english channel
greek tanker
ice prince
nicking
police and coastguards drafted
portland bill
sunk
west sussex beaches
Who Will Win This One... Beach Combers or Police? Ha Ha Ha!
By Darkwing
@Darkwing (21583)
January 21, 2008 1:59pm CST
I expect several English people will have heard of the Greek Tanker, Ice Prince, which sank in stormy seas, about twenty-six miles off Portland Bill, in Dorset last week. It went down in the English Channel after shedding two thousand tonnes of Timber from its cargo. Rescuers fought gale force winds and sixteen-foot sea swell to lift the crew to safety.
Now, with the tanker resting sixty metres below the sea and the crew safe and sound, the Ice Prince's cargo is wreaking havoc both in the Channel and on West Sussex Beaches. A Timber Slick has formed in the Channel and huge bundles and ten metre lumps of wood are being washed up onto Worthing and Brighton Beaches, and are yet expected to reach as far as Newhaven and Beachy Head. Shipping, Windsurfers and Canoeists are being warned of the dangers of taking their recreation in the English Channel, in that there could be possibilities of serious accident. At Worthing, the beach has been cordoned off and closed to enable heavy machinery to remove the timber which has come ashore.
And now for the funny part!!! :)
People are "nicking" the timber and loading it into vans; some are even going into the sea to get it, which is the height of madness. So now, Police and Coastguards have been drafted onto the beaches to stop this, and the public warned that anyone who keeps the washed-up timber from the Ice Prince could be arrested and fined up to £2,500. The Merchant Shipping Act 1995, states that it is an offence both to conceal or keep possession of such cargo, or to fail to report finding it.
Whatever next? ha ha ha. I can't help but wonder how much of it will end up on the Police Black Market. lol.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@faith210 (11224)
• Philippines
22 Jan 08
Hi Darkwing! I will cast my vote on the Beach Combers! haha.. I think they will have more patience in waiting for the right time in hauling all the logs they could find unless all the coastal lines will have a police surveillance for 24 hours and 7 days a week. Just my thoughts. Take care and have a nice day! :)
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
22 Jan 08
I think the police and coastguards will be posted until the mass clear-up is finished, my friend. If that means 24/7, then it will happen, probably in shifts. lol
I think it's crazy myself but you can see from the pic how much work it's going to be on just one beach. Brightest Blessings. x
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169535)
• United States
21 Jan 08
Now it would seem to me to rather logical to allow this type of salvaging, and save the government a lot of money for having to clean up the mess. What I understand from this discussion is that you believe the police will keep the timber, and will then sell it.
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@Darkwing (21583)
•
22 Jan 08
Yes, I agree. I saw, on television, one guy had twelve planks of this timber loaded on top of his van. (It was too long at 10 metres, to go inside). A reporter interviewed him, and he refused to take it off. He commented, "I have twelve planks of the timber here, and I'm not unloading it. If they want it back, they can come and find me." Ha ha ha. Do you think anybody cares about twelve measley planks out of 2000 tonnes? The other 3000 odd tonnes are at the bottom of the sea, still lashed to the boat, so I doubt after salvaging that, and whatever else they can, they will worry about a few planks which went astray.
As for the police, I wouldn't put anything past them. They wouldn't take all of it, but a little here and there? England is renown for "bent coppers", so what the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve about. Get my drift? :)
Brightest Blessings.
@mummymo (23706)
•
22 Jan 08
I watched this on the news yesterday honey and they were interviewing people who had already 'salvaged' some of the timber and were telling how they were going to use it - just before they played an interview with an official saying that the owners of the ship had already employed a salvage company and anyone being found to taking it would be prosecuted - I guess those people interviewed will have no choice but to return it - everyone knows now that they took it! I did think that anything that washed up on the beach fell under the finders keepers situation but then I must have gotten that wrong! xxx
1 person likes this
@Darkwing (21583)
•
22 Jan 08
I think you'll find that the laws are the same as if you find historic coins and relics... they have to be handed to the government first. Then, if the government finds they're genuine, they normally house them within museums and reward the finder. I don't know about finding such obvious salvage... ha ha ha!!! I would think that's a different entity!
I saw a guy on the news with twelve planks of the timber tied to the top of his van, who said he wouldn't take it off, and that if they wanted it back they could come and find him. I really don't think they'll miss the few planks people can carry, out of over five thousand tonnes of the stuff, do you?
It's a crazy world my friend! Brightest Blessings. xxxx
(Look at this pic, enlarged. How sweet!)
