MV Matthew to set sail to European scrappage company

Olivia Kelleher

The MV Matthew freighter, which was at the centre of a dramatic drug interdiction off the south coast in 2023, is due to set sail to a European scrappage company.

The freighter will leave its berth at Marino Point in Cork Harbour this (Thursday) evening.

Irish authorities seized 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, with a street value of €157 million, aboard the 28,000-tonne Panama-registered bulk carrier off east Cork in the early hours of September 26th, 2023.

The interagency operation was conducted using Naval and Air Corps assets and interagency personnel, including the Army Ranger wing.

After Army Ranger Wing personnel secured the vessel, members of the Irish Navy, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau and Revenue’s Customs Service were transferred to the cargo vessel.

The vessel was detained under the provisions of the Customs Act, 2015.

Last summer, eight men were jailed for a total of 129 years in connection with the record seizure.

Meanwhile, it is understood that close to €16 million has been spent on the MV Matthew over the last three years.

This includes the cost of ongoing maintenance, primarily of its engine, electrical and ventilation systems, berthing, crewing, and security.

The proceeds of the sale will go to the State, but it is likely it will only represent a portion of what has already been spent on MV Matthew.

The freighter was previously known as the 'MV Honmon' and had spent most of its career operating in waters off China.

However, following its sale over four years ago, it transferred via Africa to waters between South America and the Caribbean. It was renamed as MV Matthew.

Gardaí liaised with their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, China, the UK, Spain and the Caribbean over the bulk carrier and its movements in the weeks before its seizure off the Irish coast.

Works had been ongoing over recent weeks with MV Matthew to prepare it for its final voyage.