THE WEST AFRICAN crew of a fishing boat that sunk off Galway earlier this year have been granted visas to remain in Ireland following a campaign by their union.

It follows an almost six-month wait for confirmation from the Department of Justice, during which time the four men, who all hail from Ghana, languished undocumented in the State.

They had to manage thanks to charitable donations from the seafarer organisations and by “couch-surfing” with the wider Ghanaian community, according to trade union Unite.

The crew were rescued from their vessel Ambitious after it ran aground off Inis Mór in early March, as part of a multi-agency response that included the Coast Guard and RNLI.

Unite said the case is an example of why better systems are needed to support undocumented workers.

Its representative for the men, Michael O’Brien, welcomed the decision but criticised the months spent awaiting a decision on their status.

The granting of these visas has come as a massive relief to these four fishers. It means that finally, five-and-a-half months after they survived the sinking they have been given a means of legally supporting themselves.

“It is clear that systems need to be in place to support undocumented workers, who in this instance have not been admitted to the national referral mechanism for human trafficking.”

O’Brien initially represented the men while working for the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) but is now representing them via Unite.

“Keep in mind that from the very moment after their rescue these fishers have cooperated with all of the relevant authorities investigating the circumstances of their alleged illegal employment, as well as the sinking,” he said.

The union said the four men have been cooperating with the Workplace Relations Commission and the Marine Survey Office since the sinking nearly six months ago.

Both bodies are carrying out investigations into the sinking, with no conclusions made as of yet.

“Enquiries have been made of them by the authorities about their availability to be witnesses in court should proceedings be initiated against their former employer for alleged breaches of the Employment Permits Act and other maritime non-compliances, to which [the former crew] have agreed,” O’Brien said.

“And yet for the last five and a half months they have had to survive on charitable donations from the ITF Seafarer’s Trust and the Catholic seafarer’s organisation Stella Maris as well support from the wider Ghanaian community with whom they have been couch surfing.”

Raised in the Dáil

Their case has been twice raised in the Dáil, with allegations made by TD Mick Barry that the men were “bogusly” recruited to work in Ireland. Barry said the men first thought they would be working in the UK, only to find themselves working in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast.

Barry further alleged that attempts were made following the sinking by the owner “to send the four men back to Ghana in quicktime” before any authorities have an opportunity to hear of the “ordeal” they allegedly suffered.

Speaking in March, a solicitor for the vessel’s skipper said that he would not make any comment as a marine investigation was underway.

The skipper is not the owner of the boat.

“The incident is subject to a marine investigation and our client will not be making any commentary in advance of such investigation concluding its business,” the solicitor said.