Numerous beach cleans in my home town of Seaton this past week have highlighted an ongoing problem. The MSC Napoli is still causing environmental issues with car parts continuing to wash up, even now after 13 years. It was January 2007 when the ship was in a storm off the Cornish coast. Cracks started to appear in the hull and she was taking on water. The crew sent out an SOS and were rescued by the Coastguard, a feat of heroism in such awful conditions. Taken under tow, the MSC Napoli was to be taken to Portland Harbour in Dorset but as she was passing Lyme Bay, her condition worsened. The captain of the tug made the decision to beach the ship in shallow water off Branscombe, the reasoning being that the environmental impact would be less than if she sank in deep water.

Containers washed onto the beach at Branscombe and, with the world watching, people raided the place, stealing what they could until an old maritime rule was put in to place to stop them. It was pretty embarrassing as we looked like common thieves to the world. It took over two years for the ship to be fully removed, a story well worth a read if you have the time (the internet is a great library!). 13 years later, we often find bits washing up after a storm.

I found some empty cans of lager and cigarette ends on the Sunday. These were quite obviously dumped, rather than washed up, left behind by some fishermen that were there over the weekend. They would have walked past various bins as they left the beach so there is no excuse for such blatant laziness and disregard for the environment. Some education is needed perhaps?