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LONDON, England -- Police in southwest England are struggling to stop looters from taking away goods that washed ashore from a cargo vessel stranded off the coast in a recent storm.
Officers admitted they were largely powerless to remove scavengers from Branscombe Beach in east Devon, saying their activity was legal if they promised to return the goods to their lawful owners. But despite a police cordon, scavengers were still reaching the area.
"No matter what people think about it, there have been no public order offenses, and people are going about it in a good-natured way," Devon and Cornwall police spokesman Terry Hodgson told The Associated Press.
Police said people were flooding to the coast where the MSC Napoli, which suffered structural damage in a storm in the English Channel last week, was grounded a mile offshore at the weekend.
Over the last two days, hundreds of scavengers have swarmed over Branscombe beach, taking goods from around 40 containers washed ashore from the 62,000-ton container ship.
Officials said heavy lifting equipment would be moved to the beach on Tuesday, and officers said the area would be dangerous and advised the public to stay away.
As the coastguard fought to contain the stricken ship's oil, more than 200 people roamed the beach, littered with wooden barrels and large metal containers filled with everything from car parts to nappies.
There was at least one blue BMW motorcycle, still in its cardboard wrapping, worth some £15,000 ($29,610.)
And plunder from the ship has already started to appear on Internet auction Web site eBay, the UK Press Association reported.
Ten steering wheel airbags advertised as coming from the MSC Napoli were reported to be up for sale on the online exchange.
And a woman whose personal possessions were taken from a crate accused the police of doing too little to protect them.
Anita Bokdal's belongings were being transported from Sweden to South Africa on the ship. She was alerted to the problem after pictures showing the box -- marked "Anita and Jan Bokdal, Cape Town" in marker pen -- appeared in the media. (Full story)
'Crass greed'
Under the Merchant Shipping Act, salvage remains the property of the original owner. Anyone who finds washed up goods must contact a government official, called the receiver of the wreck, within 28 days.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said people could be charged with theft if they failed to report the salvage they take from the beach. Spokesman Mark Clark said the scavengers were guilty of "crass greed."
"They have quadrupled our task," he said. "People are lighting fires beside the containers, getting on top of them ripping stuff out, and not heeding our warnings.
"The MCA is deeply upset and angry because all the stuff which has been ripped out of the containers will be swept out to sea and have an environmental impact."
The Napoli is listing at between 18 and 25 degrees. About 200 tons of oil have leaked, but the MCA said this did not pose a major environmental threat.
Coastguards said salvage teams hoped to be able to start pumping out the remaining 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil in the ship's tanks on Monday, but experts warned this may take several days.
The British-flagged Napoli, built in 1991, was bound from Belgium to Portugal when it was holed. Its 26 crew took to a lifeboat and were winched to safety by a helicopter.
In 2001, the same ship, then named the Normandie, ran onto a coral reef in the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra, heavily loaded and at full speed, Reuters reported.
It remained stuck for several weeks before being towed away for repairs that included welding more than 3,000 tons of metal onto the hull.
Officers admitted they were largely powerless to remove scavengers from Branscombe Beach in east Devon, saying their activity was legal if they promised to return the goods to their lawful owners. But despite a police cordon, scavengers were still reaching the area.
"No matter what people think about it, there have been no public order offenses, and people are going about it in a good-natured way," Devon and Cornwall police spokesman Terry Hodgson told The Associated Press.
Police said people were flooding to the coast where the MSC Napoli, which suffered structural damage in a storm in the English Channel last week, was grounded a mile offshore at the weekend.
Over the last two days, hundreds of scavengers have swarmed over Branscombe beach, taking goods from around 40 containers washed ashore from the 62,000-ton container ship.
Officials said heavy lifting equipment would be moved to the beach on Tuesday, and officers said the area would be dangerous and advised the public to stay away.
As the coastguard fought to contain the stricken ship's oil, more than 200 people roamed the beach, littered with wooden barrels and large metal containers filled with everything from car parts to nappies.
There was at least one blue BMW motorcycle, still in its cardboard wrapping, worth some £15,000 ($29,610.)
And plunder from the ship has already started to appear on Internet auction Web site eBay, the UK Press Association reported.
Ten steering wheel airbags advertised as coming from the MSC Napoli were reported to be up for sale on the online exchange.
And a woman whose personal possessions were taken from a crate accused the police of doing too little to protect them.
Anita Bokdal's belongings were being transported from Sweden to South Africa on the ship. She was alerted to the problem after pictures showing the box -- marked "Anita and Jan Bokdal, Cape Town" in marker pen -- appeared in the media. (Full story)
'Crass greed'
Under the Merchant Shipping Act, salvage remains the property of the original owner. Anyone who finds washed up goods must contact a government official, called the receiver of the wreck, within 28 days.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said people could be charged with theft if they failed to report the salvage they take from the beach. Spokesman Mark Clark said the scavengers were guilty of "crass greed."
"They have quadrupled our task," he said. "People are lighting fires beside the containers, getting on top of them ripping stuff out, and not heeding our warnings.
"The MCA is deeply upset and angry because all the stuff which has been ripped out of the containers will be swept out to sea and have an environmental impact."
The Napoli is listing at between 18 and 25 degrees. About 200 tons of oil have leaked, but the MCA said this did not pose a major environmental threat.
Coastguards said salvage teams hoped to be able to start pumping out the remaining 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil in the ship's tanks on Monday, but experts warned this may take several days.
The British-flagged Napoli, built in 1991, was bound from Belgium to Portugal when it was holed. Its 26 crew took to a lifeboat and were winched to safety by a helicopter.
In 2001, the same ship, then named the Normandie, ran onto a coral reef in the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Sumatra, heavily loaded and at full speed, Reuters reported.
It remained stuck for several weeks before being towed away for repairs that included welding more than 3,000 tons of metal onto the hull.
