MV Alta going nowhere fast

After four years of being relentlessly battered by the North Atlantic Ocean, the ‘ghost ship’ MV Alta still clings to Cork’s coast and there seems to be no plan in place to move it.

Recent drone footage of the wreck from Youtuber DroneHawk shows significant damage to the vessel following numerous storms.

She now sits on two pieces and is almost entirely covered in rust.

The footage shows the two large pieces of the ship lying some distance from each other, with stern section still retaining some of its original blue colour on one side. A crane hangs out over the sea facing side of the stern section. The film also captures rare footage of the lower deck where graffiti can be seen on the walls. The rocks surrounding the ship are strewn with large, jagged pieces of rusted metal.

The ship washed ashore in 2020 less than two kilometres from Ballycotton having been abandoned at sea for two years following an engine failure in 2018.

The wreck has since become both something of a tourist attraction and a hotspot for antisocial behaviour. However, a health and safety assessment of the wreck carried out in 2022 deemed that full removal of the vessel would pose great risk to both workers and the surrounding environment.

In a statement this week, Cork County Council said it has completed its duties relating to the MV Alta under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act, 1993.

“In collaboration with the Department of Transport, Cork County Council has arranged for all necessary works to be carried out to make the vessel safe, including the making safe of the crane derrick and installation of signage and fencing,” said the Council.

The council said it was “not aware of any further planned operations in relation to the removal of the vessel”.

A similar statement from the Department of Transport said a “set of interventions to address public safety concerns in the vicinity of the wreck were identified” in the health and safety assessment report, including the erection of fencing and signage.

However, the statement does not mention any future plans for the vessel.

“No further measures regarding the MV Alta wreck are planned at this time,” confirmed the Department of Transport.