MV Alta

MV Alta was constructed in 1976 as the Tananger, and has had several other names before becoming the Alta in 2017.[2] By 2015, the ship was equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS) which allows its movements to be tracked. The ship periodically switched the AIS on and off as it mostly travelled around the Mediterranean Sea. Deactivating the AIS is unusual, as is the numerous name changes the ship had in its later years, which sometimes can indicate involvement in illegal activity.[3]

In October 2018, the ship was on a voyage from Greece to Haiti. Such a long trip is unusual for a ship of this type and size, which typically stays closer to shorelines.[4] The ships engines failed in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the crew stranded. The US Coast Guard rescued the crew about 2,200 km (1,400 mi) south-east of Bermuda, and the ship was abandoned.[5]

After its abandonment, the ship's next moves are uncertain. An unverified report suggested that it was towed to Guyana and possibly hijacked, only to be abandoned a second time.[4] Regardless of what happened, the ghost ship was next sighted by HMS Protector, in August or September of 2019, near Bermuda. After this sighting, it likely continued to drift at very low speeds before eventually arriving in Ireland. However, the AIS was not functioning after its abandonment, making its course uncertain.[3]

On 16 February 2020, the Alta ran aground on the Irish coast near Ballycotton, Cork amid Storm Dennis.[6][7][8] The rare story of a modern day ghost ship, as well as the length of time it spent floating without crew or captain at sea (18 months), caught the global public's imagination and curiosity.[9]

The responsibility of the wreck fell to Irish Minister for the Marine as per the Salvage and Wreck Act 1993, until a receiver of wreck is appointed. Despite efforts to determine the ownership of the ship—so that the Irish state can try to recover costs incurred[10]—as of December 2020 ownership had not been established.[11][12] Although the ship's commercial scrap value is "low," the cost to the Irish exchequer of removing the wreck could exceed €10 million.[13] Alta had previously been the subject of an ownership dispute, with claims it was once hijacked and towed to Guyana, but efforts have been made to establish where it was last registered. Some reports suggest the ship was sailing under a Panamanian flag when its crew were rescued and it was abandoned in October 2018, while other reports suggest it was registered in Tanzania.[7][14] Sixty-two full barrels of oil were ultimately removed from the wreck by helicopter.[15] Afterwards, the ship was sealed off and made inaccessible.

By October of 2020, the wreckage had deteriorated to the point that the Cork County Council feared that the ship would break apart. The County has requested assistance from other departments of the Irish government in removing the ship. Three options are under consideration for the wreckage: to leave the ship in place, to tow it out to sea and let it sink, or to dismantle and scrap it.[12]