Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the death of a man after his motorboat hit rocks on Lough Derg, Co Tipperary last year, the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) has said.
Patrick Danaher drowned after his seven-metre fibreglass powerboat struck rocks near Youghal Bay, Lough Derg, while travelling at speed close to the shoreline on August 2nd, 2012. He was not wearing a personal flotation device and no distress signals were activated, the MCIB says in a report published last night. A toxicology report with the postmortem results found ethanol levels were within the "toxic range", and Mr Danaher had been socalising the night before.
Clare Island
In another report on the drowning of a lobster fisherman off Clare Island, Co Mayo, on August 14th,2012, the investigation board recommends that the Department of Transport review the criteria for calculating the stability of open fishing boats.
Martin Burns was wearing a personal flotation device when his body was recovered from the water after an extensive search was initiated when he failed to return from a trip to check lobster pots in his motorised six-metre timber currach, Gurteen Lass.
The MCIB cannot be certain what caused the incident, but says weather was not a factor. It suggests that the vessel may have been swept into rocks by tide and swell, or may have capsized beforehand if the string of pots snagged, or if the boat was overladen with equipment.
The radio licence for the boat was invalid, and there may not have been other lifesaving appliances on board, the report notes.
