Military police investigate alleged assault aboard Naval Service vessel

The Irish Naval Service ship, LÉ James Joyce (P62), at the Naval Base, Haulbowline, Co. Cork. File picture: Denis Minihane.

Defence Forces Military police are investigating an alleged assault aboard a Naval Service vessel in which one man is reported to have bitten another man's private parts during a fight.

The incident is understood to have occurred over the weekend while the vessel was at anchor.

The exact ranks of the two men involved are not known, but both are understood to be officers.

It is understood the men became involved in an argument, which subsequently spilled onto one of the ship’s decks.

A Naval Service source said that during the course of the fight on the ship’s aft deck — an open deck area at the rear of the vessel — one of the men allegedly placed the other in a chokehold.

To escape the hold, the second man is understood to have bitten his opponent’s private parts.

“All hell broke loose as the emergency services had to be called to stop the bleeding,” said the source.

Defence Forces sources have dismissed rumours that part of one man’s anatomy was severed during the incident.

They said the injury involved a bite wound but that no body part was bitten off.

The Irish Examiner has contacted the Defence Forces for comment.