A 250-foot ghost ship washed up on the shore of Ireland after going missing a year ago over 1,000 miles away - here's why it was abandoned
The location of the wreck is "on a dangerous and inaccessible stretch of coastline and is in an unstable condition," Cork City Council said in a statement.
The Alta was built in 1976 and donned the Tanzanian flag at the time of its abandonment.
Its last crew abandoned the vessel during a sailing trip from Greece to Haiti after a power outage.
The outage caused the Alta to drift 1,300 miles in 20 days, a Bermuda Maritime Operations Center spokesperson told Hellenic Shipping News in 2018.
Source: Hellenic Shipping News
There were 10 people on board at the time it was adrift, and the US Coast Guard had to airdrop the crew supplies and food.
The coast guard later rescued the 10 crew members when a hurricane approached.
There were discussions of tugging the Alta to shore, but that plan — and the ship — was ultimately abandoned.
The boat traveled up the African coast past the Spanish and English coast before finally hitting Ireland, Tattan said told the Irish Examiner.
Source: Irish Examiner
"To have a ship drifting around like that for 18 months is not common," Irish government official Robert McCabe told the BBC News.
Source: BBC
The Cork County Council's Oil Spill Assessment Team and its environmental scientists have decided that the newfound wreck has not created any "visible" pollution in the Ballycotton Bay Special Protection Area or the proposed Natural Heritage Areas.
Source: Cork County Council
An initial assessment has also been made aboard the ship, and marine contractors have discovered that there's not much diesel fuel left in the ship's tanks.
There was no cargo on board with the exception of sealed containers filled with oil and materials that were once necessary to operate the ship.
These extra items may be a risk to the environment if it spills, and the council is now evaluating how to remove the substances safely.
Source: Cork County Council
A person claiming to be the owner of the Alta has come forward, and the claim is now being accessed, the Irish Times reported.
Source: Irish Times
The Irish Coastguard, Cork County Council, and other parties are now deciding how to proceed with the vessel, and citizens are being asked to stay away.
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