Hundreds scavenge for goods from ship off England
- Thread starter CBC News
- Start date
I saw on the news today a group of men towing away an expensive motorbike that they took from one of the washed up containers.
One man took a steering wheel for a BMW car and is going to sell it on Ebay.
I might get on the train down there tomorrow to see if I can find myself a motorbike a something.
One man took a steering wheel for a BMW car and is going to sell it on Ebay.
I might get on the train down there tomorrow to see if I can find myself a motorbike a something.
Just dont go in the water. They said it was carrying acid products and their worried about an oil spill.
Sidmouth is quite far from Portsmouth. Portsmouth is in Hampshire and Sidmouth is in Devon. I'd say about 80 miles. But to people in North America, 80 miles is probably a short distance.
Police patrol as dozens descend on beach
By Paul Eccleston
22/01/2007
There was intense competition today to rescue items, many of them worth considerable amounts of money, from containers washed ashore from a stricken freighter.
The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 makes it an offence for people to remove items from a wreck if they conceal or keep posession of cargo and refuse to surrender it
There were reports of threats and squabbling as people sought to secure the most valuable items, including £12,000 brand new BMW motorcycles.
As news of the wreckage spread, people travelled from as far away as 60 miles to Branscombe beach in east Devon to see investigate.
Goods washed ashore included a container which split apart to reveal 20 of the K1200GT motorcycles. Groups of men man-handled the heavy machines 500 metres up the beach to the nearest road. At least one man had a machine taken off him after threats by a gang.
Villagers and people living nearby descended on the beach in the early hours after word spread like wildfire that valuable goods were being washed ashore - including barrels full of wine . It produced scenes depicted in Whisky Galore, Compton Mackenzie’s book, and later a film, of how Scottish islanders raided a shipwreck of 24,000 cases of whisky.
Barrels and a tractor were washed ashore from the British merchantman Napoli. Scavenging people are taking motorbikes and barrels of wine
Other containers spilled out a huge consignment of shoes and people ran round the beach trying to match up pairs. There were also Citroen car parts, BMW gearboxes, nappies, dog food and expensive hand cream.
Police were on hand to warn people that although they were allowed to take goods off the beach it remained private property and would have to be reported.
One visitor said: “It was an incredible scene down here. I was walking down the cliff path and I met a bloke who just said to me 'if you want trainers they're on the left, and videos are on the right’.”
A resident said: “I could not believe what I saw when I looked out of my window. I thought the sea was full of gulls but then I realised they were all trainers.”
Meanwhile an operation was underway to pump out 3,500 tonnes of fuel oil from the freighter, the British registered freighter Napoli. But the oil, which has the consistency of treacle, will have to be heated first before it can be pumped aboard other ships.
The 62,000-tonne Napoli was deliberately beached in shallow water as she was being towed to Portland when she developed a major structural fault which threatened to sink her.
Once the oil has been pumped out the operation to recover more than 2,400 containers from the heavily-listing ship will begin. Two hundred tonnes of oil has leaked out of the ship, Coastguards confirmed.
The Marine and Coastguard Agency said today a sheen of oil had been sighted coming from the Napoli, which is suspected to be waste oils from the flooded engine spaces but was quickly dissipating.
The MCA said 63 containers lost overboard have been located and their contents identified. The contents and stowage positions of 98 per cent of the cargo manifest has now also been identified.
Can beachcombers keep what they find?
By Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor
As everyone who saw the 1949 Ealing comedy Whisky Galore! will remember, "finders keepers" is not the basis of maritime law.
Anyone who finds unclaimed wreckage in territorial waters or on a beach in Britain must inform the Receiver of Wreck, an official of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency appointed by the Transport Secretary.
Failure to do so is an offence under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, for which offenders may be fined up to £2,500.
In addition, those who fail to report wreckage will lose any salvage rights and may be ordered to pay the owner twice the value of the find.
The Receiver of Wreck, Sophia Exelby, visited Branscombe Beach yesterday to investigate potential offences. She pointed out that people taking items off the beach were, in effect, stealing property from its owners.
The law covers all items, large or small, and any wreckage that remains unclaimed after a year belongs to the Crown.
However, finders who report wreckage to the receiver have salvage rights. Salvors, as these people are called, may be able to claim a reward. This is based on the value of the salved property.
Other factors taken into account in assessing compensation include the skills and efforts of the salvor, the nature and degree of danger and how successful the salvor is at recovery.
At first sight, it would seem that someone who simply removed an expensive motorcycle from the beach was taking little risk and deserved little reward.
But a salvor who reported his "find" to the receiver might claim that he was preventing the motorcycle from being damaged by the elements or removed by those who were less inclined to obey the law.
The receiver can obtain a search warrant to enter property and seize wreckage from someone who is not the owner. She may pay a reward of up to £100 for information leading to the recovery of such wreckage.
Wreckage, or "wreck" as it is called by lawyers, includes jetsam, flotsam, lagan and derelict found in or on the shores of the sea or any tidal water.
"Jetsam" refers to items that have been jettisoned by the crew of a ship, usually in order to lighten it in an emergency. "Flotsam" includes items floating on the water that were not deliberately thrown overboard. "Lagan" includes items tied to a buoy so that their owner can find and retrieve them later. "Derelict" is property that has been abandoned at sea without any hope of future recovery.
As experts work to prevent an ecological disaster by offloading some 3,500 tonnes of fuel oil in a stricken container ship beached off the Devon coast, local people are competing to rescue the cargo washed ashore
-------------------
Hundreds of people have flocked to beaches close to the MSC Napoli where containers have washed up, scattering a diverse array of goods along the shoreline, including BMW motorbikes...
---------------------
... barrels of wine and dog food...
----------------------
... brand new cars, severely damaged in their journey ashore...
---------------------
... and plastic toys, some of which fared a little better.
Beauty creams, steering wheels and exhaust pipes are among the other items which have been washed up
-----------------------
Efforts to empty the Napoli of oil are taking so long because the fuel has the consistency of treacle, so has to be heated before being pumped aboard other ships
------------------------
Fears are growing over the impact the disaster might have on the coastline, a designated World Heritage site which includes the Jurassic Coast
--------------------------
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency warned that some hazardous goods, including industrial and agricultural chemicals, are among the flotsam on Branscombe beach and people may be putting themselves in danger if they attempt to recover it
----------------------
The 62,000-ton Napoli, whose crew was rescued by Navy helicopters on Thursday, was being towed to Portland when severe structural failure forced its beaching
---------------------
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has reported to the Coastguard that some oiled birds have been recovered
telegraph.co.uk
By Paul Eccleston
22/01/2007
There was intense competition today to rescue items, many of them worth considerable amounts of money, from containers washed ashore from a stricken freighter.
The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 makes it an offence for people to remove items from a wreck if they conceal or keep posession of cargo and refuse to surrender it
There were reports of threats and squabbling as people sought to secure the most valuable items, including £12,000 brand new BMW motorcycles.
As news of the wreckage spread, people travelled from as far away as 60 miles to Branscombe beach in east Devon to see investigate.
Goods washed ashore included a container which split apart to reveal 20 of the K1200GT motorcycles. Groups of men man-handled the heavy machines 500 metres up the beach to the nearest road. At least one man had a machine taken off him after threats by a gang.
Villagers and people living nearby descended on the beach in the early hours after word spread like wildfire that valuable goods were being washed ashore - including barrels full of wine . It produced scenes depicted in Whisky Galore, Compton Mackenzie’s book, and later a film, of how Scottish islanders raided a shipwreck of 24,000 cases of whisky.
Barrels and a tractor were washed ashore from the British merchantman Napoli. Scavenging people are taking motorbikes and barrels of wine
Other containers spilled out a huge consignment of shoes and people ran round the beach trying to match up pairs. There were also Citroen car parts, BMW gearboxes, nappies, dog food and expensive hand cream.
Police were on hand to warn people that although they were allowed to take goods off the beach it remained private property and would have to be reported.
One visitor said: “It was an incredible scene down here. I was walking down the cliff path and I met a bloke who just said to me 'if you want trainers they're on the left, and videos are on the right’.”
A resident said: “I could not believe what I saw when I looked out of my window. I thought the sea was full of gulls but then I realised they were all trainers.”
Meanwhile an operation was underway to pump out 3,500 tonnes of fuel oil from the freighter, the British registered freighter Napoli. But the oil, which has the consistency of treacle, will have to be heated first before it can be pumped aboard other ships.
The 62,000-tonne Napoli was deliberately beached in shallow water as she was being towed to Portland when she developed a major structural fault which threatened to sink her.
Once the oil has been pumped out the operation to recover more than 2,400 containers from the heavily-listing ship will begin. Two hundred tonnes of oil has leaked out of the ship, Coastguards confirmed.
The Marine and Coastguard Agency said today a sheen of oil had been sighted coming from the Napoli, which is suspected to be waste oils from the flooded engine spaces but was quickly dissipating.
The MCA said 63 containers lost overboard have been located and their contents identified. The contents and stowage positions of 98 per cent of the cargo manifest has now also been identified.
Can beachcombers keep what they find?
By Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor
As everyone who saw the 1949 Ealing comedy Whisky Galore! will remember, "finders keepers" is not the basis of maritime law.
Anyone who finds unclaimed wreckage in territorial waters or on a beach in Britain must inform the Receiver of Wreck, an official of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency appointed by the Transport Secretary.
Failure to do so is an offence under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, for which offenders may be fined up to £2,500.
In addition, those who fail to report wreckage will lose any salvage rights and may be ordered to pay the owner twice the value of the find.
The Receiver of Wreck, Sophia Exelby, visited Branscombe Beach yesterday to investigate potential offences. She pointed out that people taking items off the beach were, in effect, stealing property from its owners.
The law covers all items, large or small, and any wreckage that remains unclaimed after a year belongs to the Crown.
However, finders who report wreckage to the receiver have salvage rights. Salvors, as these people are called, may be able to claim a reward. This is based on the value of the salved property.
Other factors taken into account in assessing compensation include the skills and efforts of the salvor, the nature and degree of danger and how successful the salvor is at recovery.
At first sight, it would seem that someone who simply removed an expensive motorcycle from the beach was taking little risk and deserved little reward.
But a salvor who reported his "find" to the receiver might claim that he was preventing the motorcycle from being damaged by the elements or removed by those who were less inclined to obey the law.
The receiver can obtain a search warrant to enter property and seize wreckage from someone who is not the owner. She may pay a reward of up to £100 for information leading to the recovery of such wreckage.
Wreckage, or "wreck" as it is called by lawyers, includes jetsam, flotsam, lagan and derelict found in or on the shores of the sea or any tidal water.
"Jetsam" refers to items that have been jettisoned by the crew of a ship, usually in order to lighten it in an emergency. "Flotsam" includes items floating on the water that were not deliberately thrown overboard. "Lagan" includes items tied to a buoy so that their owner can find and retrieve them later. "Derelict" is property that has been abandoned at sea without any hope of future recovery.
As experts work to prevent an ecological disaster by offloading some 3,500 tonnes of fuel oil in a stricken container ship beached off the Devon coast, local people are competing to rescue the cargo washed ashore
-------------------
Hundreds of people have flocked to beaches close to the MSC Napoli where containers have washed up, scattering a diverse array of goods along the shoreline, including BMW motorbikes...
---------------------
... barrels of wine and dog food...
----------------------
... brand new cars, severely damaged in their journey ashore...
---------------------
... and plastic toys, some of which fared a little better.
Beauty creams, steering wheels and exhaust pipes are among the other items which have been washed up
-----------------------
Efforts to empty the Napoli of oil are taking so long because the fuel has the consistency of treacle, so has to be heated before being pumped aboard other ships
------------------------
Fears are growing over the impact the disaster might have on the coastline, a designated World Heritage site which includes the Jurassic Coast
--------------------------
A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency warned that some hazardous goods, including industrial and agricultural chemicals, are among the flotsam on Branscombe beach and people may be putting themselves in danger if they attempt to recover it
----------------------
The 62,000-ton Napoli, whose crew was rescued by Navy helicopters on Thursday, was being towed to Portland when severe structural failure forced its beaching
---------------------
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has reported to the Coastguard that some oiled birds have been recovered
telegraph.co.uk
Last edited:
I'll take a K1200 Beemer. I can have a relative in Yorkshire drive down and pick it up for me, ta. Wow what a score. Sounds like if you fill out the paperwork you have a claim or can get a reward. Not quite like a bag of money falling off an armoured car but darn near thing.