HMS Invincible

Last November, we posted about the sale by tender, through an internet site, of the aircraft carrier HMS Invincible. The highest bidder was a Turkish scrapper.

HMS Invincible sold to Turkish ship recyclers

Leyal Ship Recycling, which is based near Izmir, was chosen ahead of a bid by a UK-based Chinese businessman.

Lam Kin-bong – who owns restaurants in the West Midlands – had offered £5m and wanted to turn the former warship into an international school in China.

But a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “After 25 years of service HMS Invincible was decommissioned nearly six years ago and having reached the end of her distinguished career, it is right that we secure a good financial return for the taxpayer.

“The bid from Leyal Ship Recycling does this and also ensures she is disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.”