LÉ James Joyce is an Offshore Patrol Vessel and represents an updated and lengthened version of the original RÓISÍN Class OPVs which were also designed and built to our specifications by Babcock Marine Appledore and she is truly a state of the art ship. She is built and fitted out to the highest international standards in terms of safety, equipment fit, technological innovation and crew comfort. She is also designed to cope with the rigors of the North East Atlantic.
L.É. JAMES JOYCE was commissioned into the naval fleet in September 2015. Since then she has been constantly engaged in Maritime Security and Defence patrolling of the Irish coast. She has also deployed to the Defence Forces mission in the Mediterranean from July to end of September 2016, rescuing 2491 persons and recovering the bodies of 21 deceased.
Ship's Name
The naming of a naval vessel is a hugely significant event as it lays the foundation of the ship’s character and spirit. Wherever the ship goes, whatever ports she visits, her name will echo in the minds and memories of the people who visit and see her. Traditionally Irish naval vessels have been named after mythical figures from Ireland’s heroic past. The naming of LÉ JAMES JOYCE follows a new departure in that, for the second time, a Naval Service ship will be named after a world renowned Irish writer.
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (1882 – 1941) was an novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist tradition of the 20th century. Perhaps best known for Ulysses, other well-known works are the short-story collection 'Dubliners', and the novels 'Finnegans Wake' and 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'
| Ship's Characteristics |
| Type | Offshore Patrol Vessel |
| Length | 90.0m |
| Beam | 14m |
| Draught | 3.8m |
| Main Engines | 2 x Wärtsilä diesel engines and Power Take In, 2 x shafts, 10000kw |
| Speed | 23 knots |
| Range | 6000 Nautical Miles @ 15 knots |
| Crew | 44 (6 Officers) |
| Armament | 1 x 76mm OTO Melara
2 x 20mm RH 202 Rheinmetall Cannon
2 x 12.7mm Browning HMG’s
4 x 7.62mm GPMG’s |
