Two ships purchased from the New Zealand government to bolster Ireland’s Naval Service fleet are due to arrive in Cork Harbour on Sunday evening (14 May), according to RTÉ News.

Afloat.ie previously reported on the €26 million deal to purchase the twin naval cutters, which were loaded onto a cargo ship in Auckland more than a month ago.

The inshore patrol vessels, which were custom-built in Australia for the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2009, have already been given their Naval Service pennant numbers but have yet to be renamed.

A competition to choose new names for the vessels was launched late last year, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The duo will replace the LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara which were recently decommissioned.

RTÉ News has more on the story HERE.

The Journal reports that the Defence Forces have confirmed the deployment of a Naval Service vessel to the Mediterranean off North Africa to join an operation targeting arms smugglers in Libya.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the deployment as part of Operation Irini is expected to begin in June for a number of weeks. It will mark the first overseas deployment for the Naval Service since the humanitarian mission Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean in 2018 and 2019.

It’s reported that the crew of the LÉ William Butler Yeats will commence training for the operation immediately. The Journal has more on the story HERE.

Interviewees for the Independent Review Group into sexual harassment, bullying and discrimination in the Defence Forces have reported that Naval Service vessels were among locations where sexual assaults took place.

Advice was given to female members of the Defence Forces to “maintain two locks on their cabin or bedroom doors if there has been an attempt to assault or forcibly enter their sleeping quarters in the past”, the review says.

“ Interviewees reported barricading of quarters to prevent sexual assault,” the Independent Review Group report into the Defence Forces (IRG-DF) says.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who has announced a statutory inquiry into how complaints were handled, has said he is “shocked” and “disgusted” by the findings of the report.

The review group was established after serious allegations were made about the Defence Forces by members of the Women of Honour (WoH) group.

Tánaiste Micheál Martin, who has announced a statutory inquiry into how complaints were handled, has said he is “shocked” and “disgusted” by the findings of the Independent Review of the Defence Forces

The WoH group comprises female Defence Forces members who acted as whistleblowers over bullying and sexual harassment in their military lives, as highlighted in an RTÉ Radio documentary by Katie Hannon in 2021.

The group has welcomed the decision to establish a statutory inquiry.

In the review, 88% of female respondents surveyed said they had experienced one or more forms of sexual harassment, and reported sexual assaults took place “in barracks, naval boats, swimming areas, shower facilities and while abroad on tours”.

They also reported regular spiking of drinks, grooming of younger recruits, and intimate images being surreptitiously taken.

Interviewees described experiences including "tubbing",when an individual was put in a barrel which may contain items such as chemicals, oil, fuel or animal carcasses as a form of punishment.

“Beasting" and "mobbing" where an individual is harassed and isolated to ultimately "make life so difficult that they resign their post" were also described by interviewees.

"Different sources available to the IRG-DF conclude that, at best, the Defence Forces barely tolerates women and, at its worst, verbally, physically, sexually and psychologically abuses women in its ranks,”the review found.

It found that some members of Defence Forces' management "abuse their positions of power and command" in their treatment of subordinates.

Martin said the statutory inquiry into the report's findings should be established before the end of the year.

Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieut-Gen Seán Clancy described the review findings as “stark” and said the military needs “to change”.

He said the Defence Forces "accept the findings" of the review, and would work with the Tánaiste and the Department of Defence to "fulfil all of the approved recommendations".

The Government has agreed to implement a number of measures and reforms to address the issues identified in the report, and an external oversight body will be established to ensure implementation of the recommendations.

The full report is here

A German-registered Spanish fishing vessel is being escorted into West Cork by the Naval Service after it was detained off the southwest coast earlier this week.

The vessel is the fourth detention to have been recorded by the Naval Service this year.

The Naval Service ship LÉ Samuel Beckett inspected the fishing vessel during routine patrols and detained it on February 7th.

It is expected to reach port at the weekend, where it will be handed over to the Garda Siochána.

Last month, a separate German-registered Spanish vessel was detained by the LÉ George Bernard Shaw.

At a court sitting, the skipper of the Pesorsa Dos was charged with 12 offences relating to alleged illegal fishing activities in Irish waters on various dates in January this year.

A German-registered Spanish vessel which was involved in a confrontation off the Scottish coast over two years ago has been detained by the Naval Service off the southwest coast.

The 26m Pesorsa Dos was detained last Saturday (January 21) by the LE George Bernard Shaw, but it took several days to haul its gear before it could be escorted into Castletownbere, Co Cork yesterday (Thurs Jan 26).

It is also understood that the fishing vessel’s boarding ladder broke when the Naval Service patrol crew was trying to gain access to the vessel.

The same vessel from La Coruna in northern Spain was previously detained in the Irish exclusive economic zone, 250 miles north of Donegal’s Malin Head, in July 2020.

The LE George Bernard Shaw

A Naval Service spokeswoman confirmed that a German-registered vessel was being escorted to port but could not confirm where the detention occurred, beyond stating it was “within the Irish exclusive economic zone”.

The spokeswoman could not give details on the nature of the alleged infringements.

In June 2020, the Spanish-owned vessel was accused of attempting to foul the propellor of Shetland-owned demersal trawler, Alison Kay, some 30 miles west of the Shetland Islands, by towing a heavy warp across its track.

The British authorities said they could not investigate the incident as it was outside the 12 nautical mile limit. It occurred just a month before its detention in Irish waters.

Navy staff shortages

Recruitment and staffing shortages mean that the Naval Service will only have four operational patrol vessels from next week, the Department of Defence has confirmed.

It has confirmed that two patrol ships, LÉ Roisín and LÉ Niamh, are being put into “operational reserve”, and the fleet will be down to four ships from February 1st.

“The decision to place the LÉ Roisín and LÉ Niamh into operational reserve is aimed at stabilising operational delivery and assisting in Naval Service regeneration which entails the prioritisation of personnel training and development of existing Naval Service personnel,” the department said.

“The Naval Service is satisfied that, notwithstanding the withdrawal from operational duties of the LÉ Roisin, they will be able to fulfil their current maritime security and defence commitments, including commitments provided for under the current service level agreement with the Sea Fisheries Protection Agency,” the department said.

The Irish Naval Vessel  LÉ James Joyce was positioned off Sandycove Point on Dublin Bay for over an hour today, close to the Martello Tower made famous by Irish writer James Joyce in his novel Ulysses.

The special Bloomsday tribute was made by the ship that was named after the author in 2015.

LE James Joyce departed Dún Laoghaire Harbour at 1430hrs and made its way across Scotsman's Bay where there were a number of shoreside Joycean gatherings being held.

Bloomsday celebrates Joyce's iconic Ulysses through performances, meals, readings, and dressing-up, especially at Sandycove.

As part of the celebrations, LÉ James Joyce flew "the oldest flag afloat, the flag of the province of Desmond & Thomond, three crowns on a blue field, the three sons of Milesius," as Joyce describes in Ulysses.

The Irish Naval Vessel  LÉ James Joyce (left) was positioned off Sandycove Point on Dublin Bay, close to the Martello Tower (right) on Bloomsday.

The Napoleonic tower is where the author spent six nights in 1904. The opening scenes of his 1922 novel Ulysses take place there, and the building is a place of pilgrimage for Joyce enthusiasts, especially on Bloomsday.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the Irish Government has announced the purchase of two naval vessels from New Zealand.

The two inshore patrol vessels — formerly the HMNZS Rotoiti and HMNZS Pukaki — will bolster Ireland’s maritime security as the Naval Service continues its recruitment drive.

Announcing the deal today, Sunday 13 March, Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister Simon Coveney said the purchase is part of plans to address “ongoing challenges” and regenerate the Naval Service.

“The investment of some €26 million in these two inshore patrol vessels will provide replacements for LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara,” he added.

“These inshore patrol vessels have a lesser crewing requirement than the ships they replace, and will provide the Naval Service with an enhanced capacity to operate and undertake patrols in the Irish Sea on the East and South East Coast. This will allow the remaining fleet to focus on operations elsewhere.”

The minister said the two ships are expected to arrive in Ireland next year following works to restore them to Lloyd’s Classification.

He also reiterated that plans for the replacement of the flagship LÉ Eithne with a new multi-role vessel are under way “with consultants having been engaged with a view to initiating a tender competition in due course”.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Seán Clancy said: “The changing face of maritime security in the Irish Sea has highlighted a requirement for a specialist inshore capability in order to protect Irish interests.

“The procurement of these vessels strengthens the ability of the Naval Service to fulfil its role in protecting our national sovereignty and constitutes a strong vote of confidence in the Defence Forces by the minister and Government.”

Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, Commodore Michael Malone added: “The acquisition of the IPVs will allow the Naval Service to continue to modernise and tackle the dynamic and ever changing maritime environment that we operate in 365 days a year.”

An exhibition about the Naval Service has opened at the Passage West Maritime Museum, recounting how the Cork Harbour village has been a strong provider of Navy personnel.

Intriguingly, it includes a detailed account of 21 years’ service by local man Jim McIntyre, who enlisted at the age of 15 in October 1956. Recalling the days of corvettes and minesweepers, bought from the Royal Navy, he recounts that “crews were scarce in those days.”

Naval Exhibition at Passage West Museum

That challenge faces the Naval Service again today, pointed out at the opening of the exhibition which follows the Commission on the Defence Forces Review that highlighted the need to increase personnel and ships.

Jim Mcintyre in the Engine Room of L.E.Maev in 1964

The Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service, Michael Malone, accepts that this is a challenging time for the Service. “But we have seen peaks and troughs over the years. People are slow to engage in joining the defence forces, but we will turn that corner. We will get the personnel we need. Seagoing is something you have to be dedicated to. We will get the personnel we need,” he told me in an interview at the Naval Base.

Podcast below

Ireland’s Naval Service fleet should be expanded to an "optimum capacity" of nine vessels as part of a radical overhaul for “enhanced capability”, the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces recommends.

The publication of the report was welcomed today (Wednesday 9 February) by Defence Minister Simon Coveney, who said it “poses serious questions that we as a society must carefully consider”.

Among its numerous recommendations, the report advocates for a level of ambition for the future of the Defence Forces that requires “accelerating the upgrade of the naval fleet and operating it to an optimum level through double crewing and greater use of technology” — with an attendant 50% increase in annual defence spending.

An accelerated programme of naval vessel replacement “to ensure a balanced fleet of nine modern ships by early in the next decade” would be required, it adds.

And building on this, a further level of ambition calls for the fleet to expand to 12 ships — “Tier 3-type OPVs” — in order to “provide the Naval Service with maritime capabilities for defending the State from a conventional military attack”.

Currently the Naval Service has a fleet of nine vessels of which only five are operational.

In addition, the report recommends that the Naval Service, along with the Air Corps, should become a service “on a par with the Army, contributing to a joint strategic command at Defence Forces Headquarters and Joint Force Command.

“Given the importance of service parity, the names of [the Air Corps and Naval Service] should change to the Air Force and the Navy respectively,” it says.

A new role of Chief of the Navy would be created, and this person would be "responsible for maintaining an enhanced national Recognised Maritime Picture (RMP) that will monitor Irish territorial waters and Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone, and any infringements on Irish sovereignty would be detected and responded to".

Minister Coveney said the hopes the report “will foster real debate about the defence that we need as a modern European country”, noting that its recommendations “are forthright and challenge the status quo”.

He added that given its “significant recommendations”, a four-month process “to allow for detailed consideration” will now commence, involving consultation across Government departments and input from stakeholders, before he presents a proposed response and “high-level action plan” to the Government.

The release of the report comes in the wake of recent controversy surrounding Russia’s plans to conduct live-fire military drills within the waters of Ireland’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

As former Defence Forces chief of staff Mark Mellett told Lorna Siggins on the Wavelengths podcast, the situation poses questions for the EU’s defence strategy as well as Ireland’s policy of neutrality.

The Naval Service and Air Corps say they have observed north America, Russian and French vessels both inside and outside Ireland's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) over the past week.

These observations include two Russian warships within the Irish EEZ and a third warship believed to be a NATO vessel.

In footage captured between January 31st and February 3rd, the Defence Forces press office say they have also observed a British RAF combat aircraft south-east of and outside the Irish exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The international naval vessels are transmitting on the automatic identification system (AIS) and are outside Irish territorial waters – as in the 12- mile limit – the press office states.

Russian Vessel EKHOROV

The Defence Forces press office says that this activity is “in line with UN Convention on the Law Of the Sea (UNCLOS) rules for transit through international waters”.

French Navy 793

It says that under UNCLOS, there is “no restriction on warships operating on the high seas inside and outside of EEZs”.

US Navy 80

This point has been disputed this week by Prof Clive Symmons of Trinity College, Dublin, who is an international maritime law expert, and who says Ireland is within its rights to decline requests for military exercises within its EEZ.

However, military ships are allowed a right of freedom of passage under UNCLOS, he says.

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon

Images were taken by the Air Corps Casa maritime patrol aircraft “Charlie 252” include a number of US, Russian, French and UK warships south-east of and outside Irish EEZ during daylight hours between January 31st and February 3rd.

RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets were observed in the vicinity of these ships, and the Naval Service patrol ship LE Samuel Beckett was in the area.

Russian vessel 055

During nighttime on the same dates, “Charlie 252” observed two Russian warships within Ireland’s EEZ, and a “third warship also in the vicinity which is believed to be a NATO vessel”.

Russian vessel 461

All footage and images were taken between 31 Jan - 03 Feb 2022.