This is the Russian cruise ship MV Lyubov Orlova. It disappeared shortly after it left Canada en route to the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. Now it has reappeared, floating adrift 2,400 kilometers off the west coast of Ireland.
The Orlova—named after a famous Soviet actress—had been abandoned
for two years before getting lost at sea during transport. The ship disappeared while being towed to the Caribbean Sea for scrapping.
Apparently, the cable that linked her to the towing ship snapped because of the heavy waves. The towing ship crew tried to capture the ship again, but it was all in vain. The weather made it impossible. Finally, the Orlova disappeared.
Everyone assumed the Russian vessel was lost forever in the North Atlantic ocean. Her Automatic Identification System—a system that transmits the geographical position of ships—was offline, so there was no way to locate it. The Canadian
authorities admitted that they had no clue about the ship's whereabouts, claiming that the Orlova wasn't their responsibility anymore because she wasn't in Canada's jurisdictional waters.
Weeks later—on February 1—the Orlova was spotted by the Atlantic Hawk, a supply craft used to ferry materials to and from oil platforms.
The Atlantic Hawk was able to intercept and secure the Orlova but cut the vessel loose on February 4, following orders of Transport Canada, the country's equivalent of the US Department of Transportation. Now she's again sailing on her own, a prisoner of the Atlantic's currents.
http://gizmodo.com/5986097/russian-ghost-ship-mysteriously-reappears-after-two-months A massive ghost ship has been missing in the Atlantic since last February, along with its potential cargo of "disease-ridden cannibal rats," via BBC Future. Now, it looks like it's headed for the UK.
The Lyubov Orlova was first misplaced on its way from a harbor in Newfoundland, Canada, to the Dominican Republic, where it was to be sold as scrap. A storm sent it loose into the ocean, however, and the Canadian government decided to cut its losses and let it and its crew of hundreds of starving vermin drift. And that's the last anyone saw of it.
It seems completely impossible that today, in the time of Google Earth,
that a 1,400-ton ocean liner could completely disappear. But New Scientist ran a fascinating profile by Richard Fisher on the mystery last month that explains why finding the former polar tourist vessel is so damn difficult. The ever-growing search area, plus the fact the abandoned boat might already be underwater, has made actually locating it nearly impossible.
The closest they've come is an emergency signal broadcast from the ship, about 10 months ago, that placed it about 700 miles from Ireland. Even with that guidance, it couldn't be found.
The New Scientist report also notes that maritime law states that tossing a rope on a derelict vessel allows you to claim it as your own. Which, incredible.http://gizmodo.com/a-ghost-ship-full-of-cannibal-rats-has-disappeared-in-t-1507563397Siapa mau kapal pesiar tua gratis loohh!
Topic: Ghost ship (abandond ship) who sail in the sea without human navigation interfere (Read 1506 times)