Deirdre-class

LÉ Deirdre (P20) was an offshore patrol vessel operated by the Irish Naval Service. Built by Verolme Cork Dockyard, the ship was the first vessel designed and constructed in Ireland for the national naval service. Laid down in 1971 and commissioned on 19 June 1972, the vessel was intended to augment the existing fleet of Ton-class minesweepers. The design served as the prototype for the subsequent Emer-type patrol vessels.

The vessel was designed for increased range and seaworthiness to facilitate operations in the Atlantic. The design incorporated a complement of 47 personnel, including six officers and 41 ratings, and provided carriage for three boats.

Based in Cork, Deirdre conducted maritime patrols and search and rescue operations throughout its service life. In 1979, the ship participated in the Fastnet race rescue operations, where it assisted the crews of two yachts. During a 1990 rescue operation involving a Spanish trawler in Bantry Bay, a member of the ship's crew died; the individual was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the Spanish Cross of Naval Merit. By its decommissioning in early 2001, the vessel had recorded approximately 450,000 nautical miles of travel.

Following its naval service, the ship was replaced by a Róisín-class patrol vessel and sold at public auction in 2001 to Seastream International. It was intended for conversion into a charter yacht named Tosca IV. After the conversion remained unfinished at a Polish shipyard, the vessel was towed to Brazil in 2007 and later to Jacksonville, Florida, in 2012 for further outfitting under the name Santa Rita I. The vessel was eventually towed to Green Cove Springs, Florida, and scrapped in 2014.