'Ghost ship' washes ashore in Ireland
February 18, 2020
An abandoned ship washed up on the rocky shore of southern Ireland after having drifted across the Atlantic Ocean for more than a year, the Irish Coast Guard said Monday.
Wind of up to 110 kilometers (70 miles) per hour from Storm Dennis had pushed the "ghost ship" towards the Irish coast. It was first sighted on Sunday.
The coast guard identified the 77-meter (250-feet) cargo ship as the MV Alta, which broke down while sailing from Greece to Haiti in September 2018.
The US Coast Guard rescued 10 people from the broken down vessel 1,380 miles (2,220 kilometers) southeast of the Atlantic archipelago Bermuda.
The crew had spent 20 days onboard the ship, having been supplied with food by the coast guard before they were rescued.
The ship was last spotted drifting crewless in the mid-Atlantic by a British patrol ship in August 2019.
Cork county officials said Monday that there was no sign of pollution from the 44-year-old ship, and a contractor would board the vessel at low tide on Tuesday for further assessment of what to do with the wreck.
wmr/rc (AFP, EBU)
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