Councillors in Drogheda are calling for the removal of a ship moored in the Co Louth port for almost a decade.
The 60-year-old Hebble Sand, which is 47 metres and 750 tonnes, partially sank last month and had to be refloated.
This prompted renewed environmental concerns with Louth County Council confirming that there are 2,000 litres of diesel and other mineral oils on board.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
The council said it found no evidence of significant pollution of concern.
Formerly used as a dredger, the ship has been tied up for around the last eight years.
Independent Councillor Kevin Callan said: "In Drogheda, we have an awful lot of people who give their time to improve the town, to make it a tourist destination.
"And to me this goes counter to all of those efforts.
"Over a year ago, I raised this matter formally with Louth County Council to contact Drogheda Port Company to have the vessel removed for two reasons.
"One, the potential environmental risk of some pollutants going into the river, and secondly, because it's an eyesore.
'"The problem here is that it should never have been tied up in the centre of the town in the first place.
"We now have a responsibility to protect the river and the special area of conservation in the Boyne estuary as well.
"I'm calling for a specific plan of action as to when it's going to be removed.
"My understanding is it is going to have to be dismantled outside of Ireland so it's going to have to be seaworthy for that. So we can't wait around. We need an action plan."
Drogheda Port Company has said it is liaising with the owners of the vessel and formally requested its removal.
The port company says the owners plan to move and scrap the vessel as soon as possible and have begun this process.
