The
wreck of the Tall Ship Astrid will be raised from the sea after salvage plans
gained approval from the Irish Coast Guard.

The
Dutch-owned tall ship ran aground on rocks close to Kinsale on 24 July. All 30
crewmembers were rescued in a large scale multi-agency rescue operation.

Divers
who assessed the Astrid in the wake of its sinking initially thought she was
unlikely to sail again. However, experts believe it is possible to salvage the
95-year-old vessel, which was converted into a sail training ship in the 1980s
at Portland Harbour.

A
Department of Transport spokesman said: ‘The Coast Guard has agreed the salvage
plan submitted by the insurers of the Astrid, a timescale for the operation
will become clearer once a start date has been finalised.’

In
the meantime, an exclusion order remains in place around the vessel, with regular
coastguard patrols.

Picture credit: RNLI