By Andy Spearman
The mystery surrounding the sinking of the Hebble Sand dredger after being moored and slowly disintegrating for almost a decade at Drogheda Port, deepens.
Rumour and theories abound but solid facts are hard to come by. For a start it is not exactly clear who actually owns the vessel.
Yesterday Drogheda Port Company said that they were discussing the future of the Hebble Sand with its owners, who they said was a Northern Ireland company called ABCO Marine Limited.
Today, in a statement to Drogheda Life (see below), the Drogheda Port Company refers to the boat’s owners as a company called Larchville Limited.
Drogheda Life has learned that ABCO Marine changed its name, for no apparent reason, to Hippocampus Marine Ltd on January 31st of this year.
Just days later, on February 4th, Hippocampus Marine was declared insolvent and went into administration with Scott Murray and Tom Keenan of Belfast company, Keenan Corporate Finance Ltd, as joint administrators.
All of these shenanigans had taken place well before Louth County Council, at the behest of Councillor Kevin Callan, wrote to Drogheda Port Company in May seeking clarification on their plans for the vessel which was deteriorating daily.
It has been a long running bone of contention for many Drogheda residents that a public body such as the Drogheda Port Company can seemingly stand by and allow a ship like this to be abandoned and leave it to rot for years seemingly without any concern for the aesthetics of the situation or the environmental impact on the River Boyne.
Others were concerned that the Hebble Sand was an eyesore and the fact that it was moored across the River Boyne from the dHotel was sending out all the wrong signals about the heritage town of Drogheda.
Drogheda Life contacted the Drogheda Port Company overnight asking them for their take on the situation and offering them the chance to clarify the situation from their point of view. They have responded with the following statement:
Drogheda Port Company (DPC) has been in ongoing discussion with representatives of the vessel owners since last year requesting the removal of the vessel from the port.
Initially DPC was advised that the vessel was for sale and that a sale was imminent with potential buyers attending, and the vessel would then be leaving the port.
Statutory inspection by the national authorities was carried out at the owners request to facilitate a potential port departure. It appears that the sale did not proceed.
A question of ownership of the vessel arose in an administration process which commenced earlier this year and DPC sought legal advice to ascertain the legal ownership status in the administration process.
Further discussions and meetings were held by the port company with representatives of the owners seeking details on their plans to remove from the port. DPC advised the owners of the increasing concerns of the company and Louth County Council regarding the unsightliness of the vessel and requested that urgent action be taken to remove the vessel.
The Owners subsequently advised that they were seeking to scrap the vessel and examining the options and available facilities to accommodate a vessel breakup and fully understood the local concerns of both the company and council. Drogheda Port Company have committed considerable time and resource to this issue and continue to do so.
Following the unexpected foundering of the vessel this week, DPC activated its pollution response to mitigate any immediate oil or potential oil leakage from the vessel.
The vessel owners, Larchville Limited, have indicated to the company that they are proceeding to secure and refloat the vessel and will then put a plan in place with the relevant authorities for its removal from the port. DPC continue to liaise with the environmental section of Louth County Council.
There have been several rumours that the sinking was the result of vandalism so Drogheda Life also contacted the Garda Press Office asking them if An Garda Siochana was conducting any criminal investigations into the sinking but they have not responded.
