Beach cleanup

codprawn · 10 March 2007, 16:59

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6437003.stm

Incredible they want the public to help clean up the mess on the beaches caused by the Napoli being beached. And there was me thinking people had to stay away and would be prosecuted for "trespassing" on the beaches!!!

This whole thing is a fiasco - the idiot who made this happen instead of just sinking it out at sea should be sacked. Apparently it was all done for the sake of the environnment.......

Aidan · 10 March 2007, 21:19

Get the people who own the boat *British Reg, than God unless they changed it after the accident) to clean up the beaches. You mean thay have not done so yet!!!! Flippin Nora, how come they are allowed away with that???

Whoose decision was it to Beach it there, cmon guys lets have a Lynchin party.

havener · 12 March 2007, 07:59

The decision to beach would have been made by the MCA, in consultation with salvage crews and marine pollution teams. It was the right decision.

Sinking out at sea would have made little difference, except the recovery of bunker oil would have been a lot harder, if not impossible. The containers would have still broken free, floated away, and been spread over a far wider area, probably creating further accidents as they floated semi submerged through shipping lanes. The contents would have still made it ashore somewhere, probably in places far more inaccessible than the beach used.

Beaching plans like this exist all over Europe, drawn up carefully with tide mapping and currents in mind to keep the debris in as close a formation as possible.

I'm sure if any sackings are due they'll happen, but I'd focus more on shipowner maintenance than the MCA....

Simon

codprawn · 12 March 2007, 11:42

Actually it is not only me making such comments - there could well be a public enquiry.

As to the pollution from the oil loads leaked anyway - I am sure it would have been far better to have leaked 100 miles from land than straight onto a beach in an environmentaly sensative area.

Yes the floating containers would have been a hazard but I am quite sure the RAF would have loved the target practice - and no I am NOT joking!!!

Alan · 12 March 2007, 12:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Actually it is not only me making such comments - there could well be a public enquiry.

As to the pollution from the oil loads leaked anyway - I am sure it would have been far better to have leaked 100 miles from land than straight onto a beach in an environmentaly sensative area.

Yes the floating containers would have been a hazard but I am quite sure the RAF would have loved the target practice - and no I am NOT joking!!!

But you are indulging in your usual nonsensical ranting.

Beaching the ship was the seamanlike thing to do. Much easier to remove cargo and oil/fluids from a beached ship than one sunk. The operation was coordinated by a little known individual called 'SOSREP', Secretary of States representative. His position was created after previous shipwrecks and is to cut through the interagency bullsh1t and streamline decision making. A rare instance of the government getting it right.

The calls by the ill informed and ignorant for public enquiries / lynchings / assignations of blame are only to be expected. However as a nation that is utterly dependent upon goods shipped in by container ships it's inevitable such things are going to happen. (& yes I know this particular ship was shipping goods out to Africa.) These days we have to blame someone don't we? We can't just say - good job, right decision, lets deal with the problem.
The shipping companies P&I club will pay for the clear up. Your taxes are safe.

Phil Chitty · 12 March 2007, 12:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Actually it is not only me making such comments - there could well be a public enquiry.

As to the pollution from the oil loads leaked anyway - I am sure it would have been far better to have leaked 100 miles from land than straight onto a beach in an environmentaly sensative area.

Yes the floating containers would have been a hazard but I am quite sure the RAF would have loved the target practice - and no I am NOT joking!!!

Do ya know what Codders, your rants and comments sometimes amuse and occationaly make sence but at other times they really do stink.

The RAF using 2000 plus containers that may or may not come to the surface at some time over an unknown number of years in one of the worlds busiest shipping areas as target practice? Never heard anything so stupid.

Can you imagine being out on your RIB one sunny weekend with you friends and family, running nicely at about 35 knots and hitting one of these things floating just below the surface? Afterall, thats where they tend to be when they go over the side.
The results don't bear thinking about do they?

This issue is being dealt with in the correct way by the agencies of Britain and France, in a way that doesn't consitute a risk to the local people, those passing through the area and the environment they live in.

And, if you really need to make such comments, maybe you should read the official report before hand.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate...a.376.0&m=1874

codprawn · 12 March 2007, 15:59

The MAIN reason they decided to beach the ship was pollution control.

"The MSC Napoli was carrying approximately 2,300 containers, of which 157 contained potentially hazardous materials, including perfume, pesticides and batteries."

Also the fuel oil was a concern.

Remember what they call hazardous these days is very different to the old classifications.

I still think it would have been better for the environment to let it sink in deep water. The oil would have dispersed long before it reached land and the dillution of the perfumes etc would have been almost total. Instead they chose to concentrate the pollution in a small local area.

The things they are doing these days for the sake of the environment makes me cringe with the damage it really does.

Swansea marina is a classic example. Years ago the local council decided to fill in the docks with waste. Then they decided to turn the dock into a marina so they dug out 1/2 of it!!! For the last few years space has been short so they have decided to dredge the marina. Instead of the taking the waste out to sea and dumping it over a huge area they have been spreading it around the whole marina instead as they didn't need a disposal licence. Of course what it meant in practice was that the marina was filthy and the swans and other birdlife vanished - bonkers!!!