LÉ Deirdre (P20)

Career (Ireland)
Name: Deirdre
Builder: Verolme Cork Dockyard, Cork
Yard number: 819
Laid down: 10 August 1971
Launched: 21 January 1972
Commissioned: 19 June 1972
Decommissioned: 2001
Struck: 2003
Homeport: Cork
Identification: P20
Fate: Decommissioned/Sold
Status: Scrapped
General characteristics
Displacement:972 tonnes max
Length:56.1 m (184 ft) overall
Beam:10.42 m (34.2 ft)
Draught:4.38 m (14.4 ft)
Speed:33.3 km/h (18.0 kn) maximum
Boats and landing
craft carried:		3
Complement:47 (6 Officers and 41 Ratings )
Armament:1 × 40 mm/60 Bofors
2 × 12.7 mm

LÉ Deirdre (P20) was a ship in the Irish Naval Service. She was named after Deirdre, a tragic heroine from Irish mythology who committed suicide after her lover's murder.

Deirdre was built as a replacement for the Ton-class minesweepers. She was to have longer range and be a more seaworthy ship for work in the Atlantic. Deirdre became the prototype for the later Emers.

Notably, Deirdre was one of the vessels involved in the 1979 Fastnet race rescue operations, assisting the crews of two yachts - the SV Regardless of Cork and the SV Silver Apple of Howth.

Deirdre was sold at public auction for IR£190,000. She was purchased by the English yacht chartering company Seastram International for conversion into luxury charter yacht Tosca IV. Speaking on the radio, a Seastram spokesman appeared pleased with their bargain as they had been prepared to bid up to IR£500,000. The auction starting price had been IR£60,000.

The conversion in a Polish shipyard was not completed as the English owner died. In 2007 she was towed to Brazil for further refit and completion.[1] Substantially complete she arrived at Jacksonville, Florida in September 2012 for final outfitting as Santa Rita I.

In August 2014, Santa Rita I (LÉ Deirdre), was towed to Green Cove Springs, Florida, for breaking.[2]

References