RTÉ News has brought attention back to the fate of the MV Shingle, the vessel seized in a tobacco-smuggling sting in 2014 that has cost the Revenue Commissioners almost half a million euro since.
Afloat.ie’s Jehan Ashmore reported on the seizure at Drogheda Port, in which more than 30 million cigarettes and four metric tonnes of pipe tobacco that were destined for the black market were recovered.
Four years on, it emerged that legal wrangling had forced Revenue to continue berthing the vessel in Dublin Port, racking up charges averaging at some €6,000 per month.
Even when the legal issues were cleared, the poor condition of the vessel, which contains asbestos, has precluded its sale.
Recently, however, there have been suggestions that a solution for the Shingle situation could be found in Killala Bay, where a local councillor has been pushing for a plan to scuttle an old shop as an artificial reef to attract diving enthusiasts and marine wildlife.
RTÉ News provides a summary of the Shingle saga HERE.