Leadership Nigerian Company Director Buys Ship For €320,000 By: UGOCHUKWU IROKA, Agency Report on October 24, 2013 - 5:07am A Nigerian company director has bought the former Irish Naval Service OPV L.E. Emer (P21) ship at an auction for €320,000, reports RTE News. The new owner has yet to decide whether to convert it for pleasure use or use it as a commercial security ship off West Africa. There were two other bidders, one from Cork and the other based in the UK. Afloat.ie adds that the public auction was organised by auctioneer Dominic J. Daly at the Carrigaline Court Hotel outside Cork City. The 1978-built 1,019.5 displacement tonnes offshore patrol vessel was last month officially decommissioned, following a ceremony held in Cork City quays, attended by Flag Officer Commanding the Naval Service Cmdr. Mark Mellett. She subsequently returned to the Naval Service basin on Haulbowline Island, where she was made open for inspection by potential buyers. Her final patrol, which was in late September, took in farewell calls and a special cruise for former crew members. A pair of Pielstick 6-cylinder diesel engines powered the ship over a distance of approximately 518,000 miles during the course of a career spanning 35 years. According to the auctioneer, L.E. Emer’s nearest sister, L.E. Aoife (P22), which was completed only two years later and also launched at Verolme Cork Dockyard (V.C.D.) is to be put on the market in a year’s time. The design origins of L.E. Emer derive from the Naval Service’s first custom-built vessel the L.E. Deirdre, also launched from the V.C.D. shipyard in 1972. She was decommissioned in 2001 and sold for €190,000 and converted into a luxury yacht.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 07:30:37 +0000