CORK –
The Irish Revenue Commissioners say the management and maintenance of the bulk carrier MV Matthew has cost almost €13.7 million while the vessel has been held at the Port of Cork since its seizure in September 2023. The ship was taken as part of what Revenue described as the largest cocaine seizure in Irish history; Revenue says keeping the vessel alongside in Cork from September 2023 to 31 December 2025 has incurred costs running to just under €13.7 million. The agency also confirmed that a sale has not concluded and that it is engaging with interested parties while exploring direct recycling options.
The scale of the tabulation – and the continued harbour occupancy of a large commercial vessel – has immediate fiscal and operational implications for port stakeholders, insurers and any prospective buyers or recyclers. The sum covers berthing and moves, maintenance and supplies, and crewing while the vessel remains in harbour, representing a sustained operational expense for the state authority managing the asset and, ultimately, for the Exchequer.
Cost breakdown
Revenue released a detailed breakdown of the outlay associated with holding the ship as a state-controlled asset pending court and disposal decisions:
- Total management and maintenance to 31 December 2025: just under €13.7 million.
- Berthing, unberthing and moving the ship: €3,375,544.
- Maintenance, including ship’s stores and provisions, bunkering fuel, waste removal, repairs, agent and professional fees, and insurance: €5,732,669.
- Crewing costs to date: €4,584,700.
Officials note that these figures reflect the need to keep the vessel in a condition that meets maritime safety and environmental standards while it remains under state control and while criminal and forfeiture processes run their course.
Regulatory and market context
The technical and compliance choices available to Revenue and any prospective buyer or recycler are operating in a shifting international regulatory environment for end-of-life ships. The Hong Kong International Convention for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships entered into force on 26 June 2025 and establishes mandatory global requirements for ship recycling, including inventories of hazardous materials and survey and certification regimes.
Within the EU, the existing legal framework on ship recycling – implemented through the EU Ship Recycling Regulation – sets additional obligations for EU-flagged ships and imposes controls on third‑country ships calling at EU ports, including requirements for hazardous‑materials inventories and lists of compliant recycling facilities. These rules are directly relevant to any decision to move the MV Matthew to an EU‑listed recycling facility or to export the vessel for dismantling outside the EU regime, and frame the options open to Irish authorities as they seek to dispose of the asset without breaching European or international law.
In parallel, Irish public bodies are bound by national public financial management rules when disposing of seized assets, including obligations to demonstrate value for money and to manage legal and environmental risk. That combination of regulatory and budgetary constraints means decisions on the MV Matthew are being taken in a tightly prescribed governance space rather than purely on commercial grounds.
Lay-up economics and operational choices
Commercial practice differentiates between hot, warm and cold lay-up regimes, with substantial variation in running costs and crewing needs depending on whether machinery is kept operational and on the desired speed of reactivation. Industry guidance notes that warm or hot lay-up modes retain larger onboard complements and higher maintenance regimens, while cold lay-up reduces day‑to‑day operating spend at the expense of longer and more costly recommissioning. The extended crewing and maintenance charges recorded by Revenue are consistent with the higher ongoing costs associated with maintaining a vessel in a condition ready for safe movement or transfer.
Commercially, owners and authorities weighing sale, recycling or continued lay-up consider (among other factors) market prices for scrap steel, availability of compliant recycling yards, insurance and liabilities, and the time and cost to make a vessel seaworthy for transfer. The international ship‑recycling sector has historically concentrated activity in South Asian yards, but the incoming force of the Hong Kong Convention and EU regulation has altered the regulatory calculus for where and how vessels can be recycled lawfully and with the required certifications. For a state authority such as Revenue, those choices are further filtered through procurement rules, reputational risk and the need to demonstrate adherence to international environmental and labour standards.
“In the meantime, work required for both the continued safe maintenance of the vessel in the harbour and to prepare for vessel departure, is ongoing,” Revenue said.
Operational options
Revenue has disclosed that a sale of the vessel has not concluded and that it is engaging with interested parties while exploring direct recycling options. Operational pathways that remain on the table are therefore: finalising a commercial sale to a third party able to take delivery, arranging lawful transfer to a certified recycling facility consistent with international and EU obligations, or maintaining the vessel in port while those processes proceed. Each route carries different implications for how quickly the State can stem ongoing costs and for which authority – maritime regulators, environmental agencies or port management – must sign off before the ship can be moved.
Confirmed status: the MV Matthew has been held at the Port of Cork berth at Marino Point since its seizure in September 2023; Revenue reports total management and maintenance costs to 31 December 2025 of just under €13.7 million, a sale has not concluded, Revenue is engaging with interested parties and exploring direct recycling options, and work to maintain the vessel and prepare it for departure is ongoing.
