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Displaying items by tag: Warlord: Libya

A former patrol vessel of the Irish Naval Service, LÉ Aisling, was sold to one of the participants in the civil war in Libya last year in breach of a UN arms embargo, the UN Security Council has been told.

According to The Irish Times, the embargo was breached by a company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), about a year after the decommissioned vessel (see towage story) was sold by the State to a Dutch shipping broker according to a UN report.

The State sold the offshore patrol vessel for €110,000 to the Dutch company (which Afloat adds led to criticism of the price fetched). The Dutch company sold it a year later, for $525,000 (€473,000), to the company in the UAE, which almost immediately sold it to a company in Libya for $1.5 million (€1.3 million). 

The details of what happened to the former Irish naval vessel are set out in a report just filed by the Expert Panel on Libya to the UN Security Council.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Defence said it had no “trailing obligations” in relation to the vessel, and that the resale of the ship was a matter for its purchaser.

Click here for more on this story on the final INS 'Emer' class patrol vessel which was commissioned into service in 1980. 

Published in Navy

About the Watersports Inclusion Games

The Watersports Inclusion Games are an award-winning event organised by Irish Sailing with partners from across the watersports sector, that enable people of all abilities from the physical, sensory, intellectual and learning spectrums to take to the water to participate in a wide range of water activities.

More than 250 people with physical, sensory, intellectual and learning disabilities typically take part in the weekend's events.

Participants will have the opportunity to try more sports than ever before, with an expanded range including sailing, kayaking, canoeing, paddle-boarding, rowing, surfing, water skiing and powerboating all on offer.

The Games typically take place each August.

The organisers of the Games want to let people of all abilities know that there are multiple watersports available to them, and to encourage more people from all backgrounds to get involved and out on the water regardless of ability. They aim to highlight that any barriers faced by people with disabilities can be eliminated.

There are social, health and wellness benefits associated with sailing and all watersports. These include improved muscle strength and endurance, improved cardiovascular fitness and increased agility, enhanced spatial awareness, greater mental wellness through the balancing of serotonin levels and the lowering of stress levels, improved concentration and the forging of positive relationships.