Russian ‘Ghost Ship’ Discovered Off Ireland Coast

A Russian “ghost ship” has been found off the west coast of Ireland. The ship, called the Lyubov Orlova, has been adrift for two months.

The Lyubov Orlova has no crew or warning lights. It broke loose from a tug boat on January 24 when it was on its way to a scrapyard in the Dominican Republic from Canada.

It was re-secured by a supply vessel, the Atlantic Hawk, which was able to tow the Russian ship for a short time until it broke free again, reports The Huffington Post.

Canada’s transport authority ruled that the ship was no longer the country’s concern, because the vessel was in international waters. Officials have since said that the owner is responsible for the ship, but Canada admitted it wasn’t sure what happened to the vessel.

A document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has said that the Lyubov Orlova was spotted 1,300 miles off the Irish coast. The vessel appears to be slowly making its way toward Europe.

CBC News notes that Reza Shoeybi, the ship’s owner has been trying to find someone to safely snag the ship so it can be taken to the Dominican Republic scrapyard. Shoeybi stated:

“I’m trying my best. I’m talking to a few people in Ireland — salvage companies — perhaps to partner up with them and retrieve her.”

The ship’s owner added that she is floating well because a lot of work has been done on her to balance the ballast tanks. The Lyubov Orloba is an ice-strengthened cruise ship. It was named after Russian film star Lyubov Orlova and was built for the Far East Shipping Company.

The was made to be an expedition cruise ship and often sailed in Antarctica and the Arctic. She ran aground in 2006 and was seized in 2010 because of debts owed to her charterer. Neptune International Shipping then purchased the ship to be scrapped.

Until she is snagged again and towed to a scrapyard, the Russian Lyubov Orlova will remain a ghost ship.

[Image by Lilpop,Rau&Loewenstein (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons]