An evaluation is to take place today to identify any pollution risk from an abandoned cargo ship that washed up on the shores of Co Cork during Storm Dennis.
Now stranded on the rocky coastline at Ballycotton Bay, the MV Alta was abandoned in 2018 when its crew was rescued by the US Coast Guard after drifting in the 77-metre freighter for 20 days.
The ship had become disabled on route from Greece to Haiti, and the crew disembarked around 2,220km off the coast of Bermuda.
A British Royal Navy ship reported it drifting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean in September 2019, and it was last spotted off the west coast of Africa before Storm Dennis blew it towards the Irish coast.
Cork County Council said a team of scientists visited the shipwreck site at Ballycotton Bay on Monday and determined no visible pollution in the area of special conservation.
Monitoring for oil spill risks will continue today with a team set to board the vessel at low tide, while the public has been urged to avoid the area.
A spokesperson for Cork County Council said: "Any risk in relation to oil, other hazardous substances and pollution from the vessel will be evaluated."