14 DAY TRIAL // Here is one piece of news that might make people in the United Kingdom want to abandon ship and head for mainland: a Russian ghost vessel populated by nothing except some not-so-friendly cannibal rats could be on its way to said country, media reports say.
The part about how the Russian vessel, dubbed the Lyubov Orlova, is a ghost one is totally true. Still, it must be stressed that the ship is not referred to in this manner because it can sail through walls or whatnot.
On the contrary, all ships that are lost as sea and that do not have a crew aboard them are called ghost ones.
Sometimes, folks choose to call them phantom vessels, but the same hallmarks apply: no crew, and definitely no ability to move through things.
As reported back in February 2013, when the ship was spotted not very far from Ireland's coast, the Lyubov Orlova became lost at sea while being transported from Canada to the Dominican Republic, where it was supposed to be scrapped.
Apparently, the tug line simply broke, the Lyuboc Orlova went haywire, and it did not take long for it to pretty much disappear. Since then, it has been busy sailing the ocean according to its own agenda.
The Telegraph reports that, according to some experts, the vessel could now be heading towards the United Kingdom. This is due to some recent storms that are likely to have steered it in this direction.
The most disturbing piece of news is not that a Russian ghost ship could be making its way to said country, but the fact that, rather than having no crew, as is the case with run-off-the-mill phantom vessels, this vessel is populated by cannibal rats.
Then again, this statement is based on nothing but one Belgian salvage hunter's telling the press that this is the case. “There will be a lot of rats and they eat each other,” Pim de Rhoodes reportedly said.
Interestingly enough, the ship is estimated to be worth some $1 million (€0.73 million) in scrap, and, since it is floating freely, anyone who finds it gets to keep it and sell it.
Hence, it might not be that far-fetched to believe that there is one very good reason why salvage hunter Pim de Rhoodes has taken the time to spread the word that the Russian Lyubov Orlova has cannibal rats aboard it.
Otherwise put, it might be wise to take this piece of news about the blood-thirsty rodents with a grain of salt, maybe even a bucket.