Irish Navy’s offshore patrol vessel Le Roisin (P 51) departed the Naval Base Haulbowline, Ireland on May 1 and headed for the Mediterranean. The ship is to undertake humanitarian search and rescue operations in conjunction with the Italian authorities.
Commanded by Lieutenant Commander Ultan Finegan, the 57 strong crew of the LÉ Roisin have been completing pre-deployment training and preparing the ship for an extended deployment since receiving notice to sail.
Earlier in April , 2016, the Irish government decided it would dedicate three vessels to the rescue missions in the Mediterranean. According to the Irish defense forces, two rotations, involving three naval service vessels deployed, are planed. Each deployment would last approximately 12 weeks.
This is the first naval service deployment to the Mediterranean under Operation Pontus in 2016. The Defence Forces personnel that crewed LÉ Eithne, LÉ Niamh and LÉ Samuel Beckett in 2015 rescued a total of 8,592 people during the course of their deployments to the Mediterranean.