Emer-class offshore patrol vessel

LÉ Aisling departing Dublin in 2009
Class overview
Builders	Verolme Dockyard, Cork
Operators	Initial  Irish Naval Service Export  Libyan Navy  Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta  Nigerian Navy
Preceded by	LÉ Deirdre
Succeeded by	Róisín class
Built	1977–1980
In service	1978–present
General characteristics
Type	Offshore patrol vessel
Displacement	1,019 t (1,003 long tons)
Length	65.20 m (213 ft 11 in)
Beam	10.50 m (34 ft 5 in)
Draught	4.40 m (14 ft 5 in)
Speed	31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph) (maximum)
Complement	46 (5 officers and 41 ratings)
Armament	1 × Bofors 40/L70 gun 2 × Rheinemetall RH202 20 mm cannons MAG58 7.62 mm machine guns

The Emer-class offshore patrol vessel was a class of three offshore patrol vessels (OPV) operated by the Irish Naval Service from January 1978 until June 2016. After decommissioning from the Irish Naval Service, the ships were sold and subsequently put into service with a number of foreign navies.[1][2][3]

Design and construction

After evaluating Deirdre for three years, the Irish Naval Service ordered the lead ship of an evolved design in 1975. The keel laying for Emer took place on 28 February 1977. The launch followed later that year on 26 September 1977. The keel for the second ship, Aoife, was laid on 3 July 1978 and she was launched 12 April 1979. The final ship, Aisling, had her keel laid on 31 January 1979 and was launched 3 October 1979.

Ships in class

Hull number	Name	Builder	Commissioned	Decommissioned	Fate	Notes
P21	Emer	Verolme Dockyard, Cork	16 January 1978	20 September 2013	Acquired by the Nigerian Navy
P22	Aoife		29 November 1979	31 January 2015	Acquired by the Maltese Navy
P23	Aisling		21 May 1980	22 June 2016	Acquired by the Libyan National Army's Navy

Export

Nigeria

Emer was decommissioned on 20 September 2013,[4] and was sold at auction for €320,000 to a Nigerian businessman in October 2013.[5]

In July 2014, Emer was impounded by the Nigerian Navy because the new owner had failed to secure the necessary military approval before bringing the ship into Nigerian waters.[6] On 19 February 2015, the vessel was commissioned into the Nigerian Navy as a training ship and renamed NNS Prosperity.[2]

Malta

Aoife was decommissioned on 31 January 2015 and was donated to the Maltese Naval Service. She was commissioned later that year on 26 June as P62.[3][7][8]

Libya

Aisling was put up for a public auction on 23 March 2017 at the Carrigaline Hotel in County Cork,[9] and was purchased by a Dutch broker for his clients for a reported price of €110,000, there being no other higher bids.[10] As of 10 May 2017, the vessel was listed on a brokerage website with an asking price of $750,000 (€685,000),[11][12] with the difference between sale price and asking price attracting attention from representative groups.[13][14]

In 2018, Aisling was commissioned, under the name Al Karama (Arabic: الكرامة, romanized: al-karāma, lit. 'dignity'), as the flagship of the naval component of the Libyan National Army.[1]

References

1. "Libya commissions ex-LÉ Aisling". Libyan National Army. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
2. "Jonathan Commissions Four New Ships". 2015-03-10. Archived from the original on 2015-02-21. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
3. "Malta flag raised on former Irish patrol vessel". Times of Malta. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
4. "New life as luxury liner or research ship awaits navy's oldest vessel". Irish Independent. 2013-08-28. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
5. "Le Emer sold at auction for €320,000". 23 October 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
6. "Navy blames foreigners for most of crime on Nigeria waters". 10 March 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
7. "We've just given Malta a naval ship, instead of selling it". thejournal.ie. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
8. "Ireland and Malta to explore further defence co-operation in the context of European security, peacekeeping and crisis management operations". Department of Defence. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
9. "Fancy owning a naval ship? 'LÉ Aisling' to be auctioned". Irish Times. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
10. "Dutch buyer purchases LÉ 'Aisling' ship for €110,000". Irish Times. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
11. "Fisheries Patrol Vessel for sale in Holland". Unlimitedoffshore.com. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
12. "Fisheries Patrol Vessel for sale in Holland" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
13. "Group representing Defence Forces concerned after L.E. Aisling being sold for six times what Government sold it for". BreakingNews.ie. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
14. "'It's embarrassing': LÉ Aisling sold by State for €110k - it's now on the market for nearly €700k". The Journal. 15 May 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2025.