The Clann na nOileáin was first loaded onboard this morning whereas her sister Clann Eagle I will be hoisted this afterrnoon. It is expected that this procedure will take around four hours to complete.
The 234-passenger ferries have been the centre of attention since two previous attempts proved unsuccessful following incidents in the mid-west port.
On the first attempt that took place nearly a fortnight ago, three men onboard the ferry were injured when the ships's crane-sling snapped when handling the 170 tonnes ferry Clann na nOileáin.
Fortunately the ferry was hanging over the water and splashed into Dun Aengus Dock rather than landing on the hold of the 4,078 gross tonnes cargo-vessel Thor Gitta. In the second attempt last
Saturday one of the cargoship's cranes sounded a safety alarm which halted proceedings.
The Danish-flagged Thor Gitta is the second heavy-lift cargoship that has been called in to assist in transporting the two former Aran Islands fast-ferries. The 100m cargoship is owned by Thor Rederi A/S of Svendborg and is expected to depart Galway tommorrow morning.
The first heavylift vessel the German-flagged Patanal grounded in rough seas after dragging its anchor in Casla Bay at the entrance to Rossaveal, where the ferries were originally based in readiness for loading.
Patanal suffered hull damage and was taken into Galway Bay for preliminary repair work. Last week the 7,002grt vessel operated by Harren + Partners, departed the bay to undergo further repairs at a dry-dock in Bremerhaven.
