The third Naval Service ship to embark on humanitarian duties in the Mediterranean Sea made its rescue debut by taking onboard more than 430 refugees in a combined operation with the Italians.

The number of migrants rescued by the Irish Naval Service has passed the 4,000 mark after LÉ Niamh crew rescued 358 people from a wooden barge.

A luxury yacht which was seized last September carrying €80m of cocaine is to be auctioned off by the State.

History will be made this morning when the Naval Service will for the first time aid in an overseas humanitarian mission.

The naval patrol boat LÉ Aoife is to be decommissioned this month and sold off, through public auction, by the end of February.

In documents released under the 30-year rule, here are the stories that have emerged from State papers.

The chairman of the Oireachtas committee on Justice, Defence and Equality says he’s "confident" that an announcement will be made before the end of the year that the Naval Service is to get a third new ship.

A solicitor has demanded all Naval Service ships should be immediately grounded and checked for asbestos.

More than 150 Naval Service personnel and civilian workers could have potentially come in contact with asbestos as the crisis deepens over the extent of exposure to the life-threatening substance.

Concerns have been raised about the operational effectiveness of the Naval Service after it emerged that a third vessel has been discovered to have potentially fatal asbestos onboard.

It is now being claimed that 30 civilian workers could also have been exposed to potentially lethal asbestos while carrying out routine maintenance on a Naval Service ship.

The organisation representing rank-and-file members of the Naval Service has confirmed it is seeking legal advice on how the authorities will provide long-term healthcare for seamen following their prolonged exposure to potentially lethal asbestos dust.

Commodore Mark Mellett is set to become the most senior Irish naval officer in the history of the State following his appointment as Deputy Chief of Staff (Support) of the Defence Forces.

A former member of the navy, who claims she was sexually assaulted by a crewmate on board a naval vessel, said people who make such complaints are made to feel like traitors.

For the first time since the Naval Service admitted women, there were no female officers commissioned yesterday.

A 38-year-old man is said to have made a full recovery after he spent last night in the Navy decompression chamber in Haulbowline, Co Cork .

The Army’s officers of the future will be put through their paces today when they start cadet school.

THE economic downturn is being cited as one of the reasons for the Naval Service receiving an astonishing 1,100 applications for 12 officer cadet places.

ONE of the largest and most daring drugs seizures ever made in the north Atlantic put “Ireland Inc” on the map as a force to be reckoned with in the global fight against trafficking.

THE Irish navy is set to make history next month when it will count foreigners among its ranks.

The Government has given the green light for a multi-million euro tourism, commercial and residential development on the former Irish ISPAT site on Haulbowline, Co Cork.

THE last owners of Irish Steel, who have refused to pay the clean-up costs of their former Irish site, are set to form the world’s largest steel company in a €14 billion deal.

The Department of Defence has announced three construction contracts, worth around €7m.

IT was anchors away for the Navy’s 21 newest recruits, including one young man who proudly followed his father and two brothers into the service.