Irish Government floats idea of a naming competition for two new navy warships on way from New Zealand

 

EX RNZN Ships Rotoiti (P3569) and Pukaki (P3568)

The LÉ Orla, which was decommissioned earlier this year. Photo: Darron Mark/Corbis via Getty Images

A public naming competition could be carried out for two new warships the State is buying from New Zealand.

Defence Minister Simon Coveney is considering the innovative idea – but there will be safeguards to prevent a recurrence of the Boaty McBoatface debacle outcome when a public online vote in the UK turned farcical. The new ships will come into a fleet that now reflects the names of famous Irish writers, such as the vessels James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw and WB Yeats. It’s believed that Mr Coveney would like at least one of the warships to be named after a woman, so it is possible the public would be offered a slate of options – from Maria Edgeworth to Katharine Tynan, Lady Gregory or even Peig Sayers. Male writers could include such legendary figures as Bram Stoker, Seamus Heaney, Austin Clarke and Padraic Colum. The new Inshore Patrol Vessels from New Zealand will replace the LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla, which were decommissioned earlier this year. Ireland paid €26m for the formerly named NZ ships Rotoiti and Pukaki. New Zealand originally paid €35m each for the vessels when they were ordered in 2008. The ships were commissioned into the Royal New Zealand Navy in 2009. But because they are inshore vessels, they cannot reach Ireland under their own power. Instead, they will be brought here by a heavy-lift carrier, arriving in early March. Mr Coveney said a major advantage of the replacement ships was that they would each have a crew of 26. The lower requirement will help ease recruitment and retention problems in the Naval Service, which have forced some of our fleet to tie up in port this year when they should be at sea. Work is currently being carried out in New Zealand to restore the vessels to Lloyds Classification and to fit Naval Service equipment. Irish personnel are on site to supervise the work.

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