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AS YOU’LL NO DOUBT have read on popular news website TheJournal.ie, the Irish Government is giving the former naval vessel the LÉ Aoife to Malta to help deal with the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.
The vessel was decommissioned from the Naval Service in Waterford in at the end of last month, after 36 years in service.
We’d initially planned to sell it – but Defence Minister Simon Coveney confirmed yesterday that he had agreed to donate the ship “to address a pressing short-term shortfall in the naval capacity of Malta”.
The reaction to the news in our own comments section was generally positive. A sample response from ‘Al Ca’:
“I kinda like the idea that the LÉ AOIFE will still be patrolling somewhere especially where it will help to save lives instead of ending up scrapped.
“Malta is a very small country with it’s own debt problem that has to deal with an ongoing humanitarian crisis on the borders of Europe.
“Financially it’s a small contribution that will reap benefits in saving lives.”
The reaction on the website of English-language newspaper The Times of Malta was a little more mixed, however.
While the ongoing refugee crisis in Mediterranean makes the news here whenever there’s a major tragedy – obviously, it’s an issue the Maltese pay a lot more attention to…
A ‘V Buhagiar’ made the following comment yesterday:
That’s easy the donate an obsolete ship to show solidarity. At the end we (Maltese Tax payers) have to pay for its upkeep and running (no joke for a 35 year old ship). What we need most is the relocation of immigrants, not ships.
This came from an ‘S Caruana’:
We neither need vessels and nor money we just need push back that was what we were promised.
From ‘John Camilleri’:
Thank you for giving us a 36 year old ship.. but what Malta was hoping for is Burden Sharing!!
Other responses have been a bit more detailed – and have given a little more of an insight into how the issue is viewed in Malta, and elsewhere in the region. From Kurt Waschnig:
Excellent done by the Republic of Ireland to give an offshore patrol vessel to Malta to help it cope with the migration crisis. That will help to rescue more migrants. But more European countries should do the same and give Malta patrol vessels. More and more migrants will try to cross the Mediterranean therefore Malta needs more patrol vessels.
Meanwhile, in his official response, Malta’s Home Affairs and National Security Minister Carmelo Abela said the country appreciated the Irish donation, and said it would be useful in supporting Malta’s border security work and efforts to tackle the migration crisis.
A statement agreed with Ireland’s Defence officials said:
Malta routinely coordinates the rescue and takes in scores of refugees from the Middle East, N.Africa and the Sahel, often in treacherous sea conditions. This donation from the Irish Defence forces will contribute additional capability to the Maltese authorities, and especially the Armed Forces of Malta in their humanitarian work.
The UNHCR says that almost 3,500 people died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe last year. In the latest tragedy – last week – at least 300 migrants are feared to have drowned – trying to cross from north Africa.
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Irish donation makes Maltese Cross.
They seem pretty upset about it , but we shouldn’t mock them for that , no point being malteasers
Malta seem offended about receiving a free ship, yet have no problem being members of the British commonwealth?
They’re free to ask Britain for ships if they want.
They were offended that the golden rivet had been removed beforehand….
Better idea, why don’t we give it to the migrants to set up a ferry service
Seems like the new surefire policy of getting immigrants into the EU. Traffikers tell them they will be set adrift, but don’t worry the soft touch EU is guaranteed then to allow you in. Most if not all on these boats are young fit males, yeh we really need these prowling around our streets and neighbourhoods.
The Maltese are not upset for the Irish noble gesture, you have to see the reaction by the Maltese in its context. Simply extracting comments from another website is a very superfluous way of putting forward an argument. Illegal immigration into Malta is seen by locals as a pressing issue that needs a Europe wide response to be tackled. The Maltese see any investments into the Maltese Navy as going to enhancing and incentivising a route for North Africans to come to Malta.
I hate to think how it would look if some of the more rabid commenters on The Journal were presented as representative of Irish public opinion…
As many commentators will tell you theirs is the most popular party on the island of Ireland … so their views aren’t that far off representing public opinion as a whole.
Sailing vessel, donation and Malta.
Try create a sentence containing these words.
The maltese navy must be fairly shook when they’re getting our old ships
‘I sucked Endas knob and all I got was this lousy ship’ t-shirts going like hot cakes in Malta at the moment…
Russia lives in fear of the Irish navy. In a war we could hold them off for about 15 minutes
Who would have thought there where Bogans in Malta ?
So we are using internet comments as a gauge of how things are actually viewed now… *sigh*
Sell her for scrap lads and let them
go and shite.
Ungrateful gits. They could have sent us some Malteasers at the very least.
Ungrateful shower so what if its 35 years old better than nothing
I was reading that story on the Times of Malta yesterday, and when I got down to the comments section I noticed all the moaning about us giving them the vessel. With all the moaning I thought for a minute I was reading the journals comment section.
The ship has been well maintained and will serve with the Maltese for
4-5 years before a newly built offshore patrol vessel enters service with the Malta Maritime Squadron.
Good to see a ship almost at the end of her life being put to good use rather then being sent to the scrapyard.
The donation from Ireland also enhances on-going defence co-operation with Malta.
Officer cadets from the Malta Armed Forces are trained at the cadet college in the Curragh.
And Irish and Maltese soldiers have served together in Somalia training the local army to take on jihadis from the terrorist group Al Shabaab.
FFS, next you will have that site taking a few comments from this article stating how Ireland views Malta as ungrateful. Going all Meta and such
Immediate blockade and shelling of their ports should commence.
Tell Malta that every country has its own burdens. We didn’t sail it over and just abandon it there. They could have just said ‘no thanks’.
If the Maltese wanted an aging bucket then we could have given them Joan burton.
Let no good deed go unpunished.
So they’re happy to have the sunshine most of the year around, nice sandy beaches and the Med to swim in… They talk of burden sharing! Give us some of that sunshine and we’ll take more of the burden.
Strange that a country that houses our biggest tax exile get a donation of a ship from us!! And were these ships not full of asbestos?
We had the asbestos removed prior to decommissioning what is a very capable ship for the role envisaged.
A country that houses your biggest tac exile? Say what? Is this your person opinion or an evidence backed statement?
I agree with these people in Malta. I have seen this ship in dry dock with cracks all over it. They were welding bits on to it to keep it together. She was a heap of scrap 5 years ago.
Which dry dock was that then?? Your own empty bathtub?? I say this because you lie, my friend, utter garbage.
Really Ross I had to pump the diesel from her tanks in the dock yard in Cork.
She’s well seaworthy. A lot of tales behind the patches. She’s in good nick but would be of limited use going forward to the Naval Service.
If you were legit MJ you would have said Verolme, not “the dock in cork”. Dont talk about what you dont know buddy, theres always someone who does know, just ready for someone like you. I mean, I only spent two years on her, what would I know??
Poor Mjhint. Better tell that one in confessions!
So a few comments on a news site are seen by some contributers on this thread on representing the entire population of Malta.
Some folks just like to give out.
Sad really.
Maybe they can ask Denis “the maltese shitehawk” O’Brien to pay a few bob in tax. Might help their financial woes
Is anybody else sweating for a pack of malteasers after reading this.
Bought the malteasers easter egg today. It is February shur…
…if they don’t want it, fine – send it back.
And, seeing as it’s now theirs, I’ll take it f.o.c. as well – what day will it be in galway docks ?
If they could just keep it long enough to sink Dennis O ‘Brien’s Yacht with him on it we will forgive the insult .
Further to your story regarding the reactions posted on a thread line in a Maltese newspaper, you have to be aware that some could be fake identities who post comments and rant about practically anything. Malta and Ireland have always enjoyed excellent relations, perhaps due to our three main common denominators: we were both under British rule. Both Ireland and Malta were granted self-government in 1921, Malta becoming fully independent in 1964, we both have a strong Catholic heritage and the peoples are overtly friendly and open to strangers in their midst.
Many thanks for the donation of the military ship to Malta. It shall be put to good use in patrolling our waters but our armed forces, due to the unforeseen phenomena of illegal human trafficking that we have witnessed in the last few years and the inability of EU programmes such as Frontex to put an effective surveillance in the same area. Once again, many thanks.
Our “Defence” Forces should be DEFENDING Europe from the invasion of unwanted, hostile immigrants, not encouraging it by donating decommissioned vessels to aid them in their passage to our shores! Meanwhile ISIS have recently threatened to send 500,000 boat people across the Mediterranean to invade Europe!
How it didn’t end up on a haltingsite beside a stack of batteries, I’ll never know!
What they really need are buses. The ones they have are in bits
You need to get updated re. the Maltese transport system!
Take the migrants it saves….that will make us grateful….very grateful
The Maltese need to get their act together. Their Home Affairs and National Security Minister was very keen on getting it. Make up your minds, folks.
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