Political fallout as munitions caught by trawler

Political fallout as munitions caught by trawler

23 September 2020

A WEEKEND security alert in Ardglass sparked a war of words between Republican and Ulster Unionist politicians.

Army technical officers were called to the village on Saturday afternoon to deal with two World War Two munitions which are believed to have been caught up in a fishing net.

It is understood that the devices were found on a trawler which had been fishing in the Irish Sea when its catch was being subsequently off-loaded at the port earlier that morning.

Sinn Fein’s South Down MP Chris Hazzard criticised the discovery of the munitions believed to have come from the Beaufort’s Dyke munitions dump located in a deep trench between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But his remarks were condemned by Ards and North Down councillor Philip Smyth and Upper Bann MLA Doug Beattie, while Baroness Margaret Ritchie has called on the government to provide a detailed inventory of the munitions dumped in the Irish Sea.

When the alarm was raised on Saturday, the harbour area was cordoned off as a precaution to await the arrival of the bomb disposal expert who dealt with both devices.

In a social media post on Saturday, Mr Hazzard said: “Ardglass harbour evacuated as local trawler returns with a special catch in its nets — yet more British Army munitions — completely unacceptable that these munitions are regularly putting our coastal communities in danger in Co Down.” 

In a later post the MP said: “These munitions were dumped in the Irish Sea with little or no concern for the people of Ireland who, increasingly of late, face the consequences of them washing ashore or getting caught in trawler nets.”

The MP’s party colleague, Emma Rogan MLA, described what happened as “totally unacceptable”.

She added: “Yet again, this has placed our local coastal communities in danger and caused huge disruption to people’s lives. The harbour has been evacuated and is currently cordoned off while investigations are underway, and I would urge the public to avoid the area this afternoon.”

Cllr Smyth tweeted: “These munitions are WW2 vintage and are currently being dealt with by Army Technical Officers. But any opportunity to have a go at the Brits, eh Chris?”

In another tweet, Mr Beattie said: “It takes the hate of all things British to a new levels…. now it’s a British WW2 ammunition. Genuinely embarrassed for Chris.”

Confirming that she is pressing the British government to come clean about the weekend incident, Lady Ritchie said she is demanding answers about how a fishing boat managed to snag Second World War munitions in its nets along with its catch.

She has tabled a series of questions in the House of Lords and asked for a statement from government ministers on the event.

In addition, Lady Ritchie has also tabled a series of questions about the massive undersea munitions dump at Beaufort’s Dyke.

Lady Ritchie added: “People in Co Down coastal communities are getting sick and tired of the regular danger and disruption caused by  explosives from this area, either being landed in fishing boats or washed up on local beaches.

“We know that Beaufort’s Dyke was used as an underwater dumping site for unused ammunition after the two world wars and it is thought there are more than a million tonnes of ammunition down there.

“This massive arms dump is far more than just an irritant for our coastal communities. These munitions remain dangerous even after all these years and could well be deadly if someone disturbs or touches them,” she continued, confirming she has asked the government to provide details of assessments it has made of exactly what is in Beaufort’s Dyke and when dumping of munitions there was finally halted.

In addition, she wants ministers to reveal details about incidents involving fishing boats catching explosive devices in their nets over the last decade.

Lady Ritchie added: “To dump more than a million tonnes of arms in this way was totally irresponsible at the time and the effects of this reckless and ill-considered action on our coastal communities is being felt to this day.

“These devices cause real disruption and worry. They remain unstable and dangerous and I want to be assured that the government is doing everything it can to mitigate that danger.”