Ireland will deploy a single Naval Service patrol vessel to Operation IRINI for a period of 46 days during June and July this year in order to help enforce a UN arms embargo on Libya, which was introduced in 2020 to preserve peace in the country after the end of the second Libyan civil war.
The proposal was presented by Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin to his country’s lower house, known as Dáil Éireann, last Tuesday, April 25. The following day, the Dáil approved it.
According to the Irish Defense Forces, the LÉ WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS has been identified as the Naval Asset set to deploy for Operation IRINI.
LÉ WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS will be tasked with Information, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations while also engaging in Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) operations on a regular basis, a capability in which the Irish Navy excels, from experience in the North East Atlantic Ocean, according to the Irish Defense Forces.