Photos and video material taken inside the ‘ghost’ cargo ship MV Alta, which lies marooned on rocks in Ballycotton for almost a week, is being circulated online.
The footage appears to have been taken at night, by an unknown number of young people, using just the light from their mobile phones to navigate the darkness.
The voices of the young men can be heard clearly on the video content as they wade through water in the ships hull before climbing a stairs to explore the boat’s interior.
One scene depicts the ships cluttered wheel house, which is in a dry condition with copious amounts of documents still perfectly preserved.
One of the intruders manipulates the wheel while another wearing a red top and blue is seen leaving the cabin.
Elsewhere two forklift trucks are among machinery stored on board.
Built in 1976, the 77-metre MV Alta has attracted worldwide attention, having drifted unmanned across the Atlantic in a voyage that began in September 2018.
It had been travelling from Greece to Haiti when it ran into trouble and became disabled over 2,000 km south-east of Bermuda.
Built in 1976, the Tanzania-flagged Alta was sailing from Greece to Haiti in September 2018 when it became disabled about 1,380 miles (2,220km) south-east of Bermuda.
The 10 crew members were rescued by the US coastguard and brought to Puerto Rico.
It is believed the ship was towed to Guyana but later hijacked twice. It was spotted by a Royal Navy ice patrol ship in mid-Atlantic in September 2019, apparently unmanned.
It finally ran aground at Ballycotton during Storm Dennis on February.
An individual claiming to be the boat’s owner has since come forward.
Cork County Council and gardaí have warned against boarding the boat, advising it is extremely dangerous to do so.
