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On a completely unrelated note, the Commander in Chief of the Lithuanian Navy, Rear Admiral Macijauskas visited Haulbowline today. They have been buying lots of second hand minor warships in the last few years.
They have in recent years bought:
Hunt Class Minesweepers from the RN
Flyvefisken class Patrol Vessels from Denmark
Storm Class Fast Patrol boat from Norway
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.
The former naval vessel Le Emer has been sold at auction in Cork for €320,000.
The ship, the oldest in the naval service fleet, was bought by a Nigerian company director.
He said he has yet to decide whether to convert it for pleasure use or use it as a commercial security ship off west Africa.
New owner says he’s unsure on private or security role for vessel in Niger Delta
The former Naval Service vessel the LE Emer, which was stood down last month after 35 years, has been sold at auction in Cork today for €320,000 to a Nigerian businessman based in London.
Cyprian Imobhio, chief executive and managing director of Uniglobe Group, said he had got the LE Emer, stripped of its armaments, for a good price, but he was reluctant to say it was a bargain. “It was a good price - but I would have preferred to get her for €200,000,” he said with a smile.
Speaking following the auction at the Carrigaline Court Hotel in Co Cork where he saw off two rival bidders after bidding rose quickly from an opening gambit of €50,000, Mr Imobhio said he was impressed by the LE Emer when he first saw her at Naval Service HQ at nearby Haulbowline.
“It’s a beautiful boat. Navies are very meticulous organisations and they always keep their equipment well maintained - it was quite well looked after for its age, but it’s still 35 years old, so there are a few things that need to be done - plus there are a few issues of classification.”
Mr Imobhio said he plans to bring the LE Emer to London after upgrading work which he hopes to get done locally in Cork. Then he will decide what to do with the Irish ship, which was involved in the seizure of the IRA gun-running ship, the Marita Ann, in 1984.
“It’s always a pleasure to get a new boat, and this is an exceptionally big boat - it’s not every day you come across a boat like this. We are going to make some changes and decide from there what we are going to do with it - either use it privately or use it commercially.
“Commercially, I could probably use it for protection in the Niger Delta off Nigeria to provide security for oil companies. We are doing that kind of work today in that area, but not with equipment this big,” said Mr Imobhio, who already owns seven other ships.
Auctioneer Dominic Daly said he was slightly disappointed with the price that the LE Emer made, as one of five interested parties did not attend the auction and only three of the remaining four parties engaged in the bidding, but he wished the new owner well.
“I am a little bit disappointed - I had a slightly higher price in my mind in view of the level of interest, but it’s all part of a good news story. She’s being replaced by a new much larger ship; this was an older ship and time doesn’t wait for anyone,” he said.
Among those at yesterday’s auction were two of the LE Emer’s former captains - ex-Lt Cmdr Eamon Doyle, who collected the ship from Verolme Cork Dockyard in 1978, and ex-Lt Cmdr Aidan Kehoe, who skippered her on a supply trip to Lebanon in 1995.
“I stood in for the first captain Jack Jordan when we collected her from the dockyard,” said Mr Doyle, “so it was great to be there at her first day of service and here today to see the end of her in Irish service - it would be nice though to see one of these ships kept as a museum ship.
“Probably the one that should have been kept was the LE Deirdre, since it was the very first naval vessel built in Cork, but she’s gone too.
“I think one of the others built there should be kept as a museum ship as they are an important part of our maritime heritage.”
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.
Would it not have been better to have kept Emer and bring her into the Coastguard, paint the hull white with a Coastguard logo and a reduced Naval crew to operate her in search and rescue etc. Very sad the see her leave the country.
Would it not have been better to have kept Emer and bring her into the Coastguard, paint the hull white with a Coastguard logo and a reduced Naval crew to operate her in search and rescue etc. Very sad the see her leave the country.
Waste of time and money
The IRCG may be responsible for SAR in the Irish SAR region but they couldn't cover it with 1 OPV!
Would it not have been better to have kept Emer and bring her into the Coastguard, paint the hull white with a Coastguard logo and a reduced Naval crew to operate her in search and rescue etc. Very sad the see her leave the country.
The Coastguard have no use nor function for a ship of any size at present, plus, it would cost the rest of their budget to keep it running and patched up.
Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can't stop them from doing.
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