The cause of a severe fire that saw a pleasure yacht sink on the Shannon in 2020 has been officially confirmed.
According to a newly released report from the Marine Casualty Investigations Board, the fire was a result of an electrical defect in the engine compartment.
Four people were forced to evacuate the vessel onto a passing boat near Jamestown, County Leitrim on September 6th, 2020.
The Linssen Grand Sturdy 35 Motor Cruiser was rented to a group of four people by Carrickcrafts from their base in Carrick on Shannon on the 5th of September.
The next day, the clients departed Carrick and headed south where, after 45 minutes of the journey, the crew noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment.
Following emergency calls, the clients were advised to moor or ground the vessel on the shore and evacuate via land or water.
According to witness statements, the crew were forced to evacuate onto a passing charter boat, with the Linssen Motor cruiser left to drift.
On attending the scene, emergency services, including units of the fire brigade, were able to access the shore adjacent to the burning boat through a farmers field.
While the fire was extinguished, the vessel sank to a depth of 8 metres.
Following its recovery by salvage operators in October 2020, the boat was examined by a forensic analyst from Zeletech Forensic Investigators.
Severe fire damage was recorded to all combustible material above the waterline, with the engine, electrical system, salon and hull all badly damaged.
A thorough investigation found no evidence of deliberate or accidental damage to the engine, with evidence suggesting a fault in the electrical installation in the engine compartment caused a fire that spread across the vessel.
While the severity of the fire destroyed much of the physical evidence, the inspector ordered the inspection of all electronics on CarrickCrafts sister vessels.
