Ghost Ship aground at Ballycotton

[Frogmogman]

Surely it could have kept the hulk in sight for long enough to call in some other naval or airforce assets to despatch it as target practice.
Or perhaps not, as we lost our long range planes and all navy money spent on empty runways

Maybe they couldn't face all the hassle of being accused of polluting the oceans had they sunk her.

 

[mjcoon]

Odd if no effort was made to remove this danger to shipping, either by towing her in or sinking her,

Imagine the legal complexity if such a thing is not covered by some explicit aspect of international marine law!

Mike.

 

[penberth3]

HMS Endurance, even more a survey ship, had a small gun amply capable of sinking an unresisting ship (4 pounder, or some such). I'm sure a few shots along the waterline would sink most derelicts.....

Could you be absolutely sure about that - or might you turn it into a "semi-submersible" invisible hazard? You'd also have to check there was nobody aboard.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Could you be absolutely sure about that - or might you turn it into a "semi-submersible" invisible hazard? You'd also have to check there was nobody aboard.

I'm sure they could ensure the ship sank; containers can only remain floating because of buoyant material in them. A ship, once it starts sinking, is subject to loads it is not designed to withstand, and either breaks it's back or empty spaces implode. The idea that something can float just beneath the surface is physically impossible without active management; submarines can only do it either by "flying" on their diving planes or by extremely careful management of their buoyancy so they "float" on denser layers of water. Neither are the case for a sinking ship.

Of course, you are quite right about checking whether there's anyone aboard, and the difficulty of doing that at sea might well be why ships are left afloat. Boarding a ship from a launch or whatever is going to be very difficult if the pilot ladder isn't rigged - it would be bad enough even if it was rigged. Some navy vessels might be able to put a boarding party aboard by helicopter, but helicopters are VERY expensive to operate, and you don't do it without a very good reason.

 

[mjcoon]

Of course, you are quite right about checking whether there's anyone aboard, and the difficulty of doing that at sea might well be why ships are left afloat. Boarding a ship from a launch or whatever is going to be very difficult if the pilot ladder isn't rigged - it would be bad enough even if it was rigged. Some navy vessels might be able to put a boarding party aboard by helicopter, but helicopters are VERY expensive to operate, and you don't do it without a very good reason.

Drones don't cost so much, and I bet the navy has them. It could carry a loud-hailer or flash-bang to attract attention...

Mike.

 

[penberth3]

Drones don't cost so much, and I bet the navy has them. It could carry a loud-hailer or flash-bang to attract attention...

Mike.

Could still be ignored by someone who doesn't want to be noticed? Could be refugees or hostages below?

 

[mjcoon]

Could still be ignored by someone who doesn't want to be noticed? Could be refugees or hostages below?

In mid-Atlantic? Not that I was entirely serious...

Mike.

 

[penberth3]

In mid-Atlantic? Not that I was entirely serious...

Mike.

And perhaps I read too much Hammond Innes when I was a lad.

 

[Irish Rover]

Risk assessment carried out on abandoned ship

 

[Irish Rover]

Youngsters boarding ghost ship for dares 'risk their lives'

 

[Irish Rover]

Barrels of waste diesel, oil airlifted from MV Alta

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Could still be ignored by someone who doesn't want to be noticed? Could be refugees or hostages below?

There are lots of ghost N Korean ships found with dead or dying fisherman aboard. To sink their ship with them still aboard because it was adrift due to failure or lack of fuel would be rightly considered murder, and the N Korea would probably consider it an act of war. Sinking trapped refuees would hardly be better. Realistically it cant be sunk till its physically checked and as others have said thats not quite so easy

 

[prv]

Wonder why it wasn't taken in tow a day or three before it hit Ireland.

How would anyone know it was there?

Pete

 

[prv]

Drones don't cost so much, and I bet the navy has them.

I expect they probably have an evaluation programme or two slowly trundling along somewhere, but getting anything new into actual service with the fleet is tortuously slow. In a previous job a colleague was part of a team trying to add a couple of on-board cameras to (I think) Bulwark, to improve awareness on the bridge of what was going on on the flight deck. Just ordinary commercial CCTV cameras, no unusual or especially strenuous requirements (all the safety stuff was still being covered as before). They did it as a trial and all worked well from a technical point of view, and the crew found it useful. But trying to turn "trials" equipment into a permanent part of the ship unleashed such a shitstorm of bureaucracy that they ended up giving up and abandoning the whole project. As far as she knows, the new cameras were never fitted.

Pete

 

[Mark-1]

How would anyone know it was there?

Pete

I wrote that back in Feb. At the time I assumed there was some kind of radar watch over the waters around us. (Perhaps not a very effective one, but good enough to spot a drifting ship within a few days.) I've since found out there isn't and isn't likely to be for a variety of reasons.

 

[Kelpie]

Ballycotton is about 75nm along the south coast. It must have taken a few days for the ship to drift that far. It's quite surprising that nobody saw it, there's a fair bit of traffic around there according to AIS.

 

[Irish Rover]

MV Alta could cost €10m to salvage - expert

 

[Kola]

So where is the compulsory insurance against: Oil pollution and Wreck removal?

 

[Irish Rover]

So where is the compulsory insurance against: Oil pollution and Wreck removal?

Sounds like they're having difficulty tracing ownership of the vessel and presumably they'd need that to find the insurer.

 

[Irish Rover]

Hazardous waste experts assess Cork MV Alta shipwreck