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The ship washed up onshore on Sunday. Michael Mac Sweeney/Provision Photography

'Very little fuel' on board shipwreck that washed ashore in Cork

No final decisions have yet been taken about the future of the vessel.

EXPERTS HAVE AGAIN boarded the stricken vessel that washed up on the Cork coast and have assessed that there is “very little diesel fuel on board”. 

A Cork County Council team has been tasked with assessing the potential for an oil spill from the MV Alta and it provided an update today, saying that options are now being explored to safely remove the oil that is on board.  

The abandoned cargo ship had been drifting across the Atlantic for the last sixteen months before it came aground on Ireland’s south coast during Storm Dennis over the weekend. 

In a statement today, Cork County Council said no final decisions have yet been taken about the future of the vessel. 

The statement read: 

Cork County Council’s marine contractor boarded the vessel again this morning and was able to carry out a full assessment of the materials aboard.  All compartments were accessed and there is very little diesel fuel on board. A number of options are currently being evaluated in order to safely remove the sealed containers of oil and other materials identified yesterday which may pose a pollution risk in the event of their spillage.

Consultations are continuing between the Irish Coastguard, Cork County Council, the Receiver of Wrecks and other relevant bodies in relation to the future of the wreck.  The Revenue Commissioners are currently in the process of seeking to establishing ownership of the wreck.

“There remains no visible pollution within the Ballycotton Bay Special Protection Area or nearby proposed Natural Heritage Areas,” Cork County Council adds. 

As the ship has washed up on Irish shores, it’s the Irish State that is ultimately responsible for the wreck but it can seek to recover the costs against the vessel owners at a future date. 

The council is again asking members of the public to stay away from the wreck location due to the danger of the coastline and the ship’s instability. 

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    Mute Jamie
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:39 AM

    Gas

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    Mute JayDoge
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:41 AM

    @Jamie: I’d say you’re right. Gas leaks are the worst

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    Mute fartnugget67
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:42 AM

    @Jamie: it’s not that funny

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:55 AM

    @Jamie: yup, Police suspect it was a gas leak at a bakery

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    Mute john
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:58 AM

    Let’s hope no one has died please god

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    Mute Monika Broughill
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:37 AM

    @john: French media report that 2 are critically injured and there are 3 with severe injuries Hopefully they will all recover

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    Mute john
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    Jan 12th 2019, 5:20 PM

    @john: so sad people are Dead r.i.p

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    Mute Paul Quirke
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:42 AM

    An accident for sure. It’s in the 9th so too off the beaten track to be anything else

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    Mute Dermot O'Shea
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:01 AM

    @Paul Quirke: I think it’s pretty clear it’s a gas leak, but saying that the 9th is too far off the beaten track to be anything else doesn’t make sense. The night of the Bataclan attacks, several small bars around the 10th were attacked (Le Carillon, Le Petit Cambodge).

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    Mute Paul Quirke
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:05 AM

    @Dermot O’Shea: the 9th is pretty quiet.. It may be beside 18 and 10 but it’s a lot quieter.

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    Mute Juan Fangio
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:33 AM

    The place looks a mess, the yellow vests will probably gather there an help with the clean up.

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    Mute Noel
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:26 AM
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    Mute Jamie
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:38 AM

    @Noel: that lads a serious tool

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Jan 12th 2019, 11:59 AM

    @Noel: wow, the comments section on that is scary. Macron did it to kill the yellow vest movement apparently. Some people need serious help. Also, they still have it described as a terrorist attack in the description. It was not

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    Mute Brendan Cooney
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    Jan 12th 2019, 12:50 PM

    @Noel: some seriously mixed up people in the world.

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
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    Jan 12th 2019, 3:38 PM

    @Noel: so massive explosion and this guy runs to it to stream it on line for some likes. Never mind the fact that he didn’t know the cause.

    Jesus we’re devolving!

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Jan 12th 2019, 5:09 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: to expose the false flag operation aimed at turning opinion against the yellow vest movement of course ;)

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