Vessels from the Naval Service conducted exercises off the south coast of Ireland today, as part of a week-long fleet assessment.
Some of the tasks involved include a scenario-based Maritime Interdiction Operation - which prepares armed teams for counter-narcotics and armed boardings at sea.
A member of the Naval boarding team
There were also casualty-winching exercises with the Air Corps' AW139 helicopter.
In the last six years the Naval Service has intercepted €1.7 billion worth of drugs in Irish waters. They also carried out 407 boardings and four detentions so far this year on fishery protection duties.
Naval boarding team conducting a Maritime Interdiction Operation
The Naval Service says it exercises as a fleet annually "to hone their skills and improve on techniques to ensure that the Ships can respond to any operational requirement that they may be required to undertake in Ireland's extensive maritime domain".
Irish waters cover an area 12-times the size of Ireland's land mass.
The Naval Service patrols 15% of EU waters which are under Irish control and which provide an estimated €3.4 billion in resources to the Irish exchequer annually.
