THE long-running saga of the liner Edinburgh Castle, which has become a dockside landmark in Southampton, is coming to an end with the sale of the vessel to the Merseyside shipyard of Cammell Laird.

The troubled 32,800-ton liner was sold to the yard as part of a package, which also included an off-shore supply ship and a diving support vessel, for a total of £17.55 million from the receiver of former owner, Lowline Limited.

Edinburgh Castle arrived in Southampton in the autumn of last year and has been moored at 102 berth in the city's Western Docks ever since but it is now expected to sail again soon.

Cammell Laird says the ship will be moved to Tyneside where the liner will undergo a programme of refurbishment.

"The ship will probably be moving from Southampton within a month,'' said a spokesman for the new owner, which is thought to be now looking for a customer to charter the 32-year-old ship.

During its time in Southampton, Edinburgh Castle was arrested by the Admiralty Marshall, an official of the Royal Courts of Justice, in a legal wrangle over cash and also placed into the hands of receivers in an attempt to recover debts owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Edinburgh Castle was brought to Southampton last October to undergo work on the liner's boiler system and for a refit to prepare the ship for a second season in the UK cruise market.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.