Naval Service General Discussion - Fleet, Manpower, Policy

The Rhinos are manual and not stabilised for a bow position, aren't they?

Fair play for them getting out there, but if past performance is a guide to future progress, then the ambition to go from 730 odd personnel now, to 2,000 in 2028, is beyond fanciful.

The Ferry Terminal hasn't been sold, some of the internal space has been leased, the Council retain ownership.

Besides, I have it on the good authority of a certain Minister of State that the naval station is a lock-in for Dún Laoghaire, and will be announced at an organised visit of LÉ Aoibhinn, when she is operational later in the year.

That you've been told about.

The decision has been agreed between the government parties. DoD, DF and NS will be informed when at the appropriate moment.

I did surely. The combined torque of all of the boats secured on the various jetties, at max capacity, far exceeds that of one 340t vessel.

In any case, as can be seen from this image, the outer jetties have greater capacity and draft. I recall several superyachts berthing at the western end down the years, such as the Phoenix, which though shorter than a P70 at 40m, tipped the scale at 385t and had a much higher centre of gravity with all her luxury appointments.

It is not a problem.

Obviously the Carlisle Pier is available for secure resupply and any other task requiring a large dockside.

Who knows, maybe the Carlisle itself will be repurposed as a naval station pier. It was certainly suggested many years ago, around the time the masterplan to accommodate the HSS ferries was being drawn up.

As I say, I'm privy to the decision that has been made, not to details that haven't yet even been agreed between the harbour authority and the Defence hierarchy.

Yes indeed, I'm since informed the marquees are part of the shore based setup for tendering the Cruise Ships.

I guess to wargame her role, she could come up against drug and people traffickers, in MV Matthew or yacht Brime type scenarios. We also hear of homemade submarines involved in the drugs trade too. and in case where the smugglers are becoming better armed, there's no substitute for a big deck gun with remote FC

Well the former, obviously.

Drug trafficking mother ships like MV Matthew hand off smaller shipments to yachts and trawlers, as we know, and increasingly to "narco-subs". These vessels can cost a few million dollars to build, but are a canny investment by the drug cartels, as they can return hundred of millions in sales, per vessel.

Examples of these subs that are capable of crossing the Atlantic, have already been discovered.

And so, we can rule nothing out in terms of what the IPVs may encounter. The more nation states invest in security and intelligence around smuggling and trafficking, the more criminals invest in turn. Its a cat and mouse game as old as seafaring.

Of course they aren't, but the banditos inside them carry small arms.

The threat of a remote FC deck gun will end any potential blackguarding before it begins.

-Alfred, the Lord Tennyson.

HSA can visit any work place, on demand, but usually by appointment and reasonable engagement.

Secure locations are a matter for local rules, but the canteen wouldn't count as a secure location, so they are there quite reasonably.