpotentially an environmental and public safety catastrophe,” Cllr. Power, who represents the Clogherhead area, said the event highlights\u00a0\u201congoing failures in the management, oversight, and enforcement of safety and environmental standards at the harbour \u2013 issues I have raised repeatedly with Louth County Council.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a deeply concerning and entirely avoidable situation,\u201d said Cllr. Power. \u201cClogherhead Harbour is one of County Louth\u2019s most important fishing and coastal assets, yet what we are witnessing is a total breakdown in regulation and responsibility. The sinking of this illegal trawler, and the resulting diesel spill, could have triggered an environmental crisis threatening marine life, the local fishing community, and our wider coastal ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cllr. Power confirmed that while approximately 1,200 litres of diesel could have spread throughout the harbour, the situation was ultimately contained with less environmental damage than initially feared. However, a visible slick had coated the water\u2019s surface and brushed against harbour walls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we were very lucky on this occasion. This is no longer just about overcrowding \u2013 this is about public health, safety, and environmental protection,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people of Clogherhead and our local fishing families deserve better than to see their harbour turned into an ecological hazard zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Cllr. Power again called for immediate intervention by Louth County Council, stressing that the current management model for Clogherhead Harbour is\u00a0\u201cno longer fit for purpose\u201d\u00a0and that stronger enforcement and oversight are urgently required.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to acknowledge the swift and coordinated response from Louth County Council, the vessel that sank on Tuesday night was finally raised on Friday, with limited environmental damage reported.\u201d\u00a0said Cllr. Power.<\/p>\n
However, he warned that long-standing issues remain unresolved:<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too long, rules have gone unenforced, dues unpaid, and safety standards ignored. We narrowly avoided an environmental disaster that could have had devastating consequences for local livelihoods, tourism, and marine biodiversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Independent Councillor reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing reform and accountability at every level of harbour management.<\/p>\n
Sean Callaghan of the Environmental Section at Louth County Council provided an update on the situation following his site visit on Friday:<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my visit on Friday, there was no heavy fuel oil noted. This type of vessel would use diesel, not heavy fuel. It was low tide at the time and there was only a very light film, with several metres, near the vessel.<\/p>\n
The appearance can vary depending on tides and wave action, similar to incidents at Hebble Sands in Drogheda Port and at Narrowwater in Carlingford Lough earlier this year.<\/p>\n
According to the oil contingency plan, diesel recovery is not possible \u2014 most will be lost through evaporation and mixing. The placement of oil booms is difficult due to the vessel\u2019s location, as booms are more effective on rivers rather than at sea. Now that the vessel has been raised, there should be no further discharges, though we will continue to monitor the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Clogherhead Harbour is one of County Louth\u2019s most important fishing and coastal assets, yet what we are witnessing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[269],"tags":[1555,1554,18,440,19,17,1557,1551,1550,1558,1559,1556,1552,1553,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-119967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-drogheda-radio","9":"tag-dundalk-radio","10":"tag-eire","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-ie","13":"tag-ireland","14":"tag-job-search","15":"tag-lm-fm","16":"tag-lmfm","17":"tag-lmfm-breakfast-show","18":"tag-lmfm-late-lunch","19":"tag-lmfm-podcast","20":"tag-louth-radio","21":"tag-meath-radio","22":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}