Marine Contractors Board Ghost Ship Grounded in Cork

Cork County Council’s marine contractor boarded the vessel that washed ashore over the weekend in Ballycotton, Co. Cork, Ireland to inspect the state of the ship.

The ship has been identified as MV Alta and has been drifting for over a year at sea without a single soul on board. The vessel’s 10 crew members were rescued by the US Coast Guard back in September 2018 after their vessel got disabled.

The marine contractor boarded the vessel on Tuesday morning, February 18, and carried out an initial assessment.

Based on the initial findings, the remaining amount of diesel fuel in the ship’s tanks is small.

As informed, the fuel tanks are divided into a number of compartments, some of which were inaccessible due to water on board.

It is planned to pump out the water today to allow the contractor to complete the assessment.

“There is no cargo on board but a number of sealed containers of oil and other materials incidental to the running of a ship were found which may pose a pollution risk in the event of their spillage,” the council said.

“Plans are currently being evaluated in order to have these materials safely removed from the wreck.”

Cork County Council added that there is no visible pollution within the Ballycotton Bay Special Protection Area or the nearby proposed natural heritage areas.