Seven charges against skipper of Helen Mary
5th March 2025
Seven charges have been brought against the skipper of a German-registered pelagic trawler that was detained off the southwest Irish coast in mid-February. Ireland’s Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) has confirmed that the charges under Irish sea-fisheries law were brought against the skipper of the 116m Helen Mary at a hearing of Cork District Court on 20 February.
The vessel was escorted into Tivoli Docks in the Port of Cork after its detention 65nm off Mizen Head within the Irish EEZ on 16 February by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) patrol vessel Ocean Protector.
Skipper Willem Van Der Boon (44), with an address in the Netherlands, appeared before Cork District Court and faced charges of failure to provide a boarding ladder to facilitate safe and convenient access to the boat, which is required to be in good order, failure to have the ladder positioned securely, and failure to meet step measurement requirements.
Mr Van Der Boon was also charged with having equipment onboard capable of automatically grading horse mackerel by size where no derogation was provided for this, failing to have onboard a discharge capability drawing certified by the competent authorities, and failing to have onboard a drawing relating to the catch-handling capability.
He also faced a charge of failing to comply with a direction made by an SFPA inspector.
He was released on bail to appear before Cork Circuit Criminal Court on 28 April. The court ordered that the vessel be released on the payment of a bond of €425,000.
The detention was made by EFCA officers onboard the Ocean Protector under a joint deployment plan framework. “When operating in EU waters, the EFCA inspectors always have union inspectors from member states onboard, and they are the leading inspectors,” the SFPA said.
This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.50 here.
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