#ferry - Commanders who took a decision of an Irish Ferries ship to “run ahead of” a Status Orange storm writes The Journal.ie led to multiple injuries and extensive damage to freight cargo, a report has found.

Ten passengers and two crew members were injured when the MV Epsilon was caught during Storm Imogen while en route from Cherbourg in France in February 2016, (see Afloat's report).

The Italian-built ship hit winds of 60 knots in what one observer said was probably the “worst ever” crossing from France, adding that it was “lucky the ship was not lost”.

A report by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB) into the incident found that the issue may have arisen because of a reliance upon an outdated weather forecast.

It also raised concerns over how decisions were made by both masters on the ship before it sailed.

According to the report, the night-time duty master voiced concerns about the impending storm during his hand over to the senior master at 7.00am on 7 February.

However, he was overruled by the day-time duty master – the ship’s senior master – and the sailing was prosecuted as scheduled.

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#Coastguard - Poor weather conditions forced the Irish Coast Guard to abort its search for a missing fisherman off the Clare coast yesterday evening (Monday 8 February).

As Breaking News reports, the missing individual is understood to have fallen overboard from a fishing trawler in the North Atlantic some 330km off Clare.

The Shannon-based coastguard SAR helicopter Rescue 115 was dispatched to the scene but was forced to return to base within half an hour due to the worsening conditions as Storm Imogen swept in.

The long-range mission came just days after the medevac of a crewman from a Russian vessel off Valentia last Friday (5 February), as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

#StormImogen - Met Éireann has issued a Status Orange alert for all coastal areas from midnight tonight (Sunday 7 February) as Storm Imogen sweeps in.

The warning is already in effect for mariners in all Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea with south-west to west games or strong gales expected, reaching storm force over night from Carnsore Point to Mizen Head to Slyne Head.

Cork and Kerry are expected to bear the brunt of this latest Atlantic depression, with mean wind speeds between 65 and 75kmh and gusts of up to 120kmh.

A Status Yellow wind warning has been declared for Clare, Limerick and Waterford active from 2am tonight, with mean wind speeds and gusts only slightly less severe.

And nationwide there is a Status Yellow weather advisory in place from midnight, with "extreme waves" between 12 and 15m predicted along the South West and West Coasts.

It follows a blustery fortnight that began with Storm Jonas – which brought much of the north-eastern US to a standstill with heavy snowfall and blizzards – buzzing north-west of Britain and Ireland, followed quickly by Storm Gertrude and most recently Storm Henry.