‘Ghost ship’ adrift since 2018 crashes ashore in Ireland during monster storm
- Almost 18-month odyssey ends for supposedly hijacked cargo ship that was abandoned at sea
- Storm Dennis lashed Ireland with heavy rain and 110km/h winds
A “ghost ship” drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland’s south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic’s coastguard said.
The abandoned 77-metre (250 feet) cargo ship MV Alta ran aground on rocks outside the village of Ballycotton near Cork, Ireland’s second city, bringing an end to her months-long voyage.
The Alta’s odyssey began in September 2018 when she became disabled in the mid-Atlantic en route from Greece to Haiti.
Her 10 crew members spent 20 days on board the listless ship as it floated 2,220km southeast of Bermuda, before they were taken off by the crew of a US Coast Guard cutter.
At the time the US Coast Guard said it was working with the then Tanzanian-flagged ship’s owner to arrange a tug back to shore.
But the question of her subsequent movements then become clouded.
Maritime news site Fleetmon reported receiving correspondence from the alleged owner, saying the ship had been twice hijacked from Guyana in the process of being salvaged.