LÉ Aisling
Former Irish patrol vessel; Now used by Libyan National Army / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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LÉ Aisling (Irish pronunciation: [ˈaʃl̠ʲəɲ]; meaning "[poetic] dream, vision"), now known as Al-Karama, was a patrol vessel in the Irish Naval Service from 1980 to 2016. She was built in Verolme Dockyard, Cork, Ireland in 1979 and originally named after Patrick Pearse's poem, "Aisling" to commemorate the centenary of his birth.[2] During her career, Aisling participated in the Sonia and Marita Ann incidents, and was one of the first ships to arrive on the scene of the Air India Flight 182 disaster, and subsequently participated in recovery operations.[3] She was the adopted ship of Galway,[1] and officially decommissioned in her adopted city in June 2016.[1]
Aisling at Haulbowline, September 2007 | |
History | |
---|---|
Ireland | |
Name | LÉ Aisling |
Namesake | Aisling, a vision poem |
Builder | Verolme Dockyard, Cork |
Laid down | 31 January 1979 |
Launched | 3 October 1979 |
Commissioned | 21 May 1980 |
Decommissioned | 22 June 2016[1] |
Homeport | Haulbowline Naval Base |
Identification |
|
Fate | Decommissioned |
Libya | |
Name | Al-Karama |
Commissioned | May 2018 |
Homeport | Benghazi |
Identification |
|
Status | in active service |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Emer class OPV |
Type | Offshore patrol vessel |
Displacement | 1019.5 tonnes standard |
Length | 65.2 m (214 ft) overall |
Beam | 10.5 m (34 ft) |
Draught | 4.4 m (14 ft) |
Speed | 31.5 km/h (17.0 kn) maximum |
Complement | 46 (5 officers and 41 ratings) |
Armament |
|
In March 2017, stripped of arms and armaments, she was sold to a Dutch broker, and in May 2018 a United Arab Emirates company sold her to Khalifa Haftar's internationally unrecognised Libyan National Army, in violation of a UN arms embargo.[4] She was reportedly commissioned as the Libyan National Army's flagship and named Al-Karama (dignity).[5]