Abandoned Cargo ship last seen in Atlantic washes up in Co, Cork today
Aground yest. beneath cliffs near Ballycotton, Co Cork the MV Alta, was discovered by a Royal Navy ice patrol ship in September 2019 drifting in the mid Atlantic. (Image: Pic Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision)
An abandoned cargo ship that was last spotted near Africa in September 2019 today washed up in East Cork.
'The Alta', an 80 metre vessel, was found washed up three miles west of Ballycotton this afternoon after being blown in by the winds of Storm Dennis.
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The derelict ship was made all the way back in 1976 and is described as derelict after being abandoned in October of 2018 in South-East Bermuda.
The Irish Coast Guard helicopter, Rescue 117, conducted an inspection of the vessel from the air but couldn't put anyone onboard to do a further inspection due to the adverse weather.
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A Rescue 117 spokesperson said: "Tasked earlier today to a vessel aground near Ballycotton, Cork. Thankfully there was nobody onboard today. The U.S. Coast Guard had rescued the 10 crew members from the vessel back in September 30, 2018. The vessel has been drifting since and today came ashore on the Cork coastline. What an amazing journey."
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A pollution risk assessment will be carried out, but given the length of time the vessel has been adrift, it is not believed to pose an immediate risk.
The Alta was high and dry on rocks at low tide at 5pm.
On 1 October 2018, a request was made for assistance in the middle of the Atlantic, 1,500 nautical miles west of the African coast.
At that stage, the ship was reported to be disabled for a fortnight and drifting slowly in a northerly direction.
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She was said to have been en route from Greece to Haiti and was due to arrive in Haiti at the end of September.
The crew members were said to have abandoned ship.
The ship is reported to have been subsequently hijacked twice. On the first occasion, it was reported to have been towed to Guyana.
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