Tag Archives: F/V Ocean Pioneer

Thirteen year old Fisherman home after seven weeks of tuna fishing with his dad

After much pleading, Liam Deasy’s mother, Monica said she and his father, Niall, agreed to allow him to travel from Killybegs to Union Hall on board the F/V Ocean Pioneer. ‘We thought he’d be happy with that but he talked us ‘round,’ said Monica. Liam joined his dad, his cousins, and a reliable crew, when they went tuna fishing on June 28th. ‘He was only meant to go for two weeks. I was supposed to collect him when they made their first landing, but he enjoyed it so much he didn’t want to come home,’ said Monica. Liam’s grandfather and father are all fishermen, which would account for his abiding interest in all things maritime-related. >click to read< 09:59

Nelson-based fishing crews adrift from Coronavirus during lockdown

The crew of Nelson-based fishing vessel Ocean Pioneer has spent the last nine weeks in a boat bubble, catching scampi on the Chatham Rise as the world was changed by Covid-19. Skipper Blair Alderson and his crew of five deckhands and a chief engineer departed Nelson two weeks’ prior to the March 26 level 4 lockdown.,, Damage to the boat’s television dome on the second day of the first trip restricted their news updates to emails from home and chatter with other boats in the vicinity. The crew were able to truly grasp the lockdown situation when they unloaded their first catch at Port Nelson in the midst of level 4 lockdown. >click to read< 07:52