Residents of Cork town upset by 'unacceptable' MV Matthew noise

Ongoing noise from the alleged drug trafficking ship MV Matthew has been disrupting residents of Passage West for nearly a year, with a local councillor calling it “unacceptable”.

Several locals have made complaints to Cork County Council about loud engine noises coming from the large ship, which is currently being stored near the town by Revenue, which says it is not possible to shut off the engine or move the ship.

The ship, which is costing the State €100,000 per week to maintain, was stormed by a specialist wing of the Irish Defence Forces in September 2023 off the Cork coast and 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, worth an estimated €157m, were seized.

The trial for the eight accused relating to the drugs seizure is expected to begin in January and take four months.

Seized

“The ship was seized in October 2023 and arrived in Passage soon after, so it’s been there for 12 months, effectively,” Fianna Fáil councillor and general election candidate Seamus McGrath told The Echo.

“Local residents have been in contact with public representatives about the noise and the inconvenience. They’ve raised it with us, we’ve raised it with Revenue.

“Revenue told us that the ship is needed because of proceedings going through the court and it is part of the evidence, and confirmed it would be disposed after that.”

In a letter to Mr McGrath seen by The Echo, a Revenue commissioner wrote: “A number of persons are currently before the courts on charges related to this matter and the MV Matthew is deemed to be an exhibit in those proceedings.

“It is Revenue’s intention to dispose of the vessel as soon as the legal position allows. Given the size of the vessel, there are very few suitable berths available, and this berth has been designated by the Port of Cork as the most suitable.

“The MV Matthew is currently in a standby operational status. For operational reasons, it is not possible to completely shut down a vessel of this size, as generator power is required 24/7; nor is it possible to move the vessel to anchor. The main engines are only run when absolutely necessary."

Complaints

“Revenue is aware of noise complaints in relation to the MV Matthew and continues to work with the Port of Cork, its technical managers, and on-board personnel to assess the issue and explore any possible mitigation measures which may ameliorate the position,” added the commissioner.

Mr McGrath expressed his disappointment with the response, saying: “Residents feel that they’ve put up with a lot of inconvenience and disruption for going on a year, and they want to see an end in sight. Revenue weren’t in a position to give us an end date, but I’m not satisfied with this response.

“I’ll be writing back to them, saying it’s not acceptable and calling on them to give us an end date and to come up with a solution, either reducing the noise or relocating the ship.”

A spokesperson for Cork County Council told The Echo: “From May of this year, a total of six complaints have been logged by Cork County Council in relation to noise from the MV Matthew.

“The council’s Environment Directorate have been actively engaging with Port of Cork Company in recent months seeking to address the issues giving rise to these complaints.”