A ghost ship washed ashore in Ireland after more than a year at sea. Namely, public was warned away from MV Alta, which ran aground on Cork coast during Storm Dennis. It is believed that the ship had been drifting for more than a year, passing the Americas, Africa and Europe.
The ship’s voyage ended during Storm Dennis, as it ran aground near Ballycotton, a fishing village in County Cork, Ireland. The Alta hit the rocks, but was apparently intact.
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After seeing the ship, the local council, the Irish coastguard and Ireland’s commissioner of wrecks, discussed what to do with. Eventually, Cork county asked the public to stay away from the wreck, as ‘it is situated on a dangerous and inaccessible stretch of coastline and is in an unstable condition.’
In addition, a coastguard team has assessed the Alta from a helicopter, while with Storm Dennis having passed, a separate team was to inspect the ship from the rocks. Local media report, that the ship does not pose an immediate oil spill risk.
Alta was sailing from Greece to Haiti in September 2018 when it become disabled about 1,380 miles (2,220km) south-east of Bermuda. The crew tried, but did not manage to repair the ship, and they were rescued by the US coastguard cutter Confidence.
The vessel was reportedly towed to Guyana, were it was hijacked. After that not much of its fate is know, until August 2019. At that time, a Royal Navy ice patrol ship, HMS Protector, saw the ship in the middle of the Atlantic, unmanned.
Alta is believed to have drifted from Africa and past Spain to Ireland.
