Irish warship visits St. Petersburg

22.08.2011 Irish Navy's ship L.E. Roisin will visit St. Petersburg in Aug 23-26, 2011, reported the city's external relations committee to Central Navy Portal.

The visit program includes laying of wreaths at Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery, visiting the Central Naval Museum and cruiser Avrora.

The press conference will take place on board the ship on Aug 24 with participation of Irish ambassador to Russia Philip McDonagh. The briefing will cover wide range of Russian-Irish relations and cooperation between Ireland and St. Petersburg in the areas of economy, culture, education, and tourism.

Recall that flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet Admiral Chabanenko called at Dublin in July, 2011.

Recently, contacts between St. Petersburg and Ireland are actively developing in various areas. The most important event was the visit of Irish president Mary McAleese to St. Petersburg in Sept 2010. At that time, a protocol was signed as a result of negotiations on partnership and cooperation between St. Petersburg and Dublin during the 3rd St. Petersburg International Innovation Forum. In March 2011, St. Petersburg took part in Russian Culture Festival in Dublin.

Reference

Patrol ship P51 L.E. Roisin is the lead one in the 2-ship series. She was commissioned into Irish Navy in 1999. Standard displacement is 1,500 tons; length is 78.84 meters; beam is 14 meters; draft is 3.8 meters; powerplant includes 2 diesels; speed is up to 23 knots; fuel range is 5,000 miles; crew is 44 men; armament includes one 76-mm gun mount OTO Melara and two 12.7-mm machineguns.

Commanding officer is Lt Cmdr Peter Twomey.