LÉ ''James Joyce'' (P62) is a (OPV) which was built by Babcock Marine Appledore for the

Irish Naval Service The Naval Service ( ga, An tSeirbhís Chabhlaigh) is the maritime component of the Defence Forces of Ireland and is one of the three branches of the Irish Defence Forces. Its base is in Haulbowline, County Cork. Though preceded by earlier mar ...

. Although criticised by a descendant of the author, the ship was named for writer James Joyce.

Design and construction

In October 2010, the Irish Naval Service ordered a number of new offshore patrol vessels from

Babcock Marine Babcock International Group plc is a British aerospace, defence and nuclear engineering services company based in London, England. It specialises in managing complex assets and infrastructure. Although the company has civil contracts, its main b ...

, a UK-based shipbuilder operating out of Appledore, North Devon. Like the similar ''Róisín''-class OPV, ''James Joyce'' was designed by Vard Marine. In July 2013, the name of the vessel, ''James Joyce'' was announced by the Minister for Defence

Alan Shatter Alan Joseph Shatter (born 14 February 1951) is an Irish lawyer, author and former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Justice and Equality and Minister for Defence from 2011 to 2014. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Sou ...

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...

Operational history

The ship was completed and floated out of the shipyard in November 2014. Following sea-trials and a number of delays it was delivered to the Naval Service in mid-2015. The official naming and commissioning ceremony was held at Dún Laoghaire on 1 September 2015. In November 2016, personnel from the LÉ ''James Joyce'' boarded the FV ''Margiris'' as part of a fisheries inspection.

References

Ships built in Devon Samuel Beckett-class offshore patrol vessels 2014 ships Naval ships of the Republic of Ireland {{Mil-ship-stub