Displaying items by tag: End of deployment

28th March 2019

End of Naval Service in EU Migrant Rescue Operation in the Mediterranean

LE Eithne AFLOAT adds is seen on completion of a previous deployment in the Mediteranean Sea. The flagship was homeward bound which involved an en-route call via the Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta.

#navy - The deployment of patrol vessels by the Naval Service is to end in the EU's big migrant rescue operation in the Mediterranean.

The move writes Independent.ie follows a decision by the EU to stop maritime patrols of the sea between north Africa and Europe and to focus, instead, on air patrols and closer co-ordination and co-operation with Libyan authorities.

Naval vessel, LE Eithne, with a crew of about 60, was due to return to the Mediterranean at the end of the month.

But the patrol vessel will now remain at home after previously being involved in the rescue of more than 500 migrants from the Mediterranean.

The mandate for the operation, codenamed Sophia, was due to expire on Sunday but will now be extended for a further six months with a similar aim of disrupting people smuggling and trafficking in the Med.

Shannon Foynes Port Information

Shannon Foynes Port (SFPC) are investing in an unprecedented expansion at its general cargo terminal, Foynes, adding over two-thirds the size of its existing area. In the latest phase of a €64 million investment programme, SFPC is investing over €20 million in enabling works alone to convert 83 acres on the east side of the existing port into a landbank for marine-related industry, port-centric logistics and associated infrastructure. The project, which will be developed on a phased basis over the next five years, will require the biggest infrastructure works programme ever undertaken at the port, with the entire 83 acre landbank having to be raised by 4.4 metres. The programme will also require the provision of new internal roads and multiple bridge access as well as roundabout access.