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  • Royal Navy to recover stranded British nationals.

    Downing Street announced today that the Royal Navy will be dispatching the following ships to aid British nationals stranded in Europe due to the 'no fly' zone caused by the Icelandic volcanic ash:

    HMS Ark Royal currently headed towards the English Channel awaiting further instructions.

    HMS Ocean headed to France.

    HMS Albion headed to Spain to recover soldiers from the 3RIFLES Battlegroup who have made their way from Afghanistan to Spain.
    Last edited by RoyalGreenJacket; 19 April 2010, 10:48.
    RGJ

    ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

    The Rifles

  • #2
    What has this to do with the irish naval service?

    Would it not be better to merge it with the existing thread.

    Comment


    • #3
      The irish Naval Service is on hand to provide similar transport to those requiring hospital transfer to the UK, and L.E. Ciara is positioned in the Irish sea to cover any SAR requirements.
      Last edited by Boomer; 19 April 2010, 13:52.


      Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by paul g View Post
        What has this to do with the irish naval service?

        Would it not be better to merge it with the existing thread.
        they share some of the same water, and probably.
        RGJ

        ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

        The Rifles

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
          they share some of the same water, and probably.
          No they don't. Our water is ours, Theirs is theirs. 12 mile limit and all that. I doubt you'll see Ark Royal pulling into any Irish Port to repatriate stranded British Tourists.
          Have to wonder how useful Ark Royal is anyway. One presumes their aircraft are grounded too, ergo they have to find a port. Do they have surplus accomodation? I would have thought an LPD might be more useful.


          Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Goldie fish View Post
            No they don't. Our water is ours, Theirs is theirs. 12 mile limit and all that. I doubt you'll see Ark Royal pulling into any Irish Port to repatriate stranded British Tourists.
            Have to wonder how useful Ark Royal is anyway. One presumes their aircraft are grounded too, ergo they have to find a port. Do they have surplus accomodation? I would have thought an LPD might be more useful.

            the decision has nothing to do with the impending british election of course, and the need by politicans to look decisive.

            I think that it would be better merged with the thread in the general section about the ash cloud if one of the MODS agree, as it has nothing to do with the NS, but is relevant to the general discussion about the problem.
            Last edited by paul g; 19 April 2010, 14:20.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Goldie fish View Post
              No they don't. Our water is ours, Theirs is theirs. 12 mile limit and all that. I doubt you'll see Ark Royal pulling into any Irish Port to repatriate stranded British Tourists.
              Have to wonder how useful Ark Royal is anyway. One presumes their aircraft are grounded too, ergo they have to find a port. Do they have surplus accomodation? I would have thought an LPD might be more useful.
              so the Irish Navy never venture into the Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay or the English Channel or Atlantic South West Approaches? i'm sure Royal Navy ships enter those places and Irish Sea - therefore they share the same water.

              yeah i suppose a better option instead of sending the Ark Royal would be to send that Irish Navy Hospital Ship that the Irish Government sent to Haiti?

              you can get a hell of a lot of bed spaces on a carrier like the Ark Royal if need be.

              just remind me, what are Ireland doing to get their nationals back?
              Last edited by RoyalGreenJacket; 19 April 2010, 14:18.
              RGJ

              ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

              The Rifles

              Comment


              • #8
                You assume that Irish Nationals WANT to come back.

                I see that surprisingly you seem to ignore the concept of international boundaries. Irish Naval vessels do not patrol British Waters, they do however patrol the waters of the EU EEZ.

                To share would presume that there is joint ownership of such waters. If the Irish NS travels outside the EEZ it does not presume to own the waters around the ship.
                Do the RN see things differently? If so it is no wonder they are unwelcome in some ports.


                Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                Comment


                • #9
                  no Goldie - when i said they share some of the same water - i meant they literally float in the same water that covers the earth - so if the Irish Navy and the Royal Navy are both in any sea be it the Irish Sea or the Atlantic Sea then they are sharing the same water in my eyes!

                  who cares if they are unwelcome? but in which ports are they not welcome and why?

                  anyhow, they will be bringing people home and that's good in my books.
                  RGJ

                  ...Once a Rifleman - Always a Rifleman... Celer et Audax

                  The Rifles

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Ah.
                    My definition of "share" was different.
                    I still think I'd prefer to be brought home by a purpose built passenger ship under a Red Duster than by a floating airport of the grey funnel line. The new "Queen" Liners would be considerably faster than the carriers in any case.


                    Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Goldie fish View Post
                      Ah.
                      My definition of "share" was different.
                      I still think I'd prefer to be brought home by a purpose built passenger ship under a Red Duster than by a floating airport of the grey funnel line. The new "Queen" Liners would be considerably faster than the carriers in any case.
                      But wouldn't win as many votes.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
                        so the Irish Navy never venture into the Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay or the English Channel or Atlantic South West Approaches? i'm sure Royal Navy ships enter those places and Irish Sea - therefore they share the same water.

                        yeah i suppose a better option instead of sending the Ark Royal would be to send that Irish Navy Hospital Ship that the Irish Government sent to Haiti?

                        you can get a hell of a lot of bed spaces on a carrier like the Ark Royal if need be.

                        just remind me, what are Ireland doing to get their nationals back?
                        Can we take it that the Ark Royal carries plenty life boats to cover

                        the extra personal?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          If they parked the Ark Royal between Dover and Calais it would nearly make a bridge. :

                          Listening to lads on Joe Duffy today. One group got two taxis from Odessa to Amsterdam. Another group taxied home from Dusseldorf to Waterford.
                          Last edited by Groundhog; 19 April 2010, 19:08.
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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by RoyalGreenJacket View Post
                            just remind me, what are Ireland doing to get their nationals back?
                            There are already several vessels in service which are designed to transport people to and from Ireland:



                            I doubt that many British holidaymakers who have been "stranded" will be too happy with the accomodation given to them on a naval vessel. Expect reports of human rights violations because they wouldn't let them smoke near the aviation fuel.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              was dubbed “Gordon’s Armada” but the two Royal Navy warships ordered by the Prime Minister to evacuate holidaymakers from northern France ran into controversy last night.

                              Thousands of stranded airline passengers began making their way to the Channel ports after Gordon Brown announced that HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean were being sent to rescue them. But last night the ships had still not docked as ferry companies condemned the operation as a “gesture” and insisted that there was no need for the Navy to get involved.

                              The British Ambassador to Paris, Sir Peter Westmacott, described the plan as simply an “option” and said that those who reached Calais were sure of a ferry crossing after a short wait.

                              Ferry companies said that the warships would be better deployed to Spain, which is to be the hub of the effort to repatriate British tourists from around the world. HMS Albion was expected to arrive in Santander, northern Spain, this morning to collect about 300 servicemen and women who have been in Afghanistan. It might also carry some civilians.

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                              Admiral Lord West of Spithead, the Security Minister, first suggested the Navy’s involvement after an emergency meeting at Downing Street on Sunday. Details were announced by the Prime Minister yesterday morning after a meeting of the Cobra emergency planning committee.

                              Mr Brown said the aircraft carrier Ark Royal and the helicopter carrier Ocean would operate from the Channel ports. “I expect Ocean to be in the Channel today. I expect the Ark Royal to be moving towards the Channel later,” he said. Experts estimated that the Ark Royal could carry about 1,000 civilian passengers on each sailing and Ocean up to 2,000. With crossings taking approximately three hours and a further hour each end for boarding and disembarking, the ships could manage three crossings a day. This would equate to 9,000 of the 150,000 passengers being rescued daily.

                              Ministry of Defence commanders and civilian staff yesterday struggled to organise the first big civilian evacuation since Lebanon in 2006. South Coast ports, including the cruise ship terminal at Southampton, were asked if they could handle the warships.

                              Tim Fish, a maritime analyst at Jane’s Information Group, questioned the wisdom of using the warships. He said: “They are very large platforms but it does sound odd to use them as ferries. They are not comfortable by any means. They are not ferries so they will take longer to load and unload in port but they have a large enough capacity to get thousands of people on board for a quick trip across the Channel.”

                              Cross-Channel ferry companies also said they were coping with the additional passengers and had “plenty of spaces” to get holidaymakers home.

                              William Gibbons, director of the Passenger Shipping Association, said: “I don’t think there is any shortage of capacity. I don’t think the navy ships will be of any use at the French Channel ports. This all seems to have been done rather hastily. We were not consulted. The Channel ports are no busier than on a typical summer’s day.”

                              Chris Jones, spokesman for Brittany Ferries, said: “We have plenty of spaces.” P&O Ferries said it had seen more than ten times as many daily bookings as are usual for this time of year. But the company has accommodated everyone wanting to travel from Calais to Dover. A spokesman said: “It might sound attractive to get in an aircraft carrier to take 1,000 people at a time, but we can carry five times that capacity.

                              “The lion’s share of the repatriation will be done by professional ferry companies working all along the French coast, not by a well-meaning gesture from the Royal Navy.”

                              Thousands of travellers continued to stream to the French ports by road and rail yesterday. Many had driven hundreds or even thousands of miles in hire cars that littered car parks, with number plates from Greece, Poland and Morocco.

                              Waiting passengers reserved mockery for Mr Brown’s announcement that the Royal Navy was sailing to the rescue. “You can tell there’s an election,” said Bruce Truewell, a teacher from near Birmingham, who had taken trains from Toulouse.

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