Revenue has confirmed that the MV Matthew has left the Port of Cork after being sold to an international shipping company for a nominal sum of $1.
Under the agreement, the company will tow the vessel to Varna, Bulgaria, under a single-voyage exemption.
The MV Matthew was detained and seized by Revenue in September 2023 after it was intercepted at sea carrying 2.2 tonnes of cocaine worth an estimated €157 million.
It was the largest cocaine seizure ever made in the State and the biggest in Europe that year.
The operation involved the Joint Task Force made up of Revenue, An Garda Síochána and the Naval Service, with support from the Army Ranger Wing.
Rangers were deployed by Air Corps helicopter onto the vessel in international waters, where they secured the ship and prevented key evidence from being destroyed.
Following the seizure, six members of the ship’s crew and two men aboard the accompanying vessel, the Castlemore, which later sank off the Wexford coast, were arrested by An Garda Síochána. All eight were convicted at the Central Criminal Court and, on 4 July 2025, received prison sentences ranging from 13½ to 20 years.
Revenue said it has spent around €17 million to safely manage and maintain the vessel since it was seized.
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