The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Invincible was sold to Turkish scrappers last February. Now bids are open for the sale of HMS Ark Royal. While scrapping seems a likely outcome the tender allows that “alternatively the vessel may be purchased for re-use/refurbishment for non-warlike purposes.” Now Shiptalk has word that a Devon based diver is bidding to sink the ship as an artificial reef off Torbay to promote sea life and provide a dive site for recreational divers.
In addition to the bid to sink the ship, “plan[s] to use the Ark Royal as a floating commercial helipad in London. Other proposals include turning it into a school, a nightclub or a base for security personnel during the Olympics.”
All bids are due by 1000 BST on June 13th.