Storm Dennis had another surprise in store for the Irish at the start of the week. A “ghost ship” that had been drifting for a year on the world’s waters ended its journey by running aground on the south coast of Ireland, then hit by the notorious storm Dennis.
The boat ended its journey just outside Ballycotton, a small fishing village in County Cork. Immediately, the authorities were alerted, enabling us to find out more about this strange boat.
After identification, it appears to be the MV Alta, a 77-meter-long cargo ship. Of Tanzanian nationality, the boat is said to date from 1976, and to have been abandoned in September 2018 by its crew, following a technical failure, while en route from Greece to Haiti.
The boat was subsequently to be towed, but its position drifted considerably, preventing the boat’s owner from finding it.
Since then, the ship has drifted through the waters of the World, passing through storms and calm periods before finally ending its journey on the rocks off the Irish coast, driven by the strong winds of Storm Dennis.
For the time being, the Irish authorities are attempting to assess the potential risk of pollution from the boat. Its heavily rusted hull could expose the environment to the risk of hydrocarbon pollution. But nothing has been confirmed yet.
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