Navy will not have to `tie up' ship, says chief

The Naval Service chief, Commodore John Kavanagh, has said that there is no question of "tying up" any of his fleet's seven ships to crew the new £20 million vessel due for delivery later this year.

However, Fine Gael has accused the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, of inaction in relation to the Naval Service and has called for a properly targeted and funded recruitment campaign.

In what the Defence Forces press office describes as an official clarification, Commodore Kavanagh denies that a crewing shortage will affect plans for putting an eighth ship to sea.

"The Naval Service has approximately 100 vacancies at present. It is expected that the ongoing recruitment campaign approved by the Minister for Defence will address this shortfall", Commodore Kavanagh says.

Referring to a report in The Irish Times earlier this week, which said that the oldest vessel in the fleet, the LE Deirdre, might have to be decommissioned early to meet the personnel crisis, Commodore Kavanagh says that he wishes to "clarify some inaccuracies" in the article.

He also says that he is in complete agreement with the decision by the Minister for Defence not to participate in this year's Baltops exercise - the Partnership for Peace maritime exercise in the Baltic involving European fleets and the US coastguard.

Referring to the current review of the Naval Service by the Government, which recommended a £235 million re-equipment plan for both the Naval Service and Air Corps, Commodore Kavanagh denies that this is "on hold".

The Nautical Institute, an organisation representing both mercantile and naval officers, has claimed that successive reviews over the past decade had left the service "reeling", and the most recent report appeared to have been put on hold.

In a separate statement, the Nautical Institute's chairman, Commander Jim Robinson, has dissociated himself from any implication that the institute suggested that a ship might have to tie up.

Fine Gael's defence and marine spokespersons, Ms Frances Fitzgerald and Mr Michael Finucane, say that the Minister for Defence must address the personnel crisis in the Naval Service.

"Recruitment of staff is a major problem for employers across a wide spectrum of the market at present, and the Defence Forces are no exception", Ms Fitzgerald and Mr Finucane say in a joint statement. "However, where other industries have been willing to consider new and creative means of attracting and retaining staff, the Minister has refused to address the underlying reasons for naval personnel leaving the service."

The Naval Service is still losing more than it is employing in a highly competitive labour market. Two of the nine watchkeepers head-hunted abroad last year are quitting already. The service has lost 46 trained staff since the new year.