A Franco-Spanish fishing trawler which landed catch in Castletownbere in west Cork a fortnight ago has been quarantined in Spain after a number of crew members tested positive for coronavirus.
Fortunately members of the 15 man crew didn’t disembark in Cork. No port officials boarded the vessel.
The vessel is quarantined at the port of Celeiro, located between La Coruna and Gijon in the north of Spain.
A crew member had complained of feeling sick on the journey from Ireland to Spain. The person subsequently tested positive for Covid-19.
Arising out of the close proximity in which all 15 strong crew had been living for several weeks, all were subjected to precautionary tests. More than half the crew tested positive for Covid-19. Thankfully, all of the crew members are expected to recover.
Those who do not require medical assistance will be asked to isolate for two weeks.
Meanwhile, a number of protests have been held in fishing communities in Ireland with locals asking that strict virus control measures be adhered to in the operation of foreign vessels. The majority of Irish fishing vessels haven’t been operational for the last sixty days.
In Dingle, foreign owned vessels were blocked from unloading their catch because of the protests.
