Ballycotton ghost shipwreck. Still there. What would you do?

AMKC · 02-03-2021 11:48pm #1

Me. Surely 5 or 6 tug boats could pull it out to see and they could then sink it for the fish. Not that hard to do surely. That is what tug boats are for pulling ships.
So what would you do with that ship wreck in cork?

KungPao · 03-03-2021 12:09am

AMKC wrote: »

Me. Surely 5 or 6 tug boats could pull it out to see and they could then sink it for the fish. Not that hard to do surely. That is what tug boats are for pulling ships.
So what would you do with that ship wreck in cork?

Had a google: "Aine also told us that there has been no word of the ship being moved since it was announced that it would cost around €10 million to do so"

O...k...

Just leave it so. Wildlife will make it a happy home, if inaccessible to local gurriers.

Oink · 03-03-2021 12:14am

As a keyboard warrior I’d hunt down the company who owns the ship and get them to sort it out. In real life, I’ll just curse them, their mothers, and their second cousins twice removed.

Or else give it a camouflage paint job so it disappears in the background.

Church on Tuesday · 03-03-2021 12:16am

Hop on it for the craic and pretend I'm Denis Hopper from Waterworld.

Atlantic Dawn · 03-03-2021 12:20am

It's in really bad condition now, couldn't be towed out and sunk, it's about to split in two, the time to dispose of it out in the depths of the Atlantic was this time last year. They estimate €10 million to dispose of it, probably €30 million knowing this country when they discover it has the 'wrong' type of steel. There would have been outcry from the environmentlal groups if they towed it out and sunk it.

Harry Palmr · 03-03-2021 12:21am

Leave it, The Michael which ran aground on Tramore strand in about 1977 was there rotting away for years, did no harm and was a bit of feature esp if you were called Michael and stood below the stern.

millb · 03-03-2021 12:33am

No point is wasting money and paying others to remove it.

Maybe the Navy could have spotted it before it came ashore ;-) but I guess we would spend big money paying contractors to assess it and give us a report.

Meantime Navy too poorly funded etc. to stop this happening again..

Greenpeace are dropping big rocks in fishing grounds (North Sea) to prevent trawlers destroying everything on the seabed etc - so the ideal solution would be to have more seabed wrecks that actually help protect fish.

Wonder why RTE don't ask the navy or Marine Institute and wonder how such a ship just drifted ashore without being noticed!!

fryup · 03-03-2021 12:33am

is there any treasure on board? "me hearties"

Atlantic Dawn · 03-03-2021 12:43am

The before and after damage is bad...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkVID_-Ydtw

Nice exploration of inside it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ-s0VpY_jI

Junkyard Tom · 03-03-2021 12:44am

Chip van.

beauf · 03-03-2021 1:23am

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

...the time to dispose of it out in the depths of the Atlantic was this time last year. ....

That ship has sailed...for the last time....no moving it now.

Stovepipe · 03-03-2021 1:58am

It has been said on another forum that the owner notified the Marine authorities that it had been lost at sea and Notices to Mariners were subsequently put out to warn shipping that it was out in the Atlantic. It was spotted by other countries as well our own Navy, even before it came into our waters, so other people had the chance to sink it or salvage it before us. At least the Council got the oil and other contaminants out of it before now.

Oink · 03-03-2021 5:51pm

Stovepipe wrote: »

It has been said on another forum that the owner notified the Marine authorities that it had been lost at sea and Notices to Mariners were subsequently put out to warn shipping that it was out in the Atlantic. It was spotted by other countries as well our own Navy, even before it came into our waters, so other people had the chance to sink it or salvage it before us. At least the Council got the oil and other contaminants out of it before now.

I’d love to know more behind that logic.
“-There’s a wreck drifting across the Atlantic.
- Alright so. Ah yeah there it is. Cool.”

beauf · 03-03-2021 6:07pm

I think there's quite a few abandoned ships floating around, and containers and other shipping hazards. Ocean is big they reappear from time to time.

There's a list here..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_ship#Historically_attested this one is the last in the list.

neris · 03-03-2021 6:10pm

Oink wrote: »

I’d love to know more behind that logic.
“-There’s a wreck drifting across the Atlantic.
- Alright so. Ah yeah there it is. Cool.”

I think its that if a naval ship came across it and sank it off the coast or mid atlantic youd suddenly find theres an owner popping up looking for compo for the prized ship in their fleet

neris · 03-03-2021 6:13pm

beauf wrote: »

I think there's quite a few abandoned ships floating around, and containers and other shipping hazards. Ocean is big they reappear from time to time.

There's a list here..https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_ship#Historically_attested this one is the last in the list.

loadsa containers floating around. good few alone lost off a japanese ship in the pacific late last year

https://twitter.com/connorhelm/status/1334268904886194182

Sam Quentin · 03-03-2021 6:22pm

neris wrote: »

loadsa containers floating around. good few alone lost off a japanese ship in the pacific late last year

https://twitter.com/connorhelm/status/1334268904886194182

More importantly my $24 dash-cam was on that ship ffs... :mad:

Stovepipe · 03-03-2021 8:41pm

A lot of the higher containers are empty, as the heaviest ones are in the hold. The problem for mariners is that containers can float, just barely below the surface and can't be seen on radar or are not seen until it's too late and ships run into them. As for abandoned ships, look up the Japanese fishing boats that were swept out to sea after the big tsunami there and turned up on the American West coast. Also, if a ghost ship is drifting, it will go where currents and wind will take it so it can wander around the oceans for ages, until it is sunk by a storm or runs aground.

03-03-2021 8:43pm

Church on Tuesday wrote: »

Hop on it for the craic and pretend I'm Denis Hopper from Waterworld.

Cool.

I'll be Kevin Costner.

03-03-2021 11:13pm

AMKC wrote: »

Me. Surely 5 or 6 tug boats could pull it out to see and they could then sink it for the fish. Not that hard to do surely. That is what tug boats are for pulling ships.
So what would you do with that ship wreck in cork?

Even drag it a couple 100m offshore and let it sink. Coukd be a dive site and reef for juvenile fish.

Church on Tuesday · 03-03-2021 11:36pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Cool.

I'll be Kevin Costner.

Great film.

Massively underrated.

Capt'n Midnight · 04-03-2021 1:44am

The ship is listed as 2,295 gross tonnes / 1640 deadweight tonnes. But that's the volume / weight of the cargo. So guess 2/3rds the weight of cargo which gives circa 1,000 tonnes.

Scrap steel isn't worth all that much. And the price changes all the time.

It'll break up in a few years. So if the council sets up a committee to agree the terms for the tender for the environmental impact survey the problem could sort itself before they have to spend real money.

Del2005 · 04-03-2021 6:40am

Oink wrote: »

I’d love to know more behind that logic.
“-There’s a wreck drifting across the Atlantic.
- Alright so. Ah yeah there it is. Cool.”

The UK's navy saw it and tried to call it over radio but didn't get a response as it had been abandoned by the crew. So they saw it and did nothing, our navy never saw it till in hit us.

whisky_galore · 04-03-2021 7:12am

Some urban explorer gobshyte is going to break his leg fooling around on it and then attempt to sue the co council.

04-03-2021 11:53am

whisky_galore wrote: »

Some urban explorer gobshyte is going to break his leg fooling around on it and then attempt to sue the co council.

This "urban explorer" will then claim for broken limbs in claims court stating he was an "expert".

This shipwreck cannot be airlifted by helicopter like that bus in the Alaskan wilderness either.

Stovepipe · 04-03-2021 8:58pm

blow it apart and speed up the process. A few hundred pounds of explosive in the right places and it'll be done away with.

Ubbquittious · 05-03-2021 1:00am

Stovepipe wrote: »

blow it apart and speed up the process. A few hundred pounds of explosive in the right places and it'll be done away with.

Youd need a feasibility study, archaeologists need to come out to make sure you dont accidentally blow up some washed up relics. Wild life study to count how many crabs are likely to perish as collateral and if any are endangered. Pay off all the residents who are planning a peaceful nights sleep on the day of the explosion. Fully qualified and insured demolition team to be flown in from abroad because nobody here knows how to do it legally, all forms of legal explosion-based demolition having been heavily suppressed by the government since the troubles. 50 armed guards to be paid overtime on the day in case the demolition crew are in fact IRA men disguised as contractors.

All in all cheaper to build a brand new ship from virgin steel and bring it back to the owners of the wrecked one for free

josip · 05-03-2021 1:27am

Ubbquittious wrote: »

Youd need a feasibility study, archaeologists need to come out to make sure you dont accidentally blow up some washed up relics. Wild life study to count how many crabs are likely to perish as collateral and if any are endangered. Pay off all the residents who are planning a peaceful nights sleep on the day of the explosion. Fully qualified and insured demolition team to be flown in from abroad because nobody here knows how to do it legally, all forms of legal explosion-based demolition having been heavily suppressed by the government since the troubles. 50 armed guards to be paid overtime on the day in case the demolition crew are in fact IRA men disguised as contractors.

All in all cheaper to build a brand new ship from virgin steel and bring it back to the owners of the wrecked one for free

Could you just get Martin Ferris down for the day from Tralee to look after it instead?

Mr_Muffin · 05-03-2021 1:32am

It'll be up on Daft for 1400 a month. Sea views and natural surroundings.

05-03-2021 9:42am

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

It'll be up on Daft for 1400 a month. Sea views and natural surroundings.

Raw health resort.

Hogan's Hulk?

Stovepipe · 05-03-2021 10:30am

the thickest plate on that ship is probably no more than 3/4 of an inch. Linear shaped charges will cut it like a knife thru butter. Cut that ship into four pieces and wave action will take care of the rest. Plenty of demolition companies available in the Uk, and they have done work here. No need for expensive crowd control or cordons. Fired from inside the hull, only seagulls would notice it.

regards

Del2005 · 06-03-2021 5:07am

Stovepipe wrote: »

the thickest plate on that ship is probably no more than 3/4 of an inch. Linear shaped charges will cut it like a knife thru butter. Cut that ship into four pieces and wave action will take care of the rest. Plenty of demolition companies available in the Uk, and they have done work here. No need for expensive crowd control or cordons. Fired from inside the hull, only seagulls would notice it.

regards

It's not as simple as blow it up and let a bit of metal get washed away by the sea, there'll be tonnes of dangerous chemicals still on the boat. Have you seen the work that's required to get a boat ready to be sunk as a reef?

RobAMerc · 06-03-2021 6:54am

Del2005 wrote: »

It's not as simple as blow it up and let a bit of metal get washed away by the sea, there'll be tonnes of dangerous chemicals still on the boat. Have you seen the work that's required to get a boat ready to be sunk as a reef?

so they dont need to do all that if they are leaving it to nature ?

Del2005 · 06-03-2021 7:24am

RobAMerc wrote: »

so they dont need to do all that if they are leaving it to nature ?

This is why it's back in the news, they are trying to figure out what to do with it before it breaks up and releases the dangerous chemicals.

Dempo1 · 06-03-2021 9:01am

Did I hear correctly €10 million to remove it, if so absolutely ridiculous. I can't fathom (no pun intended), why cables can't be attached and pull it out off the coast and sink it, there's literally 10"s of thousands of ship wrecks at the bottom of the ocean, surely it would not cost €10 million to do this.

Stovepipe · 06-03-2021 10:49am

Del2005 wrote: »

It's not as simple as blow it up and let a bit of metal get washed away by the sea, there'll be tonnes of dangerous chemicals still on the boat. Have you seen the work that's required to get a boat ready to be sunk as a reef?

It has already be drained of it's engine oil and other toxins by the council.

Stovepipe · 06-03-2021 10:52am

Dempo1 wrote: »

Did I hear correctly €10 million to remove it, if so absolutely ridiculous. I can't fathom (no pun intended), why cables can't be attached and pull it out off the coast and sink it, there's literally 10"s of thousands of ship wrecks at the bottom of the ocean, surely it would not cost €10 million to do this.

I would suspect that that's a "****-off" price. No salvage firm would want to do it unless it's worth their while to get a tug there, connect it and drag the wreck off the rocks, so it's either someone chancing their arm with an inflated quote or it's priced way above par to piss off the Council.

Insect Overlord · 06-03-2021 10:58am

The Plassey on Inis Oírr (the rusty old boat from the start of Father Ted, for those of ye who've never visited the Aran Islands Gaeltacht

) is a classic tourist attraction. I'd leave the thing where it is.

06-03-2021 12:21pm

Not sure what the local fishing trawler crews would think.

Stovepipe · 06-03-2021 12:40pm

Fishermen tend to be very aware of where wrecks are located and don't want to snag their nets on them. Conversely, fish tend to gather around wrecks as they generate new marine growth.

Sky King · 06-03-2021 12:55pm

Maybe someone could ask the ghosts what THEY think?

Manach · 06-03-2021 1:08pm

For future marine archologists of the year 2525 will thank us for keeping it in situ.

whisky_galore · 06-03-2021 1:43pm

Manach wrote: »

For future marine archologists of the year 2525 will thank us for keeping it in situ.

Part of the hull is already after collapsing. It will be just a pile of rusted steel plating and an engine block long before that.

06-03-2021 2:43pm

I think I heard a comment on the news that the national museum had 30 days to comment on what should be done next so I expect with the bureacracy moving so slowly the plan is just to leave the heap of scrap in place.

Capt'n Midnight · 06-03-2021 10:35pm

Topgear on Dave wrote: »

I think I heard a comment on the news that the national museum had 30 days to comment on what should be done next so I expect with the bureacracy moving so slowly the plan is just to leave the heap of scrap in place.

Obviously the next move its to spend millions on an interpretative centre and paint double yellows on all local roads so people have park at the centre.

And the usual suspects can tender for the gig.

Ubbquittious · 06-03-2021 11:39pm

josip wrote: »

Could you just get Martin Ferris down for the day from Tralee to look after it instead?

Ah jaysus shur we don't do easy. Think of all the millions that the council have collected from making people pay every year to live in their own houses - that money all needs to be spent now, think of all fat-bellied contractors whose S-class mercs need upgrading

OneEightSeven · 07-03-2021 9:19am

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

The before and after damage is bad...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkVID_-Ydtw

Nice exploration of inside it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ-s0VpY_jI

A YouTuber who makes parkour videos explored the ship last April too:

Ballycotton ghost shipwreck. Still there. What would you do?

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