The Russian ship which has been languishing in Sligo harbour for 3 1/2 years is at last going to move, following its sale to a Derry businessman.
According to Mr John Ryan, the Sligo auctioneer who until recently was seeking to sell it, it arrived in Sligo in October 1996. At the time it was owned jointly by a Drogheda builder and a Russian businessman.
"They brought the boat into Ireland as a flotel," he said. "Then all bets were off. But the boat was our responsibility because it was in Irish waters. So the Minister for the Marine said park it in Sligo.
"Initially it had a crew of seven or eight, who were let go gradually. The boat was sold on to a French-Algerian businessman living in Moscow. He decided he would turn it into a scuba-diving flotel and bring it to the Indian Ocean, but that idea fell through.
"The two crewmen left on the boat were not paid for almost a year, and money was owed to the harbour board. In November 1998 I was told to find a buyer. It could have been bought then for very little."
Mr Ryan got to know the two crewmen, who were in dire straits. One of them, the administrator, had a lot of talents and abilities, he said, and put them to use around the town, supporting both himself and his colleague with odd jobs. They were not eligible for any benefit. He has now gone back to Russia, while his colleague, an engineer, remains on board.
Mr Ryan did not sell the boat in the end, and it was bought privately by a Derry businessman, Mr John McDaid.
It is not known to what use he will put it.