Naval service ship LÉ Eithne will leave Cork Harbour today to carry out rescue work in the Mediterranean.
Over 15,600 people have been rescued in the Mediterranean in by the Irish Naval Services’s humanitarian efforts since the first mission in May 2015, according to RTÉ News.
The Navy was first deployed two years ago to help with rescue efforts as refugees and migrants attempted to cross from North Africa to Europe in poor quality vessels.
This is the seventh such mission for the Navy and the second one for LÉ Eithne, which is currently the Navy’s flagship.
The ship will leave the Naval Service Headquarters at Haulbowline in Cork at 11am with a crew of 72, including a medic from the Army and one from the Air Force.
It will be captained by Officer Brian Fitzgerald and should be operational in the Mediterranean in around a week.
The mission is expected to last up to 12 weeks.
