The new £18 million ship Granuaile, built to service Irish lighthouses and buoys, would also be available for search and rescue work, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, said yesterday.
Speaking at the official commissioning ceremony in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, the Minister also stressed the potential of the ship for oceanographic and general survey work. The Government committed £7 million towards the cost of the vessel, and it was a symbol of east-west and north-south co-operation, the Minister said.
The new Granuaile replaces the existing lighthouse/buoy tender, Granuaile II, owned by the lighthouse authority. The 80-metre ship's hull was built in Romania and then fitted out by Damen Shipyards in Holland.
The ship has a speed of 13 knots and a bollard pull of 50 tonnes. It is also equipped for search and rescue, pollution response and emergency towing.
Fishing industry representatives from around the coastline attended yesterday's ceremony, which was hosted by the chairman of Irish Lights, Mr Michael MacLaran.
The Commissioners of Irish Lights is an all-island body administering 283 navigational aids around the coast. Allied to the General Lighthouse Authority in Britain, its budget depends on light dues levied on vessels using both Irish and British ports. Recently, it was incorporated into the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission - one of the North-South bodies which has since been suspended.
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