Warlords are in for the keel
■ CALL TO SCRAP NAVY SHIPS AT COST OF €700K ■ MOVE AFTER LIBYAN GENERAL GOT L.E. AISLING
THE Department of Defence said the scrapping of three Naval Service vessels was likely to cost up to €700,000 but that a public sale could not be considered in case one of the boats ended up being sold on to a “warlord”.
In briefing papers on future options for the flagship LÉ Eithne, which embarked on its final voyage this week, officials said sale through public auction would mean the department “really has no control … as to who will end up with the ship or its ultimate destination if … sold onto a third party”.
It follows the sale of LÉ Aisling for €110,000 in 2017 before it changed hands multiple times, and later sold for €1.3 million before ending up “in the hands of a Libyan warlord”.
In a ministerial submission, officials said recycling of the LÉ Eithne and two other boats — the LÉ Ciara and LÉ Orla — would be costly but “would give certainty on the ultimate destination” of the vessels.
It said recycling costs were typically based on tonnage with the two smaller boats weighing 650 tonnes each and the LÉ Eithne weighing 900 tonnes. The submission said: “Market research has indicated that the costs involved in recycling these three ships could be up to approximately €700,000, including the cost of towing the vessels to their final destination.
“However, a more definitive cost will be known on receipt of tenders.” Officials said there was a possibility of partially offsetting the recycling costs through the sale of a 57mm gun on the LÉ Eithne, which manufacturers BOFORs were interested in buying as “the only gun of its type still in working condition”.
Talks over donating the LÉ Eithne for use as a museum or tourist attraction had also taken place with two different county councils and Dublin Port. But those options fell through, and the decision to recycle it was approved.
It said this meant there would be “no trailing obligations” for either the Department of Defence or the Naval Service.
Auction
In submissions, the department feared they could be stuck with the LÉ Eithne for a prolonged period, all the while running up costs at their Haulbowline headquarters.
In the briefing, officials wrote about how keeping the LÉ Eithne, and two sister ships, the LÉ Orla and LÉ Ciara, in the Naval Basin in Cork was costly both in terms of cash and manpower.
They said security was then provided by Naval Service personnel but that this could not continue given “resource constraints” and that hiring civilian contractors might be needed. The decision to scrap LÉ Eithne follows the sale of ex-Irish navy vessel the LE Aisling in 2017.
LE Aisling ended up in the hands of a Libyan warlord after it was sold at auction.
The ship went under the hammer and was sold to a Dutch company for €110,000.
They then sold the vessel for €473,000 to a company in the UAE who immediately flogged it to a Libyan buyer. Forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, who has been described as “Libya’s most potent warlord” then had ownership of the vessel. In 2018, LÉ Aisling was re-fitted with cannons and commissioned, under the name Al Karama, as the flagship of the Libyan National Army’s Navy.
The Department of Defence said then that it had no “trailing obligations” and the resale of the ship was a matter for its purchaser.