LÉ Deirdre (P20)

LÉ Deirdre (P20) was a ship in the Irish Naval Service. She was named after Deirdre, a tragic heroine from Irish mythology who committed suicide after her lover's murder.

History
Ireland
Name	Deirdre
Namesake	Deirdre
Builder	Verolme Cork Dockyard, Cork
Yard number	819
Laid down	10 August 1971
Launched	21 January 1972
Commissioned	19 June 1972
Decommissioned	2001
Stricken	2003
Homeport	Cork
Identification	IMO number: 8639857 MMSI number: 538070595 Callsign: V7QY3 Pennant number: P20
Fate	Sold for scrapping
General characteristics
Type	Offshore patrol vessel
Displacement	972 tonnes max
Length	56.1 m (184 ft) overall
Beam	10.42 m (34.2 ft)
Draught	4.38 m (14.4 ft)
Speed	33.3 km/h (18.0 kn) maximum
Boats & landing craft carried	3
Complement	47 (6 officers and 41 ratings )
Armament	1 × 40 mm/60 Bofors 2 × 12.7 mm machine guns

Built in 1972, Deirdre was built as a replacement for the Ton-class minesweepers, and one of the first vessels custom-built for the Irish Naval Service.[1] She was to have longer range and be a more seaworthy ship for work in the Atlantic. Deirdre became the prototype for the later Emer-type vessels.

LÉ Deirdre badge, National Maritime Museum

Deirdre undertook a number of search and rescue operations throughout her careers. For example, Deirdre was one of the vessels involved in the 1979 Fastnet race rescue operations, assisting the crews of two yachts.[1][2] In 1990, during the rescue of a Spanish trawler crew in Bantry Bay, a member of Deirdre's crew died – and was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and Spanish Cross of Naval Merit.[3][4]

By the time of the vessel's naval decommissioning in early 2001, Deirdre had travelled approximately 450,000 nautical miles.[5] She was replaced by a Róisín-class patrol vessel.

Deirdre was sold at public auction for IR£190,000 in 2001. She was purchased by the English yacht chartering company Seastream International for conversion into luxury charter yacht Tosca IV for the company's owner, businessman Christopher Matthews.[6][7] Speaking on the radio, a Seastream spokesman appeared pleased with their bargain as they had been prepared to bid up to IR£500,000. The auction starting price had been IR£60,000.

The conversion in a Polish shipyard was not completed as the English owner died. In 2007 she was towed to Brazil for further refit and completion.[8] Substantially complete, she arrived at Jacksonville, Florida in September 2012 for final outfitting as Santa Rita I. However, in August 2014, Santa Rita I was towed to Green Cove Springs, Florida, for breaking.[9][10]