Naval Service ships rescue 8,631 people from Mediterranean

Irish Naval Service ships rescued 8,631 people during operations in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the response to ongoing refugee crisis during 2015, the Defence Forces have confirmed.

The naval vessels also recovered 39 bodies in the operations as part of their deployment, supporting the Italian Marine Rescue Co-Ordination Centre with search and rescue assistance.

The LE Samuel Beckett returned to Naval Service headquarters at Haulbowline, Co Cork, earlier this month from the Mediterranean, where the LE Eithne and the LE Niamh had also been deployed as part of Operation Pontus earlier in the year in efforts to deal with the humanitarian crisis,

The Naval Service on behalf of the Defence Forces received a People of the Year award for its work in the Mediterranean.

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney said earlier this month that Ireland may send another ship to the region next year. A full assessment is to be undertaken and if the Government agrees to a further deployment it could happen at the end of February or early March.

The Minister added however that it could be a decision for the next government.

In a statement on Naval Service operations this year, the Defence Forces said that in domestic operations the Naval Service boarded 1,076 fishing vessels and 10 arrests were made for alleged infringements of fishing regulations. Irish and UK boats were boarded as were vessels from France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Russia.

The Naval Service patrols 220 million maritime acres of sea - more than 12 times the land mass of Ireland.

The Service’s specialist dive team undertook 43 operations in 2015, including nine search and recovery operations at the request of the Coast Guard and gardaí, during which the remains of six people were recovered.

The dive team also conducted four searches for Customs and Excise, which included searching the hulls of suspect vessels entering Irish ports. The team was also involved in security and berth clearing dives for visiting naval ships.

Irish Naval Service personnel were also involved in an exchange with the Royal Canadian Navy, undertaking fleet navigation and mine clearance diving officer courses in Canada.

Canadian personnel in the exchange were involved in “honing their seamanship skills, primarily in the area of coastal navigation”.

Training exchange initiatives in 2015 “were undertaken with the UK Royal Navy to increase inter-operability” and these will continue next year, the Defence Forces said in accordance with an Irish/UK bilateral agreement on defence co-operation, which was signed in January.