#AislingSold -Former Naval Service offshore patrol vessel Aisling, has been sold at a public auction in Cork for €110,000, reports RTE News.
There were just two bids for the OPV, which was bought by a representative of a Dutch company which plans to refurbish it before re-selling it. The vessel auction had been advertised on Afloat.ie here
There was an unsuccessful bid of €100,000 by a businessman from Cobh, Co Cork.
Auctioneer Dominic Daly said he was disappointed but not entirely surprised at the selling price. He said the market for such vessels had collapsed.
LÉ Aisling was the fourth ship in a class that included the LÉ Deirdre, LÉ Emer and LÉ Aoife, all of which were designed and built in Ireland.
The name Aisling was chosen to commemorate the centenary of the birth of Pádraig Pearse and was built in 1979 and commissioned in 1980.
LÉ Aisling had 36 years of service and was engaged in numerous missions, rescues, UN supply missions, fishery protection operations and arms and drugs interdictions.
Further details about the OPV's role can be read here.
