Images of the Irish Naval Service and the Spanish Navy together in the Irish Sea

In recent days, the Spanish Navy has made important visits to Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, with several naval units.

The tribute in Ireland to the sailors of the Spanish Navy who were shipwrecked in Sligo
The visit to Vigo of the patrol vessel LÉ William Butler Yeats of the Irish Naval Service

Ten days ago, the frigate "Santa María" F-81 visited Dublin, arriving on the morning of March 21 at berth 47 in the port of that city via North Burford and assisted by the tugboats Shackleton and Beaufort. The visit coincided with the week in which Ireland celebrates the feast of its patron saint, St. Patrick, which is celebrated on March 17. The Spanish ship made this stop during its deployment with NATO's Standing Naval Group 1 (SNMG1), on a voyage that took it for the first time beyond the Arctic Circle, as part of the Dynamic Mariner – Joint Warrior 26 exercise.

A few days later, on the afternoon of March 26, the frigate "Almirante Juan de Borbón" F-102 (above) and the combat supply ship (BAC) "Patiño" A-14 (below) arrived in Dublin. The F-102 frigate had just participated in NATO's Cold Response 26 exercise in the Barents Sea, north of Norway, acting as the command ship of SNMG1. According to the Irish website Afloat.ie, the BAC docked at berth 46 in Dublin Port and the frigate at berth 47. The two Spanish ships set sail from Dublin this Monday, March 30.

Yesterday, through its Instagram channel, the Irish Naval Service reported on a PASSEX exercise with the Spanish Navy in the Irish Sea. The exercise involved the Irish offshore patrol vessel LÉ George Bernard Shaw P-64 (below), of the Samuel Beckett class, and the aforementioned Spanish ships that sailed from Dublin yesterday: the frigate "Almirante Juan de Borgón" and the combat supply ship "Patiño."

During this exercise, the three ships "carried out a number of manoeuvring exercises to strengthen core maritime skills and test interoperability between both nations", the Irish Naval Service reported. Additionally, Irish Air Corps pilots participated in the exercise aboard a Spanish Navy H135 P3H Nival helicopter from No. 12 Squadron (below) "to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of flight deck operations." Currently, none of the Irish Naval Service's eight ships have a flight deck for operating aircraft.

Ireland is a neutral country and is not part of NATO, but it is a member of the European Union, so it is part of its Military Committee (EUMC) and participates in EU military missions and also in some under the NATO umbrella, as a member country of the Partnership for Peace, which also includes other neutral countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Ukraine and Moldova.

Yesterday, the Irish Defence Forces published a long series of 106 photos of this exercise on their Flickr channel. The images are of very good quality. You can see a selection of them here. The photos show the three ships mentioned, the Spanish H135 P3H HE.26-35A helicopter (10031) operating from the flight deck of the BAC "Patiño", and the Irish Coast Guard's (IRCG) Leonardo AW189 EI-IRR helicopter (above), which carried out a rescue exercise on the patrol vessel LÉ George Bernard Shaw. We also see Irish Air Corps airmen alongside two naval aviators from the 12th Squadron on the flight deck of the "Patiño".

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Photos: Óglaigh na hÉireann.