Ghost Ship Haunting Irish Harbour: The Costly Saga of the MV Matthew

The people of a harbour village are sick looking at a big steel monster every day – the notorious drug ship the MV Matthew that is costing the State €100,000 a week to store and maintain. Passage West inCorkharbour has become home to the big bulk vessel for the past few months and there is no sign of it moving any time soon.

Eerie Sounds and Ghostly Tales

Locals complain that they can't sleep at night, such is the "weird sounds and noise" that come from the ship after dark and some even fear it is haunted. One man said: "They have to keep the power on 24/7 to keep it afloat otherwise God knows what might happen. But it makes all sorts of funny noises especially at night and people say they can't sleep with the racket. Some even believe there is a ghost onboard but I wouldn't believe a word of that. Everyone around here has an opinion and are sick and tired of the sight of it. This ship is an eyesore in our harbour and trust me, we are fed up looking at it every day. The sooner it is gone the better."

Legal Battles and Delayed Disposal

But for the poor beleaguered Irish taxpayer there is nothing funny about keeping the MV Matthew seaworthy while it waits to be sold for shipping or scrap. The Revenue Commissioners is responsible for its current safekeeping and it is costing the State around €100,000 a week to keep it afloat since it was seized by Irish Defence Forces Army Rangers and naval service on September 26, 2023, in an international drugs sting. The troops found over 2.2 tonnes of cocaine onboard the Panama registered vessel with a street value of €157 million, one of the biggest drug seizures in the history of the State. The Revenue has been given the all-clear by the courts to go ahead and sell it on the international market and is now under severe pressure from the people of Passage West to get it done as quickly as possible. Locals had hoped it would be gone by the end of summer but now the whole process could take several months and even run into next year. Seamus McGrath, Fianna Fail TD from Co Cork, who represents the area, has been inundated with complaints from people who want the ship removed. He has repeatedly called on the Revenue Commissioners to move much faster. He said: "The whole process needs to be hurried up. It is taking far too long to dispose of the ship. I'm very concerned about the delays with the process and am being told by the Revenue that it will take several more months. In reality that could be the end of the year. I am calling on Revenue to review the disposal process and try to speed it up. The community has put up with a lot in terms of noise and it really needs to be sorted." Sinn Feincouncillor Eoghan Fahy added: "Revenue need to at least advise us of what steps have been taken to sell it to date and what they intend to do in the coming weeks and months to dispose of the MV Matthew." Revenue says it could not shut down the power on a ship of that size to stop the noise. Revenue Commissioners stated: "An order of disposal was granted in respect of the MV Matthew on December 2, 2024." The ship has been formally confiscated by the State and any monies received from the sale will be offset against the €6 million spent to keep it in ship-shape.