Free stuff. Can't beat it.
Posted on 01/22/2007 11:23:36 AM PST by alnitak
There was intense competition today to rescue items, many of them worth considerable amounts of money, from containers washed ashore from a stricken freighter.
There were reports of threats and squabbling as people sought to secure the most valuable items, including £12,000 brand new BMW motorcycles.
As news of the wreckage spread, people travelled from as far away as 60 miles to Branscombe beach in east Devon to see investigate.
Goods washed ashore included a container which split apart to reveal 20 of the K1200GT motorcycles. Groups of men man-handled the heavy machines 500 metres up the beach to the nearest road. At least one man had a machine taken off him after threats by a gang.
Villagers and people living nearby descended on the beach in the early hours after word spread like wildfire that valuable goods were being washed ashore - including barrels full of wine . It produced scenes depicted in Whisky Galore, Compton Mackenzie’s book, and later a film, of how Scottish islanders raided a shipwreck of 24,000 cases of whisky.
Other containers spilled out a huge consignment of shoes and people ran round the beach trying to match up pairs. There were also Citroen car parts, BMW gearboxes, nappies, dog food and expensive hand cream.
Police were on hand to warn people that although they were allowed to take goods off the beach it remained private property and would have to be reported.
One visitor said: “It was an incredible scene down here. I was walking down the cliff path and I met a bloke who just said to me 'if you want trainers they're on the left, and videos are on the right’.”
A resident said: “I could not believe what I saw when I looked out of my window. I thought the sea was full of gulls but then I realised they were all trainers.”
Meanwhile an operation was underway to pump out 3,500 tonnes of fuel oil from the freighter, the British registered freighter Napoli. But the oil, which has the consistency of treacle, will have to be heated first before it can be pumped aboard other ships.
The 62,000-tonne Napoli was deliberately beached in shallow water as she was being towed to Portland when she developed a major structural fault which threatened to sink her.
Once the oil has been pumped out the operation to recover more than 2,400 containers from the heavily-listing ship will begin. Two hundred tonnes of oil has leaked out of the ship, Coastguards confirmed.
The Marine and Coastguard Agency said today a sheen of oil had been sighted coming from the Napoli, which is suspected to be waste oils from the flooded engine spaces but was quickly dissipating.
The MCA said 63 containers lost overboard have been located and their contents identified. The contents and stowage positions of 98 per cent of the cargo manifest has now also been identified.
Free stuff. Can't beat it.
Cool!
My new big flat-screen TV was in one of those containers!
Don't worry, it looks good on my wall!
how would one register a motorcycle found on the beach?
The insurance company is going to be PISSED!
The motorcycle in the pic is an R1200, not a K1200.
There is no alcohol in those barrels!!
I know how you hooligans are.
Let them touch those things for once.
That's some funky kind of party.
Beachcombers collect car parts from Branscombe beach, as stricken ship Napoli is surrounded by salvage boats. Dozens of people swarmed over the beach exploring the contents of the containers (Barry Batchelor/PA)
Containers carrying dangerous materials such as battery acid and perfume have come off the stricken cargo ship (Barry Batchelor/PA)
Various items of cosmetics litter the beach (Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images)>
People carry away bags of nappies (aka diapers) from the beach in front of the wrecked ship (Stephen Hird/Reuters)
You're carrying your bag of nappies off the beach and you think you're having a good day....until you are overtaken by the guy on the BMW!
Flotsam salvage
Has Ireland gone into mourning yet?.........
Reminds me of one of the principles to live ones life - If it's free, I'll take two.
Maybe, but salvage law is salvage law.
I didn't know you could do that.
OK. Free punch-in-the-neck over here.
Ok folks let's not get too excited.
All these items are flotsam and under British law belong to the owners. These people are no better than theives and looters.
Of course, there were always stories - always denied - of crews being murdered to allow locals to "salvage" the wrecks.
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