The LE Samuel Beckett was moored at the DSEI fair

Babcock International, a British military ship builder, entertained its warship customers on board the Irish naval vessel LE Samuel Beckett at an international arms exhibition last month.

Department of Defence documents, released under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal the company’s invited “warship” guests were accorded “priority slots” to tour the ship over three days at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) biannual exhibition at ExCeL, a London exhibition centre.

Babcock International hosted meetings and evening receptions in the ship’s wardroom and the sailors’ mess.

Guided half-hour tours were given by the ship’s crew to exhibition visitors. The tours were followed by refreshments on board and question-and-answer sessions with Babcock executives and members of the Irish naval service.

The company told the Department of