The Revenue Commissioners has said it could be next summer before a ship - which is costing thousands of euro per month in mooring fees - can be moved out of Dublin Port.

As The Irish Times writes, the vessel, which was attempting to smuggle cigarettes, was seized in 2014.

It is called the Shingle - and it has been tied up in Dublin Port going nowhere fast for years now.

The Moldovan vessel was seized by customs officers in 2014, en route from Portugal to Drogheda. On board were 32 million illegal cigarettes.

After legal proceedings, Revenue took control of the vessel.

It had hoped to quickly sell it, but it is covered in rust and asbestos. Scrapping it was deemed too expensive.

The ship has been tied up in Dublin Port ever since, and that doesn't come cheap.

Latest figures, from the Revenue Commissioners, show it has cost €650,000 in total so far.

That's €7,000 per month - mostly made up of in-port and maintenance fees.

"It is a headache," said John McCormack, head of Revenue's logistics branch.

"Nobody is more frustrated than myself in terms of the tedious nature of the progress... I've made it my mission statement to get something done with the Shingle and it's been a priority ever since. I totally understand taxpayers' frustration at this in terms of the cost. The cost is the cost. Revenue were saddled with this in 2017," he said.

Much more the newspaper reports on the vessel which at one stage Revenue offered to tow the ship away and be sunk as a diving visitor attraction off Mayo/Sligo.