On the Cork coastline a modern-day "ghost ship" which washed up on rocks in 2020, has split in two after being repeatedly battered during successive storm periods this year.

The MV Alta was grounded in Ballyandreane in Ballycotton, east Cork, on February 16, 2020, during Storm Dennis.

After being abandoned by its 10-man crew during a storm in Bermuda some 16 months earlier, the ship had drifted aimlessly in the Atlantic before winding up in Cork.

From that point on, its condition deteriorated significantly, with fears that it might break apart raised continually since about October 2020.

It now appears as though Storms Dudley, Eunice, and Franklin, which hit the country in quick succession this year, have finally caused the 80m 44-year-old cargo vessel to split.

More from the Irish Examiner on this latest development.