UK warship carved up in Izmir

Birce Bora LONDON / Hürriyet

A British warship, Ark Royal, has been brought to Turkey to be scrapped. DHA photo

A British warship that played an essential role in the occupation of Iraq has been sold to a Turkish company to be broken up and turned into refrigerators.

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense sold the ship named Ark Royal to an Izmir-based ship dismantling firm, Leyal, for 2.9 million sterling ($4.4 million) and the company will recycle it into something far removed from its previous purpose. During Iraq’s occupation by British forces in 2003, Ark Royal was leading the navy. Now, it is being carved up and will be scrapped. The company, which also scrapped HMS Invincible two years ago, is expected to take a further seven months to complete the job, British Daily Mail reported on July 17.

It also reported Leyal as saying a number of British tourists visited the yard and watched the demolition process while some asked their Turkish friends to save parts and send them to them as a memoir from the ship, which served the Royal navy for 25 years.

The 22,000-ton vessel used to be able carry 22 aircraft and was also used during the Bosnian intervention.