Asgard II

''Asgard II'' was the Irish national sail training vessel, until she sank in the Bay of Biscay in 2008. A brigantine, she was commissioned on 7 March 1981 and purpose-built as a sail training vessel by Jack Tyrrell in Arklow, County Wicklow. She was named after the ''Asgard'', a yacht which smuggled weapons for the Irish Volunteers in 1914.Department of Defence – About Us
. Department of Defence. Retrieved 13 September 2008.

The vessel was owned by the Irish state and operated by Coiste an Asgard (a founding member of Sail Training International). For a period of time in the early eighties, the vessel was commissioned by UCC for use in marine research. ''Asgard II'' had a traditional figurehead in the form of a carving of Granuaile.About the ''Asgard''
Official ''Asgard II'' homepage. Retrieved 14 September 2008.

Sinking

''Asgard II'' sank in the Bay of Biscay on 11 September 2008, southwest of Belle-Île-en-Mer, at .

The five crew and twenty trainees had earlier abandoned the vessel after she started taking on water. ''Asgard II'' was heading from Falmouth to La Rochelle for some routine maintenance.The wreck of the ''Asgard II''
. Indymedia Ireland. Retrieved 13 September 2008.Adventure sailing ship ''Asgard II'' sank off the French coast
Times Online. Retrieved 13 September 2008. Assistance was given by and and two lifeboats from Belle Île, Morbihan, France.

Before the end of 2008, a plan to raise the ship was put to the Irish cabinet. It was hoped that the €3.8 million costs would be paid for by the insurers, with the vessel being raised in spring 2009, given favourable conditions.

The vessel was in a relatively good condition on the sea bed with one of her hull planks damaged; it is unclear whether this damage was caused by impact with the sea bed, or was the cause of the sinking, possibly from a collision with a semi–submerged container. She rests under of water on a sandy seabed with no rocks, and she was "upright on the seabed and salvageable" in September. An early salvage was desirable before damage from winter storms and fishing nets. On 23 February 2009, the then Minister for Defence, Willie O'Dea, announced that the ''Asgard II'' would not be raised. Jimmy Deenihan, spokesperson for the opposition Fine Gael party expressed disappointment:

In 2010, a private team of Irish divers recovered a number of artifacts from the wreck, such as the ship's bell and steering wheel.CEMS divers on Asguard team
– Latest News, CEMS Website

Investigation

The loss of ''Asgard'' was investigated by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board and its final report was released on 27 September 2010. The most likely cause of the accident, the investigation found, was that the ship collided with a submerged object. Although the maintenance and operation of ''Asgard II'' were found to be in excess of that required by the then-current regulations, a recommendation was made that the practice of classing sail training vessels as cargo ships rather than passenger ships should be reviewed.

See also

* '' Dunbrody'', another Irish square rigger
* ''Jeanie Johnston'', another Irish square rigger

References

External links

Official homepage of ''Asgard II''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asgard Ii
Brigantines
Maritime incidents in 2008
Individual sailing vessels
Sail training associations
Tall ships of Ireland
Shipwrecks in the Bay of Biscay
Maritime history of Ireland
1981 ships
History of the Bay of Biscay
Lost sailing vessels