Seaside cliffs
Credit: rollingroscoe | ©www.morguefile.com
DEVON, UK: Looters have been flocking to Branscombe beach in Devon since the ship MSC Napoli ran aground in Lyme Bay during a severe storm last Thursday. The Napoli's listing silhouette can be seen just offshore from where scavengers are picking through its washed up cargo.
The container ship suffered structural damage to its hull and was deliberately grounded near the beach to prevent it from sinking it deep water. The crew was rescued but more than 200 of the ship's 2,323 containers have gone overboard.
Among the booty that litters the beach are barrels of wine, shoes, hair care products, perfume, car parts and brand new BMW motorcycles.
Police warnings that many of the containers contain hazardous chemicals, like battery acid and pesticides, have done little to deter people.
Looters have been streaming in to the World Heritage site since Sunday, pulling apart containers and hauling away goods leaving a path of litter in their wake. Unwanted items are strewn across the entire length of the beach.
The goods plundered seem like "free stuff" to scavengers but they come with a price. The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 states that people can remove items from a shipwreck but need to fill out a "report of wreck and salvage" form listing their name and contact information, what they found, where they found it and when.
Concealing scavenged items or refusing to surrender them is a criminal offence that carries a £2,500 GBP ($4,900 USD) fine per offense.
Despite the law, plundered loot has already found its way to eBay, advertised as "from the Napoli" and was for sale in online auctions.
The police have not yet closed the beach because there is a right to salvage property. As an island, the UK has a long history relating to shipwrecks and salvage that dates back to the 1300s. Deliberate wrecking of ships through misleading light displays was not uncommon in shoreline communities around the world in previous centuries.
In the UK, the 1854 Merchant Shipping Act installed the position of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Receiver of Wrecks. On Branscombe beach today, Alison Kentuck is the MCA's deputy receiver.
The container ship suffered structural damage to its hull and was deliberately grounded near the beach to prevent it from sinking it deep water. The crew was rescued but more than 200 of the ship's 2,323 containers have gone overboard.
Among the booty that litters the beach are barrels of wine, shoes, hair care products, perfume, car parts and brand new BMW motorcycles.
Police warnings that many of the containers contain hazardous chemicals, like battery acid and pesticides, have done little to deter people.
Looters have been streaming in to the World Heritage site since Sunday, pulling apart containers and hauling away goods leaving a path of litter in their wake. Unwanted items are strewn across the entire length of the beach.
The goods plundered seem like "free stuff" to scavengers but they come with a price. The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 states that people can remove items from a shipwreck but need to fill out a "report of wreck and salvage" form listing their name and contact information, what they found, where they found it and when.
Concealing scavenged items or refusing to surrender them is a criminal offence that carries a £2,500 GBP ($4,900 USD) fine per offense.
Despite the law, plundered loot has already found its way to eBay, advertised as "from the Napoli" and was for sale in online auctions.
The police have not yet closed the beach because there is a right to salvage property. As an island, the UK has a long history relating to shipwrecks and salvage that dates back to the 1300s. Deliberate wrecking of ships through misleading light displays was not uncommon in shoreline communities around the world in previous centuries.
In the UK, the 1854 Merchant Shipping Act installed the position of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Receiver of Wrecks. On Branscombe beach today, Alison Kentuck is the MCA's deputy receiver.
- Looters are scavenging goods from the ship wrecked MSC Napoli off the southern coast of the UK.
- Salvage laws in the UK are clear, the goods still belong to the owner.
- The scavengers have made clean up efforts more difficult and increased the environmental impact of the ship wreck.
Comments
I wonder what the company is going to do about this? Thanks for the informative article; I'd be interested to read a follow up on this.
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