Image for representation purposes only The MV Matthew, the cargo ship at the centre of Ireland’s largest-ever cocaine seizure, has left Cork Harbour after nearly three years in State custody, ending a detention that cost Irish authorities around €16 million in berthing, maintenance, crewing and security. The Panama-registered bulk carrier was towed from Marino Point on Friday after its planned departure the previous day was postponed because of a minor technical issue with one of the towing vessels. Before the operation, the Port of Cork advised mariners to stay clear of the navigation channel and give the tow a wide berth. The vessel is understood to be heading to Varna, Bulgaria, where it will be refitted before returning to service as a bulk grain carrier on the Black Sea, according to Irish media reports. The ship became the focus of a major international drug trafficking investigation after Irish authorities seized 2.2 tonnes of cocaine, with an estimated street value of €157 million, from the vessel off the east Cork coast on September 26, 2023. The operation involved the Irish Naval Service, Air Corps, Army Ranger Wing, Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, and Revenue Customs Service. Army Ranger Wing personnel first secured the vessel before members of the Irish Navy, Gardaí and Customs officers boarded the ship. The vessel was later detained under the Customs Act 2015. During the investigation, Gardaí worked with law enforcement agencies in the United Arab Emirates, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Caribbean to examine the vessel’s movements before it was intercepted. The MV Matthew remained berthed in Cork while it was held as evidence during the criminal case linked to the seizure. Last year, eight men were sentenced to a combined 129 years in prison over the smuggling operation. Six crew members, Cumali Ozgen, Soheil Jelveh, Mykhailo Gavryk, Vitaliy Vlasoi, Harold Estoesta and Saeid Hassanin, received pr