3 May 2016
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
LÉ RÓISÍN
The Irish Naval Vessel LÉ RÓISÍN departed from the Naval Base, Haulbowline, Co Cork on Sunday, (1st May) at 12 noon. The ship is headed to warmer – yet dangerous – waters in the Mediterrean for humanitarian search and rescue operations in conjunction with the Italian authorities.
The ship is commanded by Lieutenant Commander Ultan Finegan, and has a 57 strong crew.
This is the first Naval Service deployment to the Mediterranean under Operation PONTUS in 2016. The Defence Forces personnel that crewed LÉ Eithne, LÉ Niamh and LÉ Samuel Beckett in 2015 rescued a total of 8,592 people during the course of their deployments to the Mediterranean.
LÉ RÓISÍN (P51) is a first-of-class offshore patrol vessel. It is one of the youngest ships in service in the Naval Service fleet, and is named after Róisín Dubh the embodiment of Ireland in the Irish poetic tradition.
