Samuel Beckett-class Offshore Patrol Vessel

The Samuel Beckett-class patrol vessel 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), which is also the name given to the class. Construction on this first vessel commenced in November 2011, and it was commissioned in May 2014. The second vessel was named the LÉ James Joyce (P62) and delivered in 2015, with the third named the LÉ William Butler Yeats (P63) and planned for delivery in 2016. A fourth vessel in the same class, named LÉ George Bernard Shaw (P64) was ordered in June 2016.

Specifications

• Type: Offshore Patrol Vessel
• Service period: 2015-
• Characteristics:
  • Length: 296 feet (90.22 meters)
  • Beam: 46 feet (14.02 meters)
  • Draught: 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 meters)
  • Displacement: 1,950 tons (Standard)
• Crew: 54 (44 + up to 10 trainees)
• Propulsion:
  • 2 x Wärtsilä medium speed diesel engines (5,440 kW (7,300 hp) each)
  • 450 kW bow thruster
• Range: 6,000 nautical miles (11,112 kilometers) at 15 knots (27.78 km/h)
• Speed: 23 knots (42.6 km/h)
• Sensor Suite:
• Armament:
  • 1 x OTO Melara 76mm/62-caliber Super Rapid naval gun
  • 2 x Rheinmetall Rh202 20mm autocannon
  • 2 x Vickers 12.7mm heavy machine guns
  • 4 x 7.62mm general purpose machine guns
• Boats Carried: 3 x MST 8m RHIBs
• Capacity:
  • 3 x 6.1 m (20 ft) sea container
  • 1 x 5 ton, 9.56 m (31.4 ft) crane aft

Unit Run

• LÉ Samuel Beckett (P61)
• LÉ James Joyce (P62)
• LÉ William Butler Yeats (P63)
• LÉ George Bernard Shaw (P64) - fitting out