Ireland Finally Offloads Seized Bulker Mathew After €16M Saga

A Three-Year Ordeal Ends in Cork

According to a report by The Maritime Executive, the bulk carrier Mathew was towed out of the Port of Cork on July 17, closing out a saga that cost the Irish state a reported €16 million over three years. The 50,913-dwt vessel, built in 2001, had become both a symbol of Ireland’s largest cocaine seizure and a persistent political liability for the government.

From Drug Bust to Government Burden

The Mathew was intercepted by Irish authorities on September 26, 2023, after arriving via China and Africa under murky ownership that had changed hands earlier that year. Officials recovered 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, valued at an estimated €157 million on the street. Crew members reportedly tried to burn the drugs in the ship’s lifeboat while being pursued. In July 2025, six crew members and two individuals linked to a support boat were convicted and handed sentences totaling 129 years for their roles in the trafficking operation.

With no clear owner willing to claim the vessel, it was eventually declared state property — a designation that turned an evidentiary hold into a long-term financial drain. Irish parliamentary records cited in the report put berthing costs at €3.73 million, maintenance at €6.99 million, and crew and security expenses at €5.28 million, with weekly upkeep estimated at as much as €120,000 during the period the ship sat idle in Cork, where it reportedly drew sightseers as an unlikely tourist attraction.

The Tow-Away Operation

Getting the Mathew out of the harbor was itself a logistical undertaking. The Port of Cork initially scheduled the departure for July 16, but a tug mechanical issue pushed it back a day. Four tugs ultimately handled the maneuver, with harbor traffic restricted during the operation. Early media reports suggested the vessel was headed to the Netherlands for scrapping, but tracking data on the lead tug, Foteini, instead showed a course for Varna, Bulgaria, with an expected arrival of August 9. Subsequent Irish media reports indicated the ship may be refurbished and returned to commercial service under new, unnamed ownership rather than broken up.

What This Means for Owners and Managers

The Mathew case is an extreme example, but it highlights a real operational risk that resonates well beyond drug enforcement: vessels with opaque or contested ownership can become effectively unmanageable once seized or detained, with costs accumulating regardless of the vessel’s condition or trading value. For ship managers and financiers, it underscores why maintaining clear, verifiable chains of ownership and documentation is not just a compliance formality — it directly affects who bears responsibility, and cost, if a vessel is ever detained.

The fact that the Mathew may return to service after refurbishment also raises a practical question for any future buyer or charterer: a vessel that sat idle for three years without proper operational maintenance, even if periodically serviced for basic systems, will likely need a thorough condition survey before resuming trade. Extended lay-up periods can mask deterioration in hull structure, machinery, and cargo systems that isn’t apparent from berthing records or photographs alone. Prospective buyers or insurers evaluating a vessel with this kind of history would be well advised to commission an independent pre-purchase or condition survey rather than relying on the seller’s or state’s maintenance summary.

A Costly Lesson in State Custody

For Irish taxpayers, the Mathew saga is a cautionary tale about the hidden costs of holding a large commercial vessel in custody with no realistic prospect of recovering expenses. For the wider shipping industry, it’s a reminder that ownership transparency — and thorough technical due diligence before a vessel changes hands or resumes trading — remains essential to avoiding costly surprises long after a ship has left the headlines.

Reviewed by Ibrahim Halil Ceylan, Marine Surveyor at Apeks Marine.