Ghost cruise ship heaving with 'cannibal rats' heading for Britain?

Updated

A ghost ship reportedly crawling with cannibal rats could be heading for Britain, according to experts.

The Luyubov Orlova cruise ship has been adrift in the North Atlantic for the last 12 months.

The 40-year-old ship, named after a Russian actress, was built to carry 110 passengers. But in 2010, it was impounded in Newfoundland over debts.

After two years tied up at the port, she was ordered to be towed to the Dominican Republic and scrapped.

black rat, roof rat, house rat, ship rat (Rattus rattus), on an old suitcase
black rat, roof rat, house rat, ship rat (Rattus rattus), on an old suitcase




When the tow-line to the tug boat broke, the Canadian government got another ship to drag her out to sea and release her, reports the Daily Mail.

According to the Metro, coastguards now believe the derelict floating vessel - full of rats that will be eating each other to survive - could be driven towards Britain by recent storms.

If the ship is beached, it is likely to be on the west coast of Ireland, Scotland or the far southern tip of England.

Authorities as well as salvage hunters hoping to cash in on the £600,000 of scrap metal, are searching for it. They do not believe she has sunk because the life raft transmitters have not gone off.

One searcher, Belgian-based Pim de Rhoodes, told The Sun: "She is floating around out there somewhere.

"There will be a lot of rats and they eat each other. If I get aboard I'll have to lace everywhere with poison."

According to the Mirror, Irish coastguard chief Chris Reynolds said: "There have been huge storms in recent months but it takes a lot to sink a vessel as big as that. We must stay vigilant."



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