A recent fire on board the LÉ Niamh, coupled with a general manpower crisis in the Naval Service, means only five of the navy's nine ships can currently go out on patrol. Last weekend, a fire broke out on LÉ Niamh while she was undergoing routine maintenance at Cork Dockyard, Rushbrooke. At present, there is no plan to transfer the crew of LÉ Niamh to another ship,” a spokeswoman said. At least three other similar incidents occurred with other Naval Service vessels in the preceding months. This would leave the Naval Service potentially facing even greater problems getting ships to sea.

Source: Irish Examiner October 08, 2020 16:03 UTC