Galway Harbour had an unexpected New Year's visitor, when an Irish Naval Ship arrived after being damaged at sea. The Irish Naval Service vessel the LE Roisín was docked in Galway harbour over the weekend undergoing repairs after it was damaged in severe weather on New Year's Eve.

The modern naval patrol vessel was on naval and fishing patrols near the Blasket Islands off the Kerry coast when the damage to its custom built bow or flare happened.

It is understood the structure of the vessel was not breached but there was severe denting caused. The Department of Defence said the vessel was never in any danger and has returned to the Naval Base at Haulbowline in Cork Harbour since Monday. The Department said repairs would be made over the next week during the LE Roisin's self maintenance period.

This is the second time damage has been caused to the flare of the LE Roisín. In 2004, while assisting a Canadian Submarine that had a fire on board, the flaring was damaged again in heavy weather.

When the naval ship was damaged it had over 40 crew on board, and Lieutenant-Commander Owen Mulowney decided to bring the ship to Galway. The department said minor repairs were undertaken on the boat in Galway before it set sail for Cork.

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment