Fears exit of seasoned personnel leading to more accidents after navy vessels suffer damage

The hole on the side of the LÉ Aoibhinn. It is primarily an inshore patrol vessel which hasn’t the size or durability to conduct patrols in the Atlantic and is used for fishery patrols off the south and east coasts.

A litany of mishaps is dogging the navy and concern has been raised that the exodus of experienced personnel is resulting in more frequent accidents and vital equipment not functioning.

The Irish Examiner can reveal the most serious damage done to a ship was when one of the two former New Zealand vessels, which cost €26m, collided with a pier in Kinsale.

The damage caused to LÉ Aoibhinn can be seen in the picture. 

The hole on the side of the LÉ Aoibhinn.

Fortunately, she was on her last day of a scheduled patrol last October and during the downtime period for the crew the large hole in the steel hull was repaired.

Just a few days ago LÉ Niamh, which was commissioned in 2001, was holed on its topside due to a collision with a dock wall. The ship is in ‘operational reserve'. She was undergoing sea trials when the collision happened. Following the accident and repairs her sea trials will be rescheduled.

Her sister ship, LÉ Roisin, is also in operational reserve as there aren’t enough crews at present to get her out on patrol.

So, too, is LÉ George Bernard Shaw, which is a far newer ship having become operational in 2018. Due to a lack of expertise, it went out on patrol without its main gun working.

LÉ James Joyce, which was commissioned in 2015, is currently in dry dock awaiting an extensive period of planned maintenance.

There is no indication when LÉ Aoibhinn’s sister ship, LÉ Gobnait, will start active service. Although they both have crews of just 24 there isn’t the personnel to get both out to sea at this time.

They are primarily inshore patrol vessels which haven’t the size or durability to conduct patrols in the Atlantic and are used for fishery patrols off the south and east coasts.

Personnel shortage

The navy is supposed to have a minimum 1,094 personnel. The Defence Forces Press Office admitted that it has just 608 trained personnel currently available for duties.

A decade ago, the navy had a functional eight-ship fleet with the personnel to crew them. Now it has just three operational vessels. But the two larger ones - LÉ Samuel Beckett and the LÉ William Butler Yeats – can’t go out at the same time because there aren’t sufficient crews available.

Lieutenant Colonel Conor King, general secretary of the officers’ association RACO, has repeatedly warned that the loss of ‘corporate knowledge’ with the exodus of skilled personnel would lead to more inefficiencies and accidents.

However, recruitment is improving. Last year the navy got 82 recruits. It's hoped 32 recruits will be inducted for training soon and a further 60 applications are currently being processed from people who want to join up.