MV Alta 'ghost ship'

[MartG]

MV Alta, abandoned by its crew in the Caribbean in 2018, has been washed up in Ireland by storm Dennis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51534957?n...

[Some Gump]

MartG said:

MV Alta, abandoned by its crew in the Caribbean in 2018, has been washed up in Ireland by storm Dennis

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-51534957?n...

Fair play, that's one bouyant ship! Imagine if you could timelapse where it's been.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

Good advert for the UK's coastal tracking and response capability.

[Simpo Two]

Surprising they left a hazard to shipping go for so long.

It would have been good torpedo practice for the RN.

[MartG]

The worrying thing now is how much fuel oil is left aboard - now it's on the rocks it's only a matter of time before the hull starts to break up

[aeropilot]

Simpo Two said:

Surprising they left a hazard to shipping go for so long.

^This.
Astonishing that the US or anyone else didn't lob an anti-ship missile into at some point mid Atlantic to sink it in deep waters.

[Yertis]

aeropilot said:

^This.
Astonishing that the US or anyone else didn't lob an anti-ship missile into at some point mid Atlantic to sink it in deep waters.

At risk of sounding like a cracked record, I'm not astonished. There probably so much stupid PC H&S assessment no one wanting to be accountable BS associated with such a decisive action that it wasn't worth the effort.

[FourWheelDrift]

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

Good advert for the Ireland's coastal tracking and response capability.

FTFY

[Munter]

Yertis said:

aeropilot said:

^This.
Astonishing that the US or anyone else didn't lob an anti-ship missile into at some point mid Atlantic to sink it in deep waters.

At risk of sounding like a cracked record, I'm not astonished. There probably so much stupid PC H&S assessment no one wanting to be accountable BS associated with such a decisive action that it wasn't worth the effort.

I understood action was the responsibility of the owner, unless it posed a threat to shipping. Given it seems to have been spotted once since being abandoned...I guess nobody thought it a risk to shipping.

I guess now it's run aground it can be "salvage"? Which it couldn't while bobbing about and potentially could have been retrieved by the owners.

[FourWheelDrift]

I still trying to think what a ship from Greece might be taking to Haiti and would it be perishable cargo.

[Munter]

FourWheelDrift said:

I still trying to think what a ship from Greece might be taking to Haiti and would it be perishable cargo.

The main export from Greece recently has been...people looking for work I'd have thought.

Seems Aluminium is high on their exports list, and presumably something Haiti would have use of

[Simpo Two]

aeropilot said:

Astonishing that the US or anyone else didn't lob an anti-ship missile into at some point mid Atlantic to sink it in deep waters.

Limpet mines would be cheaper...

Munter said:

I understood action was the responsibility of the owner, unless it posed a threat to shipping. Given it seems to have been spotted once since being abandoned...I guess nobody thought it a risk to shipping.

One could argue that it's at the greatest risk to shipping when it has NOT been spotted. Once it has then you can avoid it

Expecting the owners to pick it up is like expecting people who fly tip to come back and collect their rubbish...

[FourWheelDrift]

Munter said:

FourWheelDrift said:

I still trying to think what a ship from Greece might be taking to Haiti and would it be perishable cargo.

The main export from Greece recently has been...people looking for work I'd have thought.

Seems Aluminium is high on their exports list, and presumably something Haiti would have use of

So a few more caravans are going to get built on the Cork coast.

[take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey]

FourWheelDrift said:

take-good-care-of-the-forest-dewey said:

Good advert for the Ireland's coastal tracking and response capability.

FTFY

Let's hope a Russian nuke boat doesn't approach from west of Ireland then

[yellowjack]

Yertis said:

aeropilot said:

^This.
Astonishing that the US or anyone else didn't lob an anti-ship missile into at some point mid Atlantic to sink it in deep waters.

At risk of sounding like a cracked record, I'm not astonished. There probably so much stupid PC H&S assessment no one wanting to be accountable BS associated with such a decisive action that it wasn't worth the effort.

I could imagine a subsequent court case too...

"...yes, Your Honour, there we were just about to send a tug to tow it back to port, when along came these hooligans in their big grey war canoe and sent it, and it's valuable cargo, to the bottom of the ocean..."

[ZymoTech]

If it's not a daft couple of landlubber questions, but who does the ship belong to now ? and who's job is it to get it re-floated and away ?

The owner, if still extant, businessly-speaking ? the insurers ? or the Irish, 'cos they found it first ?

[The Brummie]

I read elsewhere that no one knows for certain exactly what cargo is in the hold - assuming she is laden.

Wouldn’t want to be the first person into the hold not knowing what I might be faced with.

[yellowjack]

ZymoTech said:

If it's not a daft couple of landlubber questions, but who does the ship belong to now ? and who's job is it to get it re-floated and away ?

The owner, if still extant, businessly-speaking ? the insurers ? or the Irish, 'cos they found it first ?

Not sure about Irish rules, or internationally, but for the UK...

Her Majesty's Receiver Of Wrecks said:

Report wreck material, eg parts of a ship or its cargo, to the Receiver of Wreck. You must report any material you recover within 28 days, or you could be fined £2,500.

Reporting wreck material gives the legal owner the opportunity to have their property returned.

https://www.gov.uk/report-wreck-material
https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/receiver-of-w...

[MartG]

ZymoTech said:

If it's not a daft couple of landlubber questions, but who does the ship belong to now ? and who's job is it to get it re-floated and away ?

The owner, if still extant, businessly-speaking ? the insurers ? or the Irish, 'cos they found it first ?

If the insurers paid out after it was abandoned, then they do - if not then it is still the responsibility of the owners.

Given that there appears to have been no attempt at recovery following its abandonment I suspect the owners have effectively done a runner to avoid liability

[Condi]

Someone has come forward claiming ownership, although no details on who yet.


Has anyone got pictures from inside? The Irish council people have been on board and apparently the holds are empty, but that must have been eerie/cool to be the first person to have a poke around.