A few miles from Ballycotton lies a strange abandoned boat, which has run aground on the rocks. Nicknamed the “Ballycotton Ghost Ship”, the MV Alta, from its real name, is a boat that ran aground in February 2020, and has remained there since… Before arriving there, she would have drifted empty for months, striking the Irish coast on a stormy day… If you like unusual places, then the MV Alta is just the place to stop. Of course, it’s impossible to get inside for safety reasons, but the boat offers a special charm to the East Cork coast!
The inhabitants of the coi still remember the month of February 2020, when they saw a boat washed up on their shores. The 46-year-old vessel ran aground south-west of Ballycotton, on a steep and slippery rock bed.
The boat had been wandering alone on the ocean for several months by then, having been abandoned for its crew in October 2008, after an irreparable engine failure while they were southwest of Bermuda.
Nowadays, the boat doesn’t really move from its rocks.
But the MV Alta itself is unaffordable, because it’s too dangerous and in such a state of disrepair. Worse still, its decrepitude accelerated over time: the boat was even cut in two in March 2022 following a terrible storm!
Last year, a fire also broke out on the grounded vessel, with smoke and flames visible for miles as the fire engulfed the empty wreck. The fire is believed to be of criminal origin, with authorities suspecting that individuals may have boarded the boat.
Since then, the boat has been gutted and in an exceptional state of disrepair, displaying rusted pieces of metal and plastics of all kinds.
Although it’s been over two years, the MV Alta is still deeply divisive among the locals: some consider it a tourist attraction, while others accuse the boat of disfiguring the Irish coastline, and exposing it to a high risk of pollution…
However, evacuating the boat could cost several million euros. This is due to the sheer size of the MV Alta, which is over 90 meters long, and has a lot of machinery inside, making it difficult to evacuate.) For the time being, the costs of the project appear to be unaffordable for everyone!
As you can see, getting too close to the MV Alta is out of the question… But there’s nothing to stop you going along the coast to admire it from a safe distance! You’ll discover a wreck of unusual charm, constantly battered by the ocean’s waves and winds.
The boat is reminiscent of Inisheer, another wreck that washed up on the Aran Islands, and which poses no problems of degradation or pollution.
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