In answer to some of the (sensible) questions, I was reading about this the other day, but can’t recall where (sorry) but what I recall is:
Yes, there’s at least one salvage guy actively hunting for this, and I think he’s where the “cannibal mutant rats” thing came from originally, I think it’s probably the Belgian fella referred to in the OP’s linked article. He was talking about how, if he finds it, the first thing he’ll have to do is get heavy with the rat poison.
Although they can’t pinpoint it, there’s been a “shape” picked up on either satellite or radar (satellite, I think) that was about the right size and shape, not long ago, which is where the “heading this way” news came from.
The fact that the lifeboat emergency beacons HAVEN’T been detected as being activated is good evidence that the ship is still afloat (somewhere) as they would automatically activate if they hit seawater (i.e. if the thing sank).
Re. the “owners” – as an abandoned vessel in international waters, the “owner” is whoever gets to it first. Hence the interest from the Belgian fella, and I think others.