Displaying items by tag: Numbers Plummet

26th January 2018

Refugees Rescued by Irish Naval Service in Mediterranean Plummets

Refugees rescued by the Irish Naval Service fell in numbers from 7,029 to 1,888 after a change in policy. Above: Naval Service flagship, LÉ Eithne in the Mediterranean.

#Navy - Refugees rescued by Irish Naval Service vessels involved in humanitarian operations fell in numbers from 7,029 in 2016 to 1,888 last year, after a change in policy to focus on security operations targeting smugglers and a drop in the number of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea.

As The Irish Times writes, in July 2017, the Government received approval to join the EU’s Operation Sophia, as part of the EUnavforMed (EU Naval Force in the Mediterranean). Previously the Irish navy’s search and rescue work at sea was carried out as part of a bilateral agreement with Italy called Operation Pontus.

Up to July, 1,187 people trying to cross the Mediterranean were rescued by the Irish navy vessel LÉ Eithne, according to figures on Operation Pontus from the Department of Defence, with 701 rescued over the second half of the year.

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Competitions

The most significant events for the Half Ton Class has been the annual Half Ton Cup which was sailed under the IOR rules until 1993. More recently this has been replaced with the Half Ton Classics Cup. The venue of the event moved from continent to continent with over-representation on French or British ports. In later years the event is held biennially. Initially, it was proposed to hold events in Ireland, Britain and France by rotation. However, it was the Belgians who took the ball and ran with it. The Class is now managed from Belgium.