TD claims ghost ship off Cork coast being passed 'from pillar to post'

The MV Alta washed onto rocks near Ballycotton in east Cork after Storm Dennis struck Ireland in February 2020.

A ghost ship languishing on the east Cork coast, attracting antisocial behaviour and fires, is being "passed from pillar to post" as authorities decide what to do with it.

That is according to Cork East TD, Sean Sherlock, who said the removal of the MV Alta from Ballycotton must begin as soon as possible. The ship was the scene of yet another fire a week ago, with nearby fields subsequently catching ablaze, according to witnesses. 

It led to firefighting personnel being dispatched from nearby Midleton and Youghal, with some residents said to leave their homes as a precaution, while local farmers joined the effort to extinguish the blaze.

The MV Alta washed onto rocks near Ballycotton in east Cork after Storm Dennis struck Ireland in February 2020. A report by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board said it had drifted more than 2,300 nautical miles for almost 500 days before it was shipwrecked.

The ship, built in 1976, had originally been on course from Greece to Haiti in the Caribbean Sea in October 2018, before engines failed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. While the US Coast Guard rescued the crew more than 2,000km off Bermuda, the ship was abandoned, drifting until it came to its final stop in Cork.

Since then, authorities have struggled to deal with the remnants of the ghost ship, because its owners cannot be identified, and a multi-million euro bill will apply for its removal.

Successive storms Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin, culminated in the 80-metre 44-year-old cargo vessel splitting, while in January of this year, a near-miss incident involving the MV Alta and a massive oil tanker occurred.

In June, it emerged that the Department of Transport is commissioning a report on the risks to the health and safety of the public posed by the wreck of the MV Alta. It is also seeking to establish the stability and potential for further deterioration of the vessel and any associated risks.

The site has become a beacon for antisocial behaviour, as well as a danger to people seeking selfies and exploration of the wreckage since it was first grounded. Mr Sherlock said dealing with the wreckage is long overdue.

"It is very clear that this wreckage is continuing to present as a dangerous presence on our coastline. Rather than passing from pillar to post, the Minister and the local authority need to take control and begin the disposal of the wreckage. In the interests of public safety, its removal must begin," he said.

Defence Minister Simon Coveney told Mr Sherlock earlier this year in reply to a parliamentary question that under the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act, 1993, it is the Transport Minister Eamon Ryan who has particular responsibilities relating to wrecked or stranded vessels, and that his own department has no role.

The Department of Transport's report comes on foot of a recommendation by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, Mr Coveney said.

"The group's role is to explore the risks and potential costs to the State presented by derelict ships entering Irish territorial waters and coming ashore in Ireland, and to make proposals for means to identify, monitor, track and interdict derelict ships before they endanger others ships and seafarers," Mr Coveney said.