MSC Napoli

The container ship MSC Napoli was intentionally beached off Beer Head, South Devon on 18th January 2007, after it ran into difficulties and was at risk of breaking up at sea.  Whilst the beaching of the Napoli was the best environmental option to avoid a major oil spill, thousands of seabirds have been affected by oil leaking from the stricken vessel, and the seabed and beaches around Lyme Bay strewn with debris from the 50 cargo containers that fell overboard.  The ultimate fate of the ship is still under discussion and MCS hopes that it will be brought to shore for recycling.

Latest News (16th July 2007)
The Napoli has been cleared of its remaining cargo, and 3,500 tonnes of oil recovered from the wreck. After inspection divers determined that a 3 metre wide crack in the hull rendered the ship unfit to refloat, it was decided to re-beach the ship.
 
On 17th July, an operation began to cut the vessel in two using explosives so that the front two thirds of the ship can be floated, towed out to sea and anchored. The stern will remain in situ. There is currently no final decision on the fate of the either part of the vessel, but the most likely scenario, supported by MCS, is removal to a port for scrapping under a waste management plan.  Tendering for disposal of the stern began on 16th July.

Oil residue remains in the ship’s tanks and pipes which cannot be removed, and this may spill when the ship is divided. A floating oil boom is often used at sea to contain such spills, but on Tuesday 17th the wind was onshore force 6 with a 3.5 metre swell, so further oil washing onto the beaches is a possibility, although the Government agencies will try to guard against this. 
 
What happened:
On the 18th January 2007, the container ship MSC Napoli broke its spine in heavy seas off the south Devon coast, and was deliberately beached in shallow waters near Branscombe beach in Lyme Bay to prevent the vessel breaking up. This action by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency undoubtedly prevented a huge environmental disaster, and yet the consequences of the ship wreck were still highly destructive.
 
The RSPB estimated that up to 16,000 seabirds probably died as a result of oil seeping from the fractured hull, and debris from the 50 cargo containers that fell over board littered the seabed and beaches around Lyme Bay, precipitating mass public scavenging in the days following the disaster.
 
Lyme Bay is an area rich in marine life, including nationally important and rare species such as the pink seafan, devonshire cup coral, ross coral, maerl beds and rocky reefs proposed for protection under the EU Habitats Directive. The area supports fish trawling, shellfish potting and aquaculture, and also has a high-value scallop fishery.
 
Packets of frozen ducks, BMW motorbikes and thousands of plastic pellets were among the items washed ashore in the days following the wreck, while heavy metal cargo containers on the seabed crushed and smothered fragile benthic marine life.
 
Of particular concern to MCS was the 158 containers of highly toxic chemicals including epichlorohydrin – ranked in the worst 10% of compounds hazardous to the ecosystem and human health; methyl bromide – banned under the Montreal Protocol as an ozone-depleting substance; N-phosphonomethylglycine - toxic to a range of marine organisms; and naptha petroleum which is acutely toxic and highly flamable. 
 
MCS also had questions about the seaworthiness of the Napoli. Particularly whether the British registered ship was fit to fly our flag after it ran onto a coral reef in South East Asia at full speed in 2001, and spent four months in a Vietnamese shipyard being repaired with 3,000 tons of new metal.
 
MCS position:
 
On principle, MCS is opposed to dumping any part of the vessel at sea, due to the pollution impact both on route and at the dump site. MCS believes that this would contravene the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) London Dumping Convention and the International Convention for the Protection of the NE Atlantic (MARPOL).
 
The clean up operation on Lyme Bay’s beaches is to be commended, but MCS would like to see this operation completed, and underwater surveys instigated to remove the mountain of debris that is still smothering Lyme Bay’s reefs. 

Shipping incidents such as this should serve as a reminder to the shipping industry, government and the IMO that working together to advance the Clean Ship approach to shipping is vital. The Clean Ship approach calls for the use of best available technology to reduce emissions and increase streamlining, and rigorous structural standards to protect against incidents such as the MSC Napoli.

See Press Releases:

Was MSC Napoli seaworthy and fit to fly the British flag? (21st January 2007)

MSC Napoli – an accident waiting to happen (25th January 2007)