Harry Crosbie threatens legal action against Dublin Port Company over ship ownership

Docklands entrepreneur Harry Crosbie is demanding the return of a ship which he claims was wrongly taken from him by the Dublin Port Company.

The Lightship Kittiwake was this week lifted from the water at the Alexandra Basin in Dublin Port by the port company, which plans to restore the boat and put it on public display as part of a heritage project.

However, Mr Crosbie said the company has no authority for the work as the Kittiwake is his, and he will take legal action if the work is not stopped and the vessel returned. “That ship is mine. The Kittiwake was taken from me and the idea of lifting it up onto dry land like that, that was my idea,” he said.

Dublin Port Company said it is the legal owner of the vessel and has been since 2012.

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The 480-ton, 40m ship built in 1959 was bought by Mr Crosbie from the Commissioners of Irish Lights (CIL) in 2007 and was moored outside the then Point Depot, the concert venue now called the 3 Arena, then owned by Mr Crosbie.

Disagreement over site

The businessman in 2010 applied to Dublin City Council for permission to raise the Kittiwake and place it on the quayside, but the application was unsuccessful due to a disagreement with the council relating to the location of the boat on the quayside.

“I was going to lift it out of the water and I was going to cut a hole in the side of it and the public would be able to walk into a huge big cafe bar,” he said. “I had spent half a million quid on the ship getting it ready for the lift. I removed all the main engines and asbestos.”

The boat remained in the water, but was subsequently removed by the port company and taken to Alexandra Basin.

“They took it away with two tugboats one day without any notice. It was in the water outside the Point Depot and they took it back down to Dublin Port.”

In response to queries from The Irish Times, the port company said: “Dublin Port Company (DPC) purchased the Kittiwake Lightship in 2012 from Nama [National Asset Management Agency], and is the legal owner of the vessel. DPC plans to renovate the Kittiwake and incorporate the ship into the Pumphouse heritage area at Dublin Port.”

Mr Crosbie said he did not accept the port company had bought the ship from Nama and said he had not received responses to several letters to the port company in relation to the ownership of the vessel. He said he would again be writing to the company seeking its return.

“I will be writing to them tomorrow to tell them ‘give me my ship back or else I’ll bash you’.”

Asked what he meant by “bash you”, Mr Crosbie said: “I am going to ask them to stop all further work until this matter is resolved and if I don’t get a letter that they will stop work, then there will be legal action.”