HMS Enterprise has arrived in the Irish city of Cork for a routine port call not long after an Irish vessel visited the British city of Glasgow.
According to local reports, HMS Enterprise is currently tied up in the heart of Cork city, on Horgan’s Quay, where she flies both the Union Jack and the Irish Tricolour (as ships visiting foreign ports do out of courtesy to their hosts).
“The good news is that even as Ireland, the EU and the UK stand on the brink of a possible ‘trade war’ over the Northern Ireland protocol, the Royal Navy has nothing but friendly intentions in the harbour that once was home to the fleets that guarded the Western Approaches of the Empire.
HMS Enterprise is an Echo-class multi-role survey, hydrographic and oceanographic vessel (SVHO) of the Royal Navy and along with surveying and mapping the ocean depths, she has been involved in many humanitarian and emergency missions in recent years, including rescuing more than 2,400 migrants and refugees attempting to cross from war-torn Libya to Italy during the crisis in the north-African country in 2015.”
What a welcome! Ahead of our visit to the great city of Cork we jumped at the chance of meeting with the impressive LÉ JAMES JOYCE of @naval_service on the high seas. Fantastic opportunity to meet fellow mariners; share ideas as well as the inevitable navy dits!#boldlygo pic.twitter.com/dMbhGFnZav
— HMS Enterprise (@HMSEnterprise) June 13, 2022
Irish Naval Vessel LÉ George Bernard Shaw visited Glasgow in April, the visit by the Offshore Patrol Vessel is the first Irish Naval visit to Scotland for over 10 years.
LÉ George Bernard Shaw is a Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel of the Irish Naval Service. It is the fourth ship in a series of vessels designed by Vard Marine and built by Babcock Marine Appledore, and is named for the writer George Bernard Shaw.
According to the Irish Naval Service:
“LÉ George Bernard Shaw (pennant number P64) is the fourth and final ship of the P60 class vessels built for the Naval Service in Babcock Marine Appledore, Devon. In keeping with the ethos of a continuous learning organisation, she contains a number of minor improvements over her sister ships, aimed primarily at improving energy efficiency whilst still maintaining effectiveness. She is designed as on Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), with the endurance and capability to defend Ireland’s interests at, and from, any sea in the world.”
The ship was accepted into service in October 2018, and, following a military fit-out, has commenced Maritime Defence and Security Operations at sea. Additionally, the ship recently conducted night operations & fishery protection duties.
‘named after …’ Only Ireland would name a naval ship after a writer.
I suppose H,M.S. Kipling is out of the question?
It was one of the pet issues of the Minister for Defence when the ships were being ordered, he hated the norm of female figures that had been used since the founding of the service. The NS at that stage were so desperate to get the order through and start the builds they didn’t care what they were named.
Good Morning Mark. I hope you are well.
It was either Echo or Enterprise that visited Durban about 15 years ago. We approached too close on a double kayak to get a better look and were chased off by the gun toting crew of our harbour patrol! The Samuel Beckets are good looking ships-nice to see the RN and Irish Naval service working together. My daughter is moving to Cork to boost the Prod population down south😂
All the best
Geoff
Nice to hear from you Geoff, for us it’s mainly the USN a that has that level of security when they are doing harbour visits, drives everyone nuts, for the RN it’s normally just one bored cop. Hope you daughter enjoys the Rebel county.
I kinda like the naming used by the Republic of Singapore Navy… 😉
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ships_of_the_Republic_of_Singapore_Navy
HMS Kipling, completed Yarrow Jan ’39, sunk in Med May ’42
Thank you William, I had no idea. Brave men remembered to God in my prayers.
A warship may have to go and do some damage one day, the name cannot be too saintly.
I did 3 years in the province, loved it. Used to visit HMS Caroline (it was a HQ for some unit) , never bother my backside to look up its history. wish I had, its now been renovated and brought back to its glory days. Next time I am across the water, I intend to visit.
At least it has a gun not like our Rivers with their pop guns.
But nothing else, it isn’t built to warship standards! Take time to research the rivers build specs. The rivers are built to warship standards, the Irish ships aren’t. Capability is more than a “bigger gun”. Cheers.
The Naval Service OPV’s are smart looking ships with the 76mm gun. But they’re built to a commercial standard. Damage control, fire fighting, watertight integrity, magazine armour etc are way inferior to the Rivers and cannot really be considered warships in the sense that their ability to sustain battle damage is severely limited. An unprotected magazine of 76mm ammunition being struck by an enemy projectile would most likely result in the catastrophic loss of the ship.
Yeah but it’s bling and not basics, whereas the Rivers are all basics and no bling. Rivers are built to warship standard. In a war you want the latter as it can easily be upgunned if required. The Irish ships have a pointless gun as it would never be sent in harms way, it only needed a 30mm not 76mm.
The decision for the 76mm standardisation was made in the 80s after the failure of the 57mm on Eithne and the purchase of the Peacocks, after that all the new builds were bought with them. As to the design of the P50/60s, that’s a whole other matter with plenty of different actors having a say.
Don’t they also have peacocks must have been built to naval standards also with 76mm gun survey we should have kept them after handover??
The Irish Peacocks were sold on long before handover, back in ‘88, suppose you could have held onto the ones Philippine’s ones but for what? Though if you like the RN could buy the Irish ones now, they are heading to the breakers.
I liked the peacocks, a modern flower.
Not really suited for modern crewing, and relatively short legged.
Wonder if the Irish navy would be up for 1-2 T31s? Not sure if they have got over their manning issues?
Sometimes I wonder if posters have any idea of the size of the NS, even if they were at full establishment that would only be 1000 or so people, sustaining one or two frigates is well beyond that capacity. Hell even if the current plan is approved and it’s grown to 2k with the crewing plan for the OPVs that leaves little spare capacity. The Peacocks are being replaced with the two surplus Lake Class boats from New Zealand and will be based out of Dublin, after that and the MRV things are up in the air but I’d say… Read more »
They dont need them
Depends on what the Government might take from the. Commissions report, what replaces the P50s end of the decade is ill defined right now.
Both of those ships were built at Appledore Shipbuilders
is it just me, or does our ship look positively old and rusty, compared to that new shiny ship they have.
just an opinion.
JJ is the youngest ship in the fleet with a hell of a lot less sea miles than Enterprise, the P50s looked worse before they went in for their midlife’s.
What do the Irish Naval Service think of their “Sea Camouflage” Uniform?
I hope it is not a route the British take.
It’s better than what they had… That’s about it from what I’ve heard.
Sounds like damning with faint praise.