Unpublished Irish Coast Guard internal report reveals four volunteers struggled with safety equipment as they tried to survive a vessel capsize

An unpublished internal report for the Irish Coast Guard reveals that four volunteers struggled with their safety equipment as they tried to survive a vessel capsize off Inch beach, Co Kerry almost nine years ago.

The report for the Irish Coast Guard documents how one crewman who did manage to inflate his lifejacket when thrown into the water found himself “gasping for air” .

He had to “prize the bladders of the lifejacket apart to breath” before he believes he “may have lost consciousness”, the internal report says.

All four Dingle Coast Guard volunteers were in the water for about 10 minutes, with three managing to make it ashore after their rigid inflatable boat (RIB) capsized during a search and rescue mission on August 25, 2014.

All four were airlifted to Tralee General Hospital by the Shannon-based Rescue 115 helicopter.

The internal report by Maritime SAR Services Ltd for the Irish Coast Guard on the Dingle incident is central to the subsequent investigation into the death of Irish Coast Guard volunteer Caitriona Lucas two years later off the Clare coast, as the circumstances were very similar.

As with the RIB on which Ms Lucas was a crew member on September 12, 2016, the Dingle RIB on August 25, 2014 was operating in a “surf zone” – contrary to Irish Coast Guard policy – where the vessel was exposed to, and caught by, breaking waves.

As with the Clare incident, there were problems with safety equipment and with communication.

However, the 2014 incident was not investigated by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB), and the findings of the Irish Coast Guard’s own internal report completed in February 2015 were not widely circulated to its volunteers around the coast.

This factor was highlighted by the MCIB in its inquiry into Ms Lucas’s death.

The four Dingle crew were responding to a call about surfers in difficulty, when their RIB capsized at 19.52 about 250 metre off Inch strand in late August 2014.

Sea conditions were rough, and the RIB had been trying to outrun a breaking wave when it capsized the vessel.

Three crewman stated that they attempted to inflate their personal flotation devices (PFDs) but were “not able to”, the report states.

It states that one crewman successfully activated his PFD, but found that this “pushed his helmet and made it difficult for him to breathe”.

“He was gasping for air. He attempted to, but could not undo his helmet chin strap. He had to prize the bladders of the lifejackets apart to breath. He has very little memory after this. He wonders if he lost consciousness?” the report states.

The report said “there is information to suggest that in some instances PPE [safety equipment] contributes to the difficulties experienced in surf” by the four volunteers.

The internal report said that not all pre-launch procedures were followed, there were communication issues, and noted that management and administrative responsibilities placed up the local Irish Coast Guard volunteer-in-charge were “excessive”.

The report included 20 recommendations, with top of the list being a direction that the Irish Coast Guard should review and develop policies and procedures governing “responses to incidents in surf conditions”.

Not all of the 20 recommendations had been implemented when Ms Lucas lost her life on September 12, 2016, the MCIB report into her death noted.

Maritime lawyer Michael Kingston, who is representing the Lucas family at the resumed preliminary inquest into her death on Monday (June 12), described as “truly shocking” the fact that the Inch incident “in all its similarities was not investigated by a statutory body – an independent marine accident investigation unit”.

He claimed Ms Lucas’s death “would have been avoided” if there had been an independent inquiry into the Dingle Coast Guard RIB capsize.

Asked to comment on why the Dingle incident was not investigated by the MCIB, the Department of Transport said it “will be engaging fully in supporting the upcoming coroner’s inquest into the death of Caitríona Lucas”, and said she was “a very highly regarded and valued volunteer in the Coast Guard who tragically lost her life in the course of duty”.

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