Yikes.
In case you hadn’t already heard, the MV Alta has been washed up near Ballycotton since February 2020.
The 2,295 tonne ship had been abandoned by its crew back in 2018 following a storm near Bermuda after it had lost propulsion while traveling from Greece to Haiti. At that time, the ship had been drifting for over 3 weeks, the crew had run out of food and a dangerous tropical storm was approaching.
The rescued crew were taken to Puerto Rico, leaving the abandoned ship to drift all the way to Cork, where it eventually washed up on rocks near Ballycotton.
The ship has remained there since the beginning of 2020, and has become a spectacle for many visiting East Cork.
Over the past two years, the MV Alta has taken a battering from storms Barra, Dudley, Eunice and Franklin, and over the past few days, the 44-year old vessel has split in half, scattering debris on the rocks nearby.
Cork County Council initially decommissioned the ship, removing any public entry points and searching for dangerous substances, however no steps were ever taken to have the ship towed due to high costs.