A cargo ship at the centre of a major Garda and Customs search in Dún Laoghaire harbour two months ago has been sold for almost €60,000 to a Greek buyer at an auction in Dublin.
The Unique, which has been detained in Dublin Port since last November's boarding, was auctioned yesterday by order the Admiralty Marshall's Office, the High Court's maritime arm.
This followed the ship's arrest by the International Transport Federation, the representative body for seafarers worldwide, which had been mandated by the crew of five Pakistanis and thee Russians to try to recoup an estimated $20,000 in wages owed to them.
The vessel had been searched by the Irish authorities for illegal immigrants, arms and drugs but nothing was found.
The Unique's Greek owner since ran into financial problems and was unable to pay for the vessel's release.
The proceeds of the sale will go first to pay for High Court charges and expenses incurred by Dublin Port during the detention, with the balance going to the crew and other creditors.
The new owners have yet to decide whether to retain the crew, who have been living on board the vessel since its arrest, or to have them repatriated to their own countries.
While the Unique had been running short of water and other supplies when boarded by gardaí, it was said to be in good physical condition. The ship, which was built in 1966 and is 68.13 metres long, is due to sail from Dublin Port next week.
