A Dutch ship which offered abortions at sea for women in countries where they are banned has lost its government licence.

The controversial Dutch "abortion ship", the Aurora, has arrived in Dublin 15 hours ahead of schedule.

The Dutch vessel dubbed the ‘‘abortion ship’’ has begun its controversial 10-day visit to Ireland with crew claiming that women seeking to terminate their pregnancies in the state were having their human rights violated.

The controversial Dutch vessel equipped to carry out on board abortions has docked in Dublin's river Liffey.

The arrival in Dublin of a Dutch medical ship with facilities for carrying out on-board abortions has been postponed due to bad weather, said a spokeswoman for the organisers.