[1] Constructed in 1976 with the name Tananger, Alta was abandoned at sea in October 2018 and washed ashore in Ireland in February 2020, where her wreckage remains.

The United States Coast Guard rescued the crew about 2,200 km (1,400 mi) south-east of Bermuda, and the ship was abandoned.

[5][6][7] The rare story of a modern day ghost ship, as well as the length of time it spent floating without crew or captain at sea (18 months), caught the global public's imagination and curiosity.

[10][11] Although the ship's commercial scrap value is "low," the cost to the Irish exchequer of removing the wreck could exceed €10 million.

[12] Alta had previously been the subject of an ownership dispute, with claims she was once hijacked and towed to Guyana, but efforts have been made to establish where she was last registered.

Options including scrapping her, towing her out to sea and scuttling her were considered,[11] however by early 2022 the hull of Alta had split in two following a series of storms.