Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Much of the cargo originated in Malaysia and elsewhere in south-east Asia. A considerable number of containers on board were destined for Ireland via transshipment through the Port of Rotterdam. I have spoken with many of the people who would have been receiving that cargo. They have cited problems with lost sales, raw materials that would have been used in component manufacturing in Ireland, and just-in-time products, whose value is lost if they are not on the sales shelf at the correct time. For example, there was half a container's worth of gloves, which are seasonal, valued at €250,000. The person who wanted to sell them had to procure a different shipment, increasing his costs to €500,000.

This issue requires engagement. The obvious approach is for the authority to decouple its legal argument with the ship from its argument with the cargo. Indeed, there is no dispute over the cargo. Release it. Give it to its rightful owners.

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