Cork County Council says it has no plans to remove Ballycotton shipwreck

The wreck of the MV Alta in Ballycotton, Cork, as seen in February 2020.

There are no plans to remove a shipwreck that has languished off the Cork coast for almost four years, becoming a beacon for antisocial behaviour and fires.

Cork County Council said that it has completed its duties towards the MV Alta, which washed onto rocks near Ballycotton in East Cork after Storm Dennis struck Ireland in February 2020.

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.

The Tanzanian-registered vessel was last seen by a UK Royal Navy ship in September 2019 before drifting towards Ireland.

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.

Authorities have since 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 2022, a near-miss incident involving the MV Alta and a massive oil tanker occurred.

Risk report

A report on what to do with the MV Alta from the Department of Transport and Cork County Council was published in September.

The report said there were several “high level” risks because of the potential for the ship to be further damaged during storms, with dying a risk for those who venture onboard “possible”.

"The wreck has drawn public attention and visitors, both on the adjacent land and from seaward.  This includes several persons boarding the wreck, as evidenced on social media and by the presence of graffiti on the hull,” the report by marine engineering consultancy firm ABL London said.

Full wreck removal would remove all the residual risks and prevent an increase in risk over time, the report said.

“Full wreck removal is the solution that would remove all risks to public (and environment). Zero residual risk would be contingent on all wreck items being removed (to a practicable level). There may remain some risk, should parts of the wreck remain,” it said.

However, removal of the ship would present a risk to those tasked with doing so because of tricky access, it conceded.

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Transport junior minister Jack Chambers said in March that it is up to Cork County Council to raise and remove the wreck, or otherwise render it harmless because the owner cannot be located.

A spokesperson for Cork County Council said this month that its duties are now complete under the Salvage and Wreck Act 1993 after it carried out safety measures contained in the ABL London report.

“In collaboration with the Department of Transport, Cork County Council arranged for the necessary works to be carried out, which included the making safe of the crane derrick and installation of signage and fencing.

“This has brought Cork County Council’s involvement to completion and Council has no further involvement,” the spokesperson said.