Aircraft carrier for sale on internet... just £5 million.

£5m carrier for sale on the internet. To buy, just add to cart

By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE
Last updated at 10:40 AM on 5th December 2010

The aircraft carrier HMS Invincible is being auctioned on an eBay-style site as part of a multi-million-pound sale of military hardware.

Potential buyers will need at least £5million to become the proud owners of the 30-year-old Royal Navy warship.

But if they’ve got the cash, online shoppers can snap it up from the Ministry of Defence website as easily as they buy their groceries, books and CDs. All they need do is click on ‘Add to cart’.

Sail of the century: The website advertising the sale of HMS Invincible

Invincible – from which Prince Andrew flew helicopters during the 1982 Falklands War – is the centrepiece of a ‘sale of the century’ on the MoD’s Disposal Services Authority website, which includes unwanted ships, aircraft and tanks.

The sale is designed to reduce a £36billion ‘black hole’ in the MoD’s finances.

‘Vince’, as the 17,000-ton carrier is affectionately known, has had its engines and propellers removed.

Part of a proud tradition: HMS Invincible enters The Naval Dockyard in Portsmouth for the last time in August 2005

OR PICK UP THIS HARRIER...

A Royal Navy pilot makes a one-man protest against the demise of the fleet’s Harrier fighters – by placing a ‘For Sale’ sign in his cockpit.

He posted the message last week in the North Sea, seconds before lifting off from HMS Ark Royal.

He was later ticked off by a superior.

All 40 GR9 Harrier jump jets are to be sold, with their pilots losing their jobs. 

Ark Royal, which will be scrapped as part of the cuts, sailed home to port for the last time on Friday.

Pumps and other equipment are inoperable. But experts say it is worth about £5 million for scrap. 

The advertisement says: ‘HMS Invincible is for sale by tender. Laid down in 1973 at Vickers Shipbuilding, Barrow-in-Furness, she was completed in 1980. She is stable for tow, subject to buyer confirmation.’

The closing date for offers is January 5 and viewings are by appointment up until next Friday at HM Naval Base, Portsmouth.

One early bidder, Lea McMeekin, managing director of shipbreakers Port Millom in Cumbria, said he planned to break up the ship and sell it for scrap – or use it as a helicopter platform for the £15 billion new windfarm being built in the Irish Sea.

He said last night: ‘Invincible was built locally in Barrow, so it would be good to bring her home.’

Mr McMeekin may also be interested in buying other Navy ships axed in the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The MoD is expected to offer more ships for sale on the internet, including four Type 22 frigates and at least two minesweepers.

Meanwhile, the Army is to sell hundreds of tanks, several Lynx Mk 7 helicopters and numerous armoured vehicles.

And the RAF is set to sell several military bases and a range of aircraft, including the RAF’s Sentinel radar aircraft which cost £900million three years ago.

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, said last night: ‘I hope they have considered mothballing this equipment as an option in case it can be used in future rather than making money quickly now.’

A Defence Ministry spokesman said: ‘The MoD is looking at ways to save money. All options are considered when disposing of military equipment to ensure the best financial return for the taxpayer.’

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