Revenue is to purchase two advanced vessels capable of patrolling international waters and specially equipped to assist in search and rescue operations.
Revenue already operates two ships, the RCC Suirbheir, acquired in 2004, and the RCC Faire which was purchased in 2009. It is understood the plan is to part exchange the older RCC Suirbheir, for the new vessels. The Faire is also expected to be decommissioned and sold.
The new ships are expected to cost in the region of €8 to €10 million each. They will be capable of conducting operations both close to the shore and further out at sea.
In 2015, legislation was passed allowing Revenue to conduct patrols beyond 12 nautical miles from shore, the limit of Ireland’s territorial waters.
The new cutters will be larger than their predecessors and will be able to operate for longer periods and in rougher seas.
As well carrying out Revenue duties, such a maritime monitoring and smuggling interdiction, the ships are intended for use as a diving platform for Garda and Naval Service divers and for use in support of search and rescue operations and as an on-scene search and rescue coordinator, according to pre-tender documents.
These functions are typically carried out by the Naval Service or the Irish Coast Guard which is the primary agency responsible for search and rescue at sea.
Coast Guard and Naval sources say the vessels will expand the search and rescue capabilities of the State in emergency situations.
The move comes against a backdrop of an increasingly depleted Naval Service. Currently only five out of nine ships are capable of going to sea and the Diving Section is operating at about one third of its intended strength (two coast patrol vessels are currently being purchased from New Zealand).
A Revenue spokeswoman said its vessels frequently support the Irish Coast Guard in search and rescue operations and render “whatever assistance is required”.
“On a number of occasions, our Cutters have been the ‘On Scene Coordinator’ managing the overall search operations at sea of all surface assets involved to recover casualties as directed by the Irish Coast Guard,” she said.
The new ships will be fitted with specialised search and rescue equipment such as thermal cameras, the documents show.
Revenue ships are also used by the Garda Water Unit as dive platforms which allows Garda divers to carry out underwater examinations of ships hulls for “parasitic devices containing drugs”, she said. Divers also examine suspicious buoys which are sometimes used to mark the location of drugs or contraband.
This work can also involve “search and recovery operations for missing persons at sea,” she said.
The new ships will have crews of between seven and eight people and will operate at sea for eight days at a time. Each will have at least six cabins and enough space for 10 crew.
Both ships are to be at least 24m long and up to 150 tonnes. They are to have a maximum speed of 20 knots and be capable of operating in six metre waves.
They will also be capable of deploying a rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB) from the stern for use in ship boarding and inspections. The cutters will be required to have a 20 year operational lifespan.
They will operate in all coastal areas but are expected to focus much of their work in the south-west, which is considered the main maritime drug smuggling route into Ireland.
Revenue ships have provided support and intelligence in several major drug smuggling operations in recent years.
In 2020, it made 15,714 drug seizures valued at €45 million on land and at sea. It also seized €48 million worth of cigarettes and 7,189 kgs of tobacco.
