A FORMER Irish navy patrol ship has been sold to Libyan warlords in breach of a United Nations arms embargo, the UN security council has been informed.

The LE Aisling was sold by a company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about a year after a Dutch shipping broker bought it from Ireland’s Department of Defence for €110,000 (£93,000).

The Dutch company made a bumper profit, selling it on for $525,000 (£444,000) to the company in the UAE, which sold it almost immediately to a Libyan firm for $1.5 million (£1.1m).

According to a UN report, the ship has been renamed the al-Karma and fully rearmed. It is owned by forces loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who launched an assault on Tripoli earlier this year in a bid to take control of the entire country.

He is supported by the UAE and Egypt, while the Government of National Accord is being armed by Turkey – all in breach of a UN arms embargo.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Department of Defence said it had no “trailing obligations” in relation to the vessel, adding that the resale of the ship was a matter for its purchaser.