By:
Lorna Siggins - Irish Times
Supertrawler Atlantic Dawn sold a decade ago but deal works against smaller operations
The former owners of Atlantic Dawn, which once was Ireland’s biggest-ever trawler, stand to gain a bounty of at least €135 million from a series of decisions by successive governments about the rules pertaining to the Irish fleet.
The Dutch supertrawler Annelies Ilena – the renamed Atlantic Dawn – after being detained by the Irish Navy and Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority off the Donegal coast in November 2013. Photograph: Niall Duffy
Although the supertrawler was sold to a Dutch multinational in 2007, its one-time owners, the Atlantic Dawn Group, were able to retain its so-called “fishing asset” – its hugely valuable tonnage, kilowatts and quota rights under European Union rules.
Ironically, the value of those assets was increased substantially by the European Commission’s decision, more than a decade ago, to hinder the efforts of owners of other Irish vessels, mainly in the pelagic supertrawler category, to upgrade their fleet.
Fifteen years ago, an Irish civil servant warned that a deal brokered by then EU commissioner David Byrne and then taoiseach Bertie Ahern would hand the Atlantic Dawn Group extraordinary influence. This has “come to pass”, say industry sources.
Posted Date:
9 January 2017