A ghost ship possibly filled with “disease-ridden cannibal rats” is reportedly adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, primed to strike oil rigs or the European coastline.
The MV Lyubov Orlova, an ocean liner that disappeared while traveling to the Dominican Republic in February when a tow line broke, is worth $1 million, according to BBC.
Maritime law permits hunters to claim derelict ships by throwing a rope on it. The problem: no one can find it. Even at 328 feet long and weighing 1,600 tons, a worldwide search for the former tourism vessel has turned up nothing.
Whether the ship is a danger to anyone is up for debate, with one British news outlet quoting experts claiming the ship is likely overrun by rats and on course to hit Britain. Transport Canada, meanwhile, said it was certain the ship posed no threat to offshore oil rigs.
The BBC report discounted the possibility of rats but conceded that the ship still is a threat to European coastlines and oil rigs.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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