The MV Lyubov Orlova vanished at sea nearly three years ago.

The 300ft Russian cruise ship, built 40 years ago in the Soviet Union, has nothing aboard but packs of disease-ridden rodents who are forced to prey on one another to survive.

And now scientists have claimed the vessel sunk at sea and its gruesome wreckage was buried in sand on the coast of California.

(Image: Science Channel )

Named after a Russian actress, the 4,000-tonne vessel used to carry 110 passengers on cruises for more than 20 years.

However, in 2010 it was impounded in Newfoundland, Canada in a row over debts and deserted by her unpaid crew.

After two years tied up in port, the decision was taken to tow her to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean where she would be scrapped.

But in heavy seas, the tow-line to a tug broke, prompting the Canadian government to send out another ship to drag her far out to sea and release her.

Incredibly, the eerie remains of a ship the same length was recently found washed up on a Californian beach.

Speaking in a new documentary for Science Channel, scientists said: "This ship is thought to have been taken over by hordes of cannibal rats.

(Image: Lilpop, Rau & Loewenstein )

"I mean there's nothing else to eat.

"So imagine this giant ship full of these ravenous hordes of cannibal rats appearing on your local beach right where you live.”

There have been several sightings of the ship since its disappearance.

In 2014 the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency released a statement that Lyubov Orlova was seen around 1,300 nautical miles away from the Irish coast.

Show more

And a year later, it was the subject of news reports in Ireland and Iceland, and a caution to smaller ships was been issued.

Last year satellites picked up an unidentified blip off Scotland large enough to be the ship — but search planes found nothing.