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- Feb 4, 2010
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Two units of Cork County Fire Service attended the scene of a fire on board the shipwrecked MV Alta Thursday 29th April. Fire Crews monitored the fire for a time ensuring there was no danger to the public.
Firefighters later entered the ship to conduct minor firefighting operations (due to the wreck being in dangerous condition) which finished not long after due to the rising tide and poor light. The fire is substantially extinguished and will be further assessed again tomorrow.
Background to MV Alta
On 16 February 2020, the Alta ran aground on the Irish coast near Ballycotton, Cork amid Storm Dennis. 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.
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 —as of December 2020 ownership had not been established. Although the ship's commercial scrap value is "low," the cost to the Irish exchequer of removing the wreck could exceed €10 million. 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. Sixty-two full barrels of oil were ultimately removed from the wreck by helicopter. 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
Firefighters later entered the ship to conduct minor firefighting operations (due to the wreck being in dangerous condition) which finished not long after due to the rising tide and poor light. The fire is substantially extinguished and will be further assessed again tomorrow.
Background to MV Alta
On 16 February 2020, the Alta ran aground on the Irish coast near Ballycotton, Cork amid Storm Dennis. 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.
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 —as of December 2020 ownership had not been established. Although the ship's commercial scrap value is "low," the cost to the Irish exchequer of removing the wreck could exceed €10 million. 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. Sixty-two full barrels of oil were ultimately removed from the wreck by helicopter. 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
