Georgia sells ships sunk in war with Russia

The Georgian Ministry of Economic Development has sold three ships that were sunk during that country’s military conflict with Russia last August. The ships, the Tbilisi, Dioscuria and the Tskaltubo, are now lying on the seabed near the Port of Poti.

The ships are apparently coast guard vessels that were blown up and sunk by Russian aviation forces on August 13, 2008, Lenta.ru news service reports. According to reports at the time, the ships were attacked while they were docked, with an audience of local journalists watching. The ships were sunk after local authorities appealed to Russian forces not to bomb the city. Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili informed his country of the incident on national television.

Fifteen bidders raised the starting price of $10 to $61,000, with Turkish citizen Cem Aydemir winning the ships. Under the terms of sale, Aydemir has three months to raise the vessels and remove them from the harbor.