3rd March 2022
New Zealand Navy inshore patrol cutters: The purchase comes at a time when the Naval Service is critically short of personnel Credit: Irish Examiner-twitterThe Irish government is set to shortly announce a deal to purchase two warships from New Zealand.
This is to bolster the country's maritime security while the Naval Service has gone into overdrive to recruit more personnel to fill its depleted ranks.
The Irish Examiner understands many months of negotiations between the Irish and New Zealand governments have resulted in an agreement to buy the two ships, which were decommissioned as they didn't fit into the New Zealand navy's long-range patrol requirements.
The short-range ships are, however, ideal for the Irish navy's requirements to protect the Irish Sea as they don't need to be as robust as the P60 vessels that have to endure wilder Atlantic voyages. They also can be crewed by fewer personnel.
While the cost of the ships has yet to be published, it's known that they are 'Lake Class' vessels as previously reported on Afloat. These inshore patrol cutters measure 55m (180ft) in length.
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