Appears to have sunk now off Ireland.
She didn't appear to be particularly stricken in any of the photos. Can we assume those pictures there are not recent?
Reputed to come with a serious rat problem.
would the GPS have ceased only when she sank, or may she just be adrift but undetectable? I mean, is the absence of a GPS signal the only indication of her having sunk?
What do you mean by "a GPS signal"?
Appears to be a quite extraordinary case of Political Correctness and Elfin Safety by Transport Canada:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Lyubov_Orlova
The derelict vessel had been tied up in St. John's harbour for over two years and was being towed to the Dominican Republic to be scrapped. The tug Charlene Hunt, owned by American tug operator Hunt Marine, was initially contracted to tow the ship south to the Dominican Republic. Just one day after leaving the dock, the tow line parted. The crew of the tugboat tried unsuccessfully to reconnect the line hampered by 35 kilometer per hour winds and three-metre waves. By January 28 2013 Lyubov Orlova was drifting slowly eastward off the southeastern end of the Avalon Peninsula in Canada.
The offshore supply vessel, Atlantic Hawk, with a 157 tonne continuous bollard pull rating, under contract by Husky Energy, was tasked to regain control of the drifting vessel. On February 1, 2013, Transport Canada announced that on January 31 Atlantic Hawk had successfully gained control of the drifting ship, which was no longer a risk to oil and gas operations in the region.
However, once in international waters, Transport Canada decided to cut her loose. “The Lyubov Orlova no longer poses a threat to the safety of offshore oil installations, their personnel or the marine environment. The vessel has drifted into international waters and given current patterns and predominant winds, it is very unlikely that the vessel will re-enter waters under Canadian jurisdiction,” the department said in a statement. Safety concerns were cited by Transport Canada in their reason to not pursue a salvage operation to retrieve the ship.
The ship was located on February 4 2013, approximately 250 nautical miles east of St. John’s, NL (approximately 50 nautical miles outside Canada’s territorial waters) and drifting in a northeasterly direction. She could have ended up almost anywhere from the Norwegian arctic to western Africa, or stuck in the middle of the North Atlantic Gyre. Transport Canada reiterated that the owner of the vessel remained responsible for its movements, and measures had been taken to monitor the position of the drifting ship.[10]
On February 23, according to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Lyubov Orlova was spotted at roughly 1300 nautical miles from the Irish coast.[11]
On February 28 the ship was the subject of news reports in Iceland and Ireland, and a caution to smaller vessels was issued.[12] On March 1st 2013 Irish media reported that a signal from the vessel’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was received from 700 nautical miles off the Kerry coast, still in international waters. An EPIRB only starts transmitting when the device is exposed to water, leading experts to speculate that the ship may have sunk.[13] The Irish Air Corps was expected to continue to monitor the region.[14] As of 22 April 2013, there was no trace of the ship.[15]
“The Lyubov Orlova no longer poses a threat to the marine environment."
At least they towed it out of the environment![]()
Then again, according to Terror In The Skies, pilots are more likely to be absorbed in laptop-conferences, or just fast asleep in the cockpit.![]()
That made me chuckle! Great, great program!!!!![]()