This ship had a very interesting legal history. She was built in the Cork shipyard at a cost vastly in excess of world prices against the better judgement of the company's managers. This was a political decision to try and maintain employment at the yard and was funded largely by the Irish Government, (who founded Irish Shipping in 1941 and owned it), with 24% of the cost being funded by a Japanese consortium. The Irish Spruce was never owned by Irish Shipping Limited; it was leased by the company from the owners Jura Shipping Limited and the lease payments were guaranteed by the Irish Minister for Finance. The Irish Government put Irish Shipping into liquidation in 1984 and it's remaing ships, including the Spruce, were arrested one by one during that year. Because of the complex legal tangle over the vessel's ownership she was taken to Marseilles and sat there while her future was argued over. The cost of the care and maintenance of the Irish Spruce while it was berthed at Marseilles was approximately £34,000 per week. These costs include port charges, victualling and so on in addition to crewing costs and were borne by the Irish Government. 17 June, 1986, The Irish Spruce was sold by public auction on foot of a court action brought by the holders of the ship's mortgage against its owners. The price obtained at the court auction was $5.0 million for her, a bargain for someone even as scrap! I don't know who bought her at auction.
Regards,
Alastair