Marine crews worked Monday to prepare to remove fuel from a listing container ship that ran aground in a storm, posing a threat to wildlife and spilling cargo on beaches along southwest England’s World Heritage coast.
Police patrolled Branscombe beach Monday trying — with limited success — to keep scavengers away from about 40 containers that had washed ashore.
“A couple of hundred people have been on the beach today, taking things away, and there were around the same number last night,” said Constable Steve Spearitt.
“Around 15 BMW motorbikes were carried off the beach last night,” he said.
Authorities warned that the scavengers were defying the law.
Authorities, ship and cargo owners will have a tough time convincing people that insurance regulations overrule traditional maritime law governing flotsam. It’s a right that is centuries old.
Maybe if they send a small army of lawyers to guard the wreckage :p
This happens every time there is a wreck.
Always funny, last time it was a big load of timber.
All these new barns, farm buildings and fences appeared all over the surrounding area in the months immediately after.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1801109.stm
This article
http://tinyurl.com/ynkqtd
Indicates that people taking goods from the wreckage must report them to the police, with the owner of the goods having a limited timeframe to claim back their wares.
According to wikipedia.
In the United Kingdom under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, jetsam, flotsam, lagan and all other cargo and wreckage remain the property of their original owners.
Damn Brits take all the fun out of beachcombing.
#3 — the OP references the same statement, that is, after clicking the link and reading the article.
#4 — I imagine EU law and, more than that, International maritime law supercedes the crap passed at the behest of UK insurors.
Thats awesome!!
Wish that sould happen around here (also wishing i had some beachfront property)
#4 then maybe the original owners..such and BMW should get their asses over there and clean up the mess! Aren’t there littering laws in England too?
“At least 200 containers went overboard, including three carrying toxic materials such as battery acid and perfume.”
Battery acid and perfume in the ocean?
We’re doomed.
I think that 1995 law was passed after a ship full of prime whiskey and beers went down and the locals(in Scotland) were drunk(more so than usual) for months after. The insurer’s were really pissed.(so were the locals) 🙂
#9, I guess the locals were upset because it was Irish Whiskey instead of the local paint remover.
Just a quick thought. And I don’t know, I’m just tossing this out there.
The reason the cargo remains property of the owners is so it retains some value and is an enticement for the ship / salvage to clean up the mess.
What if there was a container full of blow-up dolls? Would the owner want them back after the locals had all been seen with their mouths on them?