Successive storms cause Cork's grounded ghost-ship to split in two

Picture: @BallycottonIRE/ Twitter

A modern-day "ghost ship", which washed up on rocks along the Cork coastline in 2020, has split in two after being repeatedly battered during successive storm periods this year.

The MV Alta was grounded in Ballyandreane in Ballycotton, East Cork, on February 16, 2020, during Storm Dennis.

After being abandoned by its 10-man crew during a storm in Bermuda some 16 months earlier, the ship had drifted aimlessly in the Atlantic before winding up in Cork.

From that point on, its condition deteriorated significantly, with fears that it might break apart raised continually since about October 2020.

It now appears as though Storms Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin, which hit the country in quick succession this year, have finally caused the 80m 44-year-old cargo vessel to split.

Images shared by @BallycottonIRE on Twitter show the ship's bow and stern sections completely separated, with other large pieces of its hull strewn across the rocks nearby.

And she has finally split pic.twitter.com/Z8zQVPPe6C

— Ballycotton (@BallycottonIRE) March 12, 2022

In January, evidence emerged of a near-miss incident involving the MV Alta and a massive oil tanker.

Had the two vessels collided, it may have resulted in significant environmental damage.

In April of last year, following reports of sightseers entering the ship and positing videos of social media, Cork County Council said it had been engaging with various Government departments to see what could be done about the wreck.

Whatever action had been planned looks set to be made much more complicated by news of the boat's breaking.