LAST UPDATE | 19 Feb 2025

A NAVAL SHIP has suffered damage to its hull when it collided with a quayside in Cork Harbour. 

The LÉ Niamh, which has been undergoing a refit for the last two years in Cork Dockyard near Cobh, collided with a quayside, it is understood. 

Sources have said that the damage to the vessel is above the water mark and there is a hole immediately below the deck with a large indent. 

No sailors were injured in the incident and the vessel is not in danger of sinking. 

A spokesman for the Irish Defence Forces said: “The LÉ Niamh was conducting Sea Acceptance Trials in Cork Harbour following an extensive period of overhaul.

“The ship was conducting a berthing operation at Cork Dockyard this afternoon following a day of trials in the Cork Harbour area. The ship experienced a difficult berthing resulting in minor damage to the ships equipment. No personnel were injured in this incident.”

The Niamh has been spotted in Cork Harbour undergoing tests as it emerges from the two year refurbishment project. 

It was being towed by two tug boats yesterday at lunchtime past the town of Cobh and its base at Haulbowline Island and sources have said it was undergoing testing of its engines. 

The LÉ Niamh was built in Appledore Shipyard in the UK for the Naval Service – she was commissioned in 2001. 

Her sister ship is the LÉ Róisín – both ships are named in honour of characters from Irish mythology – the Niamh from the Queen of Tir na nÓg.