Satellite detections show 'near miss' between oil tanker and Ballycotton ghost ship

Had the two vessels collided near Cork Harbour, it could have caused a massive environmental catastrophe, maritime expert says

The Defence Forces have already expressed concerns about the lack of maritime security or situation awareness in Ireland that allowed the derelict 77m MV Alta to pass through Ireland’s maritime domain before grounding on the shoreline east of Cork Harbour in February 2020. Picture: Safehaven Marine

Evidence has emerged of a near-miss incident off Cork involving a massive oil tanker and the ghost-ship which was washed onto the coast near Ballycotton almost two years ago.

Had the two vessels collided near Cork Harbour, it could have caused a massive environmental catastrophe, TDs have been told.

Details of the incident further underline the need for major improvements in maritime safety and oversight here, international maritime lawyer Michael Kingston said.

And the incident also underscores the need for a unified agency, or a national maritime information centre, to track and monitor vessels like the MV Alta, which may enter Irish waters, he added.

The Defence Forces have already expressed concerns about the lack of maritime security or situation awareness in Ireland that allowed the derelict 77m MV Alta to pass through Ireland’s maritime domain before grounding on the shoreline east of Cork Harbour in February 2020.

They say satellite information which tracked the ship was available but that it appeared from an Irish perspective, that “no-one was looking” for it, allowing a ghost-ship make its way slowly through the Irish maritime domain “unnoticed and unchecked”.

Maritime safety flaws

Mr Kingston was featured in an in-depth interview in the Irish Examiner over Christmas, which used the case of the MV Alta, the wreck of which still lies stuck fast on rocks near Ballycotton almost two years on from its grounding, to highlight the flaws and gaps in Ireland’s maritime safety and oversight regime.

Mr Kingston has now written to members of the Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee to say he was contacted by an expert source in the days after the article was published to highlight a potential near-miss incident involving the drifting MV Alta and a large oil tanker, the 266m VLCC Khawr Aladid.

The source has used satellite detections of the MV Alta on February 10, February 14 and 15 2020, combined with weather data and drift calculations, to plot its potential course.

The source overlaid that plot with the course of the VLCC Khawr Aladid to reveal a potential near miss between both vessels at about 10pm on February 15, 2020, about 12 nautical miles south of Roche’s Point.

Mr Kingston said the near-miss was avoided by “a hair’s breadth in nautical terms”.

“If they had collided, we would have had a massive environmental catastrophe on our hands," he said.

"Had the collision occurred, the VLCC Khawr Aladid would have either ended up on the coast of Ballycotton, or in the mouth of Cork Harbour.

“Does our transport minister really think this is acceptable from an environmental perspective, not to mention our seafarers’ and rescue service personnel safety?” 

Mr Kingston and his family will mark the 43rd anniversary of his father Tim’s death in the 1979 Whiddy Island disaster this weekend. The families of all 51 victims are still campaigning for a State apology.