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Scavengers take washed-up goods
Police are patrolling beaches in Devon where members of the public have been taking goods washed ashore from stricken container ship MSC Napoli.
Hundreds of people have made off with valuable hauls from some 40 containers which drifted onto Branscombe beach.
Police are patrolling beaches in Devon where members of the public have been taking goods washed ashore from stricken container ship MSC Napoli.
Hundreds of people have made off with valuable hauls from some 40 containers which drifted onto Branscombe beach.
They're not looting casks of Wine (Well, OK, they are) but so far they've ALSO blagged a 4x4 SUV, several BMW Motorcycles, BWM Car Engines, several tons of disposable nappies (diapers), a few tons of BMW car components and several tons of moisturiser
But if they register what they took, it's legal!!
Can you keep ship-wrecked goods?
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Beach-combers have been told to stay away, but scavengers are out on Branscombe beach in Devon, where booty is washing up from the stranded ship MSC Napoli. So can they keep what they find?
Brand new BMW motorbikes have been wheeled out of the shingle by keen treasure-hunters. Wine casks, perfume and car parts littering the shore have been rolled clear or tucked under the arm.
People are picking through the contents of spilt containers from the cargo ship MSC Napoli beached off the Devon coast and at night, the area is lit by flickering torches as they scour the area for goodies.
Warnings that chemicals such as battery acid, pesticide and oily liquids have also washed up, are proving little deterrent against the lure of "free stuff" littering the beach. But can people keep it?
So far, police have not closed off the beach to stop them coming.
But when Joe Public decides to "help", as seems to be the case all over Branscombe beach, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's Receiver of Wrecks steps in.
The job title goes back to the previous 1854 Merchant Shipping Act, which also set out rules on picking up flotsam and jetsam.
Salvage, and indeed deliberate wrecking of ships, around our island nation has a long history. The principles governing ownership and recovery go back at least to the 1300s says Alison Kentuck, the MCA's deputy receiver.
If people take the cargo, they fill in a "report of wreck and salvage" form, with their contact details, what they found, where and when. "It's available from pretty much anybody in uniform down on the beach", she says.
Brand new BMW motorbikes have been wheeled out of the shingle by keen treasure-hunters. Wine casks, perfume and car parts littering the shore have been rolled clear or tucked under the arm.
People are picking through the contents of spilt containers from the cargo ship MSC Napoli beached off the Devon coast and at night, the area is lit by flickering torches as they scour the area for goodies.
Warnings that chemicals such as battery acid, pesticide and oily liquids have also washed up, are proving little deterrent against the lure of "free stuff" littering the beach. But can people keep it?
So far, police have not closed off the beach to stop them coming.
But when Joe Public decides to "help", as seems to be the case all over Branscombe beach, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's Receiver of Wrecks steps in.
The job title goes back to the previous 1854 Merchant Shipping Act, which also set out rules on picking up flotsam and jetsam.
Salvage, and indeed deliberate wrecking of ships, around our island nation has a long history. The principles governing ownership and recovery go back at least to the 1300s says Alison Kentuck, the MCA's deputy receiver.
If people take the cargo, they fill in a "report of wreck and salvage" form, with their contact details, what they found, where and when. "It's available from pretty much anybody in uniform down on the beach", she says.
So you 'salvage' a $5,000 BMW bike and the owner has to pay you a salvage fee to get it back. One estimate was $3,000 to $4,000 salvage fee.
On the radio a few said they had a car-load of nappies and would eBay them, but one guy who (with a li'l help from his friends) got 4 BMW 3.5L Car Engines said he'd claimed salvage and expected 60% of their value.
A nice few thousand pieces of eight for a bit o' beach combin', eh landlubbers?!
