The “ghost ship” which washed up on the coast of Ireland without any crew has been claimed by someone purporting to represent the owner.

Irish government officials were contacted by the unnamed individual after the MV Alta was blown onto rocks near a fishing village in County Cork on Sunday.

The 77-metre-long cargo vessel had been drifiting across the Atlantic for more than a year after it lost power 1,300 miles southeast of Bermuda.

Cork County Council has warned the public to stay away from the “unstable” wreck because of its location on a “dangerous and inaccessible stretch of coastline”.

However photographers have flocked to the area to take pictures of the rusting hulk at Ballycotton.

Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland Show all 9 1 /9 Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta is pictured stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland on February 18, 2020. - A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said. (Photo by Cathal Noonan / AFP) (Photo by CATHAL NOONAN/AFP via Getty Images) CATHAL NOONAN Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta is pictured stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland on February 18, 2020. - A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said. (Photo by Cathal Noonan / AFP) (Photo by CATHAL NOONAN/AFP via Getty Images) CATHAL NOONAN Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta is pictured stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland on February 18, 2020. - A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said. (Photo by Cathal Noonan / AFP) (Photo by CATHAL NOONAN/AFP via Getty Images) CATHAL NOONAN Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland Locals climb aboard the abandoned cargo ship Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta is pictured stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland on February 18, 2020. - A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said. (Photo by Cathal Noonan / AFP) (Photo by CATHAL NOONAN/AFP via Getty Images) CATHAL NOONAN Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland People take photographs of the ship Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty Ghost ship discovered washed up in Ireland People look down on the ship Cathal Noonan/AFP/Getty

On Tuesday the council’s marine contractor boarded the wreck on Tuesday to examine the structure and assess whether it posed any risk of pollution.

No cargo is left on the vessel but a small amount of diesel fuel remains in the tanks, along with a small number of sealed oil containers.

“Plans are currently being evaluated in order to have these materials safely removed from the wreck,” a council spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“Cork County Council remains satisfied that there is currently no visible pollution within the Ballycotton Bay Special Protection Area or nearby proposed natural Heritage Areas.”

Built in 1976, the MV Alta first made headlines in September 2018 when the 10 crew members on board were rescued by the US coastguard.

It was next seen by the Royal Navy’s HMS Protector in the middle of the Atlantic in September last year before being spotted on the Irish coast by Barry McDonald from the local Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The Irish Revenue said that a Receiver of Wrecks will be appointed by the Irish transport secretary to determine ownership of the vessel.

“I can advise that an individual purporting to represent the owner has made contact and the Receiver of Wreck will be pursuing this matter further, therefore no further information is available,” a Revenue spokesman said.