A ghost boat that has been drifting in the ocean for nearly two years has washed up on a South Australian beach.

The lifeboat came adrift from a cargo ship in the Atlantic Sea, and has drifted almost 8000km and washed up on a beach about 30km from Salt Creek, in South Australia’s Coorong region.

It seats 29 and comes complete with a diesel engine - plus a lot of barnacles.

The boat came from the bulk carrier MS Olivia, which ran aground on Nightingale Island, on a journey from Brazil to China on March 16, 2011.

The MS Olivia broke in half and was unable to be salvaged.

All of its 22 crew members on board were rescued.

The South Australian Transport Department is looking into how they will secure the vessel to stop it drifting away and becoming a hazard to others out on the water.

“What we plan to do it actually drag it up on shore a bit further so it can’t come adrift and from there we are going to look at if the insurer or owner want it back, and if they do, we’ll make arrangement with that,” said Joe Rositano from the Transport Department.

If the owners don’t want it back, it could be given to the maritime museum or sold off.

Nick Balmer spotted the lifeboat when he went fishing and said it was in good condition considering its long journey.

"The seats inside are torn up so, you know, the chances are it's probably been sitting on other beaches around the world maybe, you know, and people have sort of trashed it inside a bit," he told ABC news.