-Good News of the L E Samuel Beckett
I received this further information from poster
LeonVincent H.K. (LV) He said.
'I know this is an old one but since then it rescued over 770 people from one wooden barge in one single encounter off the coast of Libya and surprisingly and thankfully not one person died and I think it was the single largest rescue of people in one go. There is a video showcasing the crew of the L.É Samuel Beckett rescuing people trying to make the journey form Libya to Europe, it is heart warming and endearing yet really really sad. If any of you are interested to see what it is like to see a navy do humanitarian work and not solely exist for defensive or offensive purposes you should look up Irish Navy Documentary. It is quite eye opening and enlightening. Peace.'
I'm down in the Belfast Titanic docklands to see what is in for the Belfast Maritime Festival 2019.
This is the Irish Navy vessel the L E Samuel Beckett. LÉ Samuel Beckett (P61) is a Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) of the Irish Naval Service. The ship was launched in November 2013. She was built by Babcock Marine, North Devon at a cost of 71 million Euro. She is named after Irish playwright and author Samuel Beckett.
Like other OPVs in the Irish Naval Service, the ship's primary mission is fisheries protection, search and rescue, and maritime protection operations, including vessel boardings.
Although similar to the Róisín-class OPV, Samuel Beckett is over 10 metres (33 ft) longer, intended to increase its capabilities in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. The ship is designed to carry a crew of 44 and have space for up to 10 trainees.
Additionally, Samuel Beckett is designed to carry remotely operated submersibles and a decompression chamber for divers. The expanded deck area would allow the ship to deploy unmanned surveillance planes.
The vessel was "twinned" with Cork city in a ceremony held on 7 June 2014. In late 2015 Samuel Beckett was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of Ireland's contribution to the humanitarian response to the European migrant crisis. During the ship's cruise, more than 1,000 migrants were rescued. In one event, 111 people were rescued in a United Nations operation off the coast of Libya. The vessel was redeployed to the area in 2016, and on 17 November 2016 rescued 50 migrants who were on a rubber boat 25 Nautical Miles North-west of Tripoli. This brought the number of migrants rescued by the Samuel Beckett to 2310
General characteristics
Class and type: Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel
Displacement: 2,256 tonnes
Length: 90.00 m (295.28 ft)
Beam: 14.00 m (45.93 ft)
Draught: 3.8 m (12 ft)
Installed power: 10,000 kW (13,000 hp)[9]
Propulsion: 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines[9]
Speed:
15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) cruise
23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph) maximum[3]
Range: 6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi)
Boats & landing
craft carried: 3 MST 8 m (26 ft) RHIBS[citation needed]
Complement: 54 (44 crew + 10 trainees)
Armament:
1 × OTO Melara 76 mm cannon
2 × 20 mm Rheinmetall Rh202 cannons
2 × 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Guns
4 × 7.62 mm FN MAG
Aviation facilities: UAV capabilities only[