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LÉ Samuel Beckett in 2014
History
Ireland
Name	LÉ Samuel Beckett
Namesake	Samuel Beckett, Irish playwright and author
Ordered	October 2010
Builder	Babcock Marine Appledore, North Devon
Cost	€71 million
Laid down	19 May 2012
Launched	November 2013
Acquired	January 2014
Commissioned	17 May 2014
Identification	IMO number: 9614660 MMSI number: 250002868 Hull number: P61
Status	in active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel
Displacement	2,256 tonnes Standard
Length	90.00 m (295.28 ft)
Beam	14.00 m (45.93 ft)
Draught	3.8 m (12 ft)
Installed power	10,000 kW (13,000 hp)
Propulsion	2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines
Speed	15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph) cruise 23 kn (43 km/h; 26 mph) maximum
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi)
Boats & landing craft carried	3 MST 8 m (26 ft) RHIBS
Complement	54 (44 crew + 10 trainees)
Armament	1 × OTO Melara 76 mm cannon 2 × 20 mm Rheinmetall Rh202 cannons 2 × 12.7 mm Heavy Machine Guns 4 × 7.62 mm FN MAG
Aviation facilities	UAV capabilities only

LÉ Samuel Beckett (P61) is a Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) of the Irish Naval Service. The ship was launched in November 2013 and commissioned in May 2014. She is named after Irish playwright and author Samuel Beckett.

Like other OPVs in the Irish Naval Service, the ship's primary mission is fisheries protection, search and rescue, and maritime protection operations, including vessel boardings.

Development

Design

In October 2010, the Irish Naval Service ordered a number of new offshore patrol vessels from Babcock Marine, a UK-based shipbuilder operating out of Appledore, North Devon. The first two vessels were named Samuel Beckett and James Joyce respectively, and planned to replace LÉ Emer (decommissioned September 2013; sold October 2013) and Aoife (decommissioned January 2015; commissioned in the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta June 2015).

Like the Róisín-class OPV, Samuel Beckett was designed by Vard Marine to a VARD 7 series design. Although similar to the Róisín-class OPV, Samuel Beckett is over 10 metres (33 ft) longer, intended to increase its capabilities in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. The ship is designed to carry a crew of 44 and have space for up to 10 trainees.

Additionally, Samuel Beckett is designed to carry remotely operated submersibles and a decompression chamber for divers. The expanded deck area would allow the ship to deploy unmanned surveillance planes.

Construction and naming

Although the ship was built using modern modular construction techniques, the keel was deemed to have been "laid down" during a keel-laying ceremony held at the Appledore Shipbuilding Yard on 19 May 2012 after the first two major components were connected together.

In July 2013, while still under construction, the name of the vessel, Samuel Beckett was announced by the Minister for Defence Alan Shatter in Dáil Éireann.

Propulsion

The ship is powered by a pair of 16-cylinder W16V26F Wärtsilä diesel motors driving twin shafts that can propel the vessel to a top speed of 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). The ship is also equipped with dynamic positioning systems and a power take-in (PTI) drive, to enable fuel savings as the main engines can be shut down and switched to alternative power sources such as stored battery power or a smaller more economical engine.

Operational history

The ship was completed and floated out of the shipyard in November 2013, delivered in April 2014 and commissioned for service in May 2014. The vessel was "twinned" with Cork city in a ceremony held on 7 June 2014.

In late 2015 Samuel Beckett was deployed to the Mediterranean as part of Ireland's contribution to the humanitarian response to the European migrant crisis. During the ship's cruise, more than 1,000 migrants were rescued. In one event, 111 people were rescued in a United Nations operation off the coast of Libya.

The vessel was redeployed to the area in 2016, and on 17 November 2016 rescued 50 migrants who were on a rubber boat 25 Nautical Miles North-west of Tripoli. This brought the number of migrants rescued by the Samuel Beckett to 2310.

In March 2020 the Naval Service provided the vessel to the HSE as a testing centre to be docked at Sir John Rogerson's Quay as part of Irish response to the coronavirus pandemic.

References

1. ^ Barry, Aoife (11 July 2013). "Goodbye LÉ Emer and LÉ Aoife… hello James Joyce and Samuel Beckett". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
2. ^ "Unnamed Class Offshore Patrol Vessels, Republic Of Ireland" (PDF). Association of Retired Commissioned Officers. Autumn 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
3. ^ "Babcock's Appledore to build fourth Irish offshore patrol vessel". Naval Today. 16 June 2016.
4. "New Naval Service ship to be called LÉ William Butler Yeats" (Press release). Department of Defence. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
5. "Chiefs defend sending LÉ Samuel Beckett to arms fair". RTÉ.ie. 12 September 2017.
6. ^ "Department of Defence - Press Releases". Defence.ie. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
7. ^ "Irish vessel launched from Appledore shipyard". North Devon Gazette. Archant Community Media Ltd. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
8. ^ ""Pride and anticipation" as LÉ Samuel Beckett vessel commissoned". The Irish Independent. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
9. ^ "Fleet > Offshore Patrol Vessel > L.E. Samuel Beckett P 61". Irish Defence Forces (official). Retrieved 29 December 2014.
10. "Babcock displays Irish OPV at DSEI". ADS Advance. ADS Group. 10 September 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
11. "Navy ships to carry deep sea robot subs". Irish Examiner. 24 May 2012. will carry unmanned planes along with deep sea search and rescue robot submarines
12. "City welcomes state-of-the-art Navy vessel Lé Samuel Beckett". Irish Examiner. 7 June 2014. its expanded deck area will allow the Naval Service to deploy unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, for the first time
13. "Naval Service Showcase L.E. Samuel Beckett at OPV Conference". Afloat Magazine. 30 September 2014. she is to feature (UAV) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for surveillenace purposes
14. "Navy's retired LE Emer sells for €320,000 to businessman". The Irish Times. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
15. ^ "Vard Marine - News Headlines". Stxmarine.net. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
16. "Offshore Patrol Vessels – VARD 7 SERIES". Vard Marine. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
17. ^ O'Riordan, Sean (24 May 2012). "Navy ships to carry deep sea robot subs". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
18. "Houses of the Oireachtas - Naval Service Vessels". Oireachtas (Hansard).
19. "Naval Service Showcase L.E. Samuel Beckett at OPV Conference". Afloat Magazine. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
20. "Naval Service OPV Newbuild L.E. Samuel Beckett 'Floated-Out' from Devon Shipyard". Afloat Magazine. Baily Publications Ltd. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
21. Riegel, Ralph (28 August 2013). "New life as luxury liner or research ship awaits navy's oldest vessel". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
22. English, Eoin (26 May 2014). "Navy's €50m ship to twin with Cork". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
23. "LÉ Samuel Beckett docks in Cork after Med tour". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
24. "Number of Balkans states limit migrant passage". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 19 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
25. "LE Samuel Beckett naval heroes rescue dozens of migrant women and children". 18 November 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
26. Roche, Barry (18 March 2020). "Coronavirus: Naval ships to become test centres; Páirc Uí Chaoimh also offered". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 March 2020.

Fleet of the Irish Naval Service
Active fleet	Róisín Niamh Samuel Beckett James Joyce William Butler Yeats George Bernard Shaw Aoibhinn Gobnait
Decommissioned	Macha Maev Cliona Setanta Ferdia Grainne Banba Fola Deirdre Emer Aoife Aisling Eithne Orla Ciara

v t e Irish Naval Service
Organisation	Naval Operations Command Naval Support Command Naval College (National Maritime College of Ireland) Naval Service Reserve
Active fleet	Róisín Niamh Samuel Beckett James Joyce William Butler Yeats George Bernard Shaw Aoibhinn Gobnait
Decommissioned vessels	Macha Maev Cliona Setanta Ferdia Grainne Banba Fola Deirdre Emer Aoife Aisling Eithne Orla Ciara
Specialised units	Naval Service Diving Section Fisheries Monitoring Centre
Shore establishments	Naval Base Haulbowline
Related	History Treaty Ports Rank Insignia Long Éireannach Operation Triton List of Irish state vessels

• 2013 ships
• Ships built in Devon
• Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessels
• Naval ships of the Republic of Ireland