Samuel Beckett-class OPV

LE Samuel Beckett in Drydock
Class overview
Name:	Samuel Beckett Class
Builders:	Babcock Marine
Operators:	Irish Naval Service
Preceded by:	Róisín-class
Succeeded by:	N/A
Cost:	€50-60m/ship
In commission:	2014-
Building:	1
Planned:	3
Completed:	1
Cancelled:	0
Active:	1
General characteristics
Type:	Offshore patrol vessel
Displacement:	1,900 tonnes
Length:	90 metres
Beam:	14 metres
Draft:	3.8 metres
Propulsion:	Two Wärtsilä medium speed diesel engines (5,440 kW each) 450 kW bow thruster
Speed:	Baseline speed 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph) Economical speed 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range:	6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[1]
Endurance:	21 days
Boats and landing craft carried:	2 x RHIB (8m)
Capacity:	3 x 20 ft sea container, 1 x 5 ton, 9.56m crane aft
Complement:	44 + up to 10 trainees
Sensors and processing systems:	Fire Control:Electro Optical
Armament:	1 x 76 mm Oto Melara cannon 2 x 20mm Rheinmetall cannon Mountings for heavy MGs & GPMGs
Aircraft carried:	None
Aviation facilities:	UAV only

The Samuel Beckett-class OPV is a class of offshore patrol vessels ordered by the Irish Naval Service in October 2010. The first vessel is named the LÉ Samuel Beckett (P61),^[2] which is also the name given to the class. The second vessel is due to be named the LÉ James Joyce (P62).^[2] An option on a third vessel was exercised and planned for delivery in 2016.^[3] Construction on the first vessel commenced in November 2011,^[4] and it was commissioned in May 2014.^[5][6]

Background and design

The vessels were designed by Vard Marine Inc. (formerly STX Marine) and have features in common with an earlier design, the Róisín Class, in service with the Irish Naval Service since 1999.

The 90 metre OPV vessels are designated PV90 by Babock Marine and approximately 10 metres longer with an additional 0.6m in depth to the existing Róisín Class PV80 vessels. This is intended to increase both its capabilities and abilities in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. The PV90 ship is designed carry a crew of 44 and have space for up to 10 trainees. The ships' published cruising speed is 16 knots, with a top speed of 23 knots.^[7]

The New Zealand Navy uses an 85 metre version of the Vard Marine Inc. OPV design referred to as the Protector Class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV). This is a modified version of the older Irish Navy Róisín Class PV80 vessels with helideck and hangar incorporated.^[8]

LE Samuel Beckett in January 2014

The new ships are designed to carry remotely operated submersibles and a decompression chamber for divers. This is intended to add enhanced capabilities to undertake search and rescue, search and recovery, under sea exploration and increased sea area surveillance. The expanded deck area would also allow the Navy to deploy unmanned surveillance planes for the first time. Features also include Dynamic Positioning systems and "Power Take In Systems" to enable fuel savings as the main engines can be shut down and power sourced from battery storage or a smaller more economical engine.^[9]

The first new ship was commissioned on 17 May 2014 - to replace LÉ Emer which was decommissioned on 20 September 2013.

Planning and construction

In 2007 it was reported that the Defence Forces expected to spend in the region of €180m on a replacement for the three existing vessels of LÉ Emer class.

In July 2010 the Irish Minister for Defence, Tony Killeen, announced that the Department of Defence and Naval Service would be entering into talks with UK shipbuilder Babcock Marine on two vessels worth €50m each, with an option for a third.

In October 2010 contracts were signed, and the 'cutting of steel' for the first ship occurred on 24 November 2011.^[10]

On 19 May 2012 Irish Naval Service Flag Office Commodore Mark Mellett (now Rear Admiral, DCOS Sp) attended the traditional keel-laying ceremony for the first of the 90m OPVs. While modular construction methods don't strictly involve keel-laying, the term is still considered an important milestone as it signals the first stage of connecting each of the components together. The keel-laying ceremony took place in Babcock Marine’s Appledore Shipbuilding Yard in Devon, UK.^[11]

The delivery of the first of the vessels was set for 2014 with the second in 2015.^{[4][1][12][13]} The option on the third vessel was exercised following the commissioning of the LÉ Samuel Beckett, with delivery scheduled for early 2016.^[3] Payment for the ships is planned to be extended over a number of years to 2017.^[14]

Fitting out

The fit-out of crew quarters and facilities on the two new 55 berth ships were contracted to Moss Marine of Southampton in a £4.5 million contract. Fitting out of the first ship began in March 2012 for completion in early 2014.^[9][15][16]

Fit-out also included Mercury IP communication systems from Trilogy.^[17] Each vessel will have two such systems, the first using VHF, UHF and HF marine radio channels on panels installed throughout the vessel.^[18] The second controlling system aims to connect users in pre-configured work groups using interfaces installed at work stations around each vessel.^[18]

Names

The first ships were named for Samuel Beckett and James Joyce, as disclosed in July 2013 by the Minister for Defence Alan Shatter in Dáil Eireann.^[19] This decision to name the ships after literary figures, seen as controversial in some quarters,^[20][21] saw a break from the tradition of naming Irish Naval vessels after women in Irish mythology.

References