The online sale of former Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Invincible has closed, with the winning bid due to be announced in early February.
The online sale of former Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Invincible has closed, with the winning bid due to be announced in early February. Invincible, which has had all of its weapons, technology and engines removed, is being sold off by the MoD's Disposal Services Authority. The ship has remained in Portsmouth since being decommissioned in 2005.
The MoD has not disclosed details of the bids received, although one British-based Chinese businessman is said to have offered around £4m in a bid to turn the aircraft carrier into a floating school.
Leavesley International, the firm which recycled HMS Intrepid in 2008, has also confirmed it has put in a bid for the ship.
The ship's s scrap value is estimated at around £2m.
The MoD has said that the ship will not necessarily be sold to the highest bidder, and that many factors would be considered before a sale was approved.
One stipulation of the sale is that the carrier can not be refitted for military purposes.
In late 2010 it emerged that Invincible's sister ship HMS Ark Royal, which was earmarked for decommissioning in the 2010 defence review, could be preserved for use as a tourist attraction on the Thames.
