Design In October 2010, the Irish Naval Service ordered a number of new offshore patrol vessels from
Babcock Marine, a
UK-based shipbuilder operating out of
Appledore, North Devon. The first two vessels were named
Samuel Beckett and respectively, and planned to replace (decommissioned September 2013; sold October 2013) and (decommissioned January 2015; commissioned in the
Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta June 2015). Like the
Róisín-class OPV,
Samuel Beckett was designed by
Vard Marine to a VARD 7 series design. Although similar to the
Róisín-class OPV,
Samuel Beckett is over longer, intended to increase its capabilities in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. The ship is designed to carry a crew of 44 and have space for up to 10 trainees.
Construction and naming Although the ship was built using modern modular construction techniques, the
keel was deemed to have been "laid down" during a keel-laying ceremony held at the Appledore Shipbuilding Yard on 19 May 2012 after the first two major components were connected together.
Propulsion The ship is powered by a pair of 16-cylinder W16V26F
Wärtsilä diesel motors driving twin shafts that can propel the vessel to a top speed of . The ship is also equipped with
dynamic positioning systems and a power take-in (PTI) drive, to enable fuel savings as the main engines can be shut down and switched to alternative power sources such as stored battery power or a smaller more economical engine. ==Operational history==