A naval visitor to Dublin Port called at the weekend in the form of a Dutch motor training ship, which arrived from Scotland and to which it has returned this morning (Tuesday July 1), writes Jehan Ashmore.
HNLMS Van Kinsbergen (A902) is a purpose-built training vessel for the Royal Netherlands Navy and therefore features two bridges, one for navigation and one for training purposes. This additional bridge is located directly next to the main bridge but one deck down and is amidships ahead of the funnel.
The all-white training ship, like many foreign naval vessels, took a berth at the North Wall Quay Extension, having sailed from Glasgow. This had involved an en-route passage Afloat tracked to the Isle of Skye, from where it passed under the road bridge to the island at Loch Alsh before returning southbound for the Irish capital.
This year marks more than 25 years in commission of the Damen-built vessel at Gorinchem, which is homeported at the naval base in Den Helder. The somewhat stout-looking vessel is just over 41m in length, and on board are 16 trainees along with a crew of 7 personnel. It is understood the ship carries out 200 days of sail training annually for students of the Royal Naval College, also based in Den Helder.
Its weekend call to Dublin by HNLMS Van Kinsbergen is not new, as the small vessel has over the years docked further upriver along Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, which lines the south bank of the Docklands Quarter.
Yesterday morning the training ship departed with a passage back through the Irish Sea and the North Channel, with its current position this morning between the Scottish mainland and the island of Kerrera off Oban.
The west coast port is busy with CalMac ferry routes serving islands along with the marine maintenance depot of the Northern Lighthouse Board, the General Lighthouse Authority responsible for waters surrounding Scotland and the Isle of Man. This is also where the NLB aids to navigation tenders are based.
