I was in Melbourne when this one washed ashore.
Posted on 02/18/2020 3:29:38 PM PST by aMorePerfectUnion
An abandoned cargo ship has landed on the coast of Ireland after spending more than a year drifting alone at sea.
The Irish Coast Guard said it responded to the vessel aground near Ballycotton, Cork on Sunday and discovered there was no one was on board.
It turns out that the mysterious vessel is the 250-foot Tanzanian-flagged merchant ship Alta, which had been adrift since the U.S. Coast Guard rescued all 10 crew members on board after the vessel lost power while en route from Greece to Haiti in September 2018.
At the time of the rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard said it had been working with the ship's owner to arrange for a commercial tug to tow the vessel to shore. Apparently, the tow never came to fruition and the vessel has been floating solo ever since.
One year later, in September 2019, the U.K. Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship HMS Protector spotted Alta adrift in the mid-Atlantic, but its attempts to make contact and offer assistance went unanswered.
It's believed Alta made its way near Africa, the Americas and Europe before finally being pushed ashore by Storm Dennis earlier this week.
The Irish Coastguard, Cork County Council, the Receiver of Wrecks and other relevant bodies are now working to develop a plan to remove the wreck.
There has been no visible pollution near the grounded vessel, Cork County Council said in seperate statements on Monday and Tuesday.
An initial assessment the Council’s marine contractor on Tuesday found there is no cargo on board and that only a small amount of diesel fuel remains in the ship's tanks, which are divided into a number of compartments. Several of the compartments are inaccessible due to water on board and will be pumped out on Wednesday to allow the contractor to complete the assessment.
Officials are also evaluating plans to remove a number of sealed oil containers and other materials found on board which may pose a pollution risk.
There was a movie called Ghost Boat about a WWII British sub.
I liked it.
I was in Melbourne when this one washed ashore.
Nice boat. Looks undamaged, despite the beaching.
I think a derelict vessel becomes the property of whoever can bring it to port.
You float ‘er, you own ‘er.
This topic was posted , thanks aMorePerfectUnion.
Coast Guard rescued all 10 crew members on board after the vessel lost power while en route from Greece to Haiti in September 2018.
...
One year later, in September 2019, the U.K. Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol Ship HMS Protector spotted Alta adrift in the mid-Atlantic, but its attempts to make contact and offer assistance went unanswered.
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Someone needs to update their operational database more often.
Wasn’t it worth a salvage effort, even for scrap?
You float ‘er, you own ‘er.
You own 'er, you pay the docking fees, registration fees, tax on the value of the craft, and whatever else the local gubmint thinks they can get away with.
Well, it was without a crew.
But you’re right. Any of those words would have been more descriptive and accurate.
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