Gardaí are continuing to question a man in connection with the death of a woman aboard a ferry that arrived at Rosslare Europort yesterday evening.The ship's captain made an emergency call about 30 minutes before docking, and emergency services, along with a significant presence of gardaí, were waiting for its arrival at 5:30 pm from Fishguard, Wales.
The woman's body was discovered in a bathroom, and she was pronounced dead at the scene after an apparent confrontation. Gardaí are working to determine the full circumstances of the incident. The area has been designated as a crime scene, and the death is being treated as suspicious. Authorities are awaiting the results of a post-mortem to establish the cause of death. Gardaí believe a small group of individuals who were known to each other may have been involved. The Stena Nordica ferry was held at port, its return journey was cancelled, and passengers were rerouted to the Irish Ferries service to Pembroke. The man was arrested on board the ferry and is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act at a local garda station, where he can be questioned for up to 24 hours. Gardaí have stated they are following a clear line of inquiry and are not currently seeking anyone else. Speaking to South East RadioNews Wexford TD George Lawlor said, "The information that we have at the moment is that there was a shocking incident of violence that took place on the two o'clock sailing from Fishguard to Rosslare which has resulted in the tragic death of a female passenger. This is a shocking outcome and is one that we certainly never would like to see or expect on our regular Rosslare sailings and our sympathies go to the family of the women involved and we do hope that the Gardai can get to the bottom of what actually happened in this dreadful and tragic incident." This morning’s 8:15 sailing to Fishguard has been cancelled as investigations continue on the ship Rosslare councillor Ger Carthy said, "There is an air of shock, for this type of thing to happen on board a ship. Enroute to the Port of Rosslare Harbour. It's a relatively quiet piece of national infrastructure and we have very seldom had these type of incidents, but unfortunately that did happen at approximately five o'clock."