Misplaced Pages

#798201

45-508: MSC Napoli was a United Kingdom- flagged container ship that developed a hull breach due to rough seas and slamming in the English Channel on 18 January 2007. She was deliberately run aground at Lyme Bay to avoid an environmental disaster and broken up by salvors . The ship was built in 1991 and had a capacity of 4,419 TEU (62,000 tons). She was built by Samsung Heavy Industries , Kŏje , South Korea; owned by Metvale Ltd.,

90-516: A "salvage" free-for-all, by 23 January 2007 the police branded the activity of scavengers "despicable", closed the beach, and announced that they would use powers not used for 100 years to force people to return goods they had salvaged without informing the authorities, pointing out that under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 such actions constituted an offence equivalent to theft. In October 2007, salvagers who had reported their finds to

135-536: A 2018 public artwork by Christian Kosmas Mayer, sited on the bank of the River Danube in Austria. Flag state The term " flag of convenience " describes the business practice of registering a merchant ship in a state other than that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships may be registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs, or else to avoid

180-775: A 500 metres (1,600 ft) exclusion zone around the wreckage while it was anchored in Belfast Lough , while awaiting entry to the yard. A plan to tow the stern section as well to Harland and Wolff was abandoned in March 2008 in favour of cutting it up in situ in the English Channel and removing the pieces. Work started in May 2008. Following a parbuckling operation to correct the stern's list and trim, work completed in July 2009. The 13,500 kilograms (29,800 lb) anchor from

225-655: A British Virgin Islands Brass Plate single entity company; managed by Zodiac Maritime ; and was under charter to Mediterranean Shipping Company . On 27 March 2001, then named CMA CGM Normandie , she was en route from Port Klang in Malaysia to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta when she ran aground on a reef in the Singapore Strait and remained stuck for several weeks. She was repaired by

270-622: A number of states have since 1982 established port state controls of foreign-registered ships entering their jurisdiction. As at January 2010, Panama was the world's largest flag state, with almost a quarter of the world's ocean-going tonnage registered there. The United States and the United Kingdom had only about 1% each. Until World War II nations were able to maintain their dominance, or in some cases, even improve their position in maritime trade by offering vessels exclusive protection for flying their flags, which would in turn give

315-404: A previous attempt to use the spring tides failed to break the ship apart. With MSC Napoli remaining in one piece a first controlled explosion blew holes in the deck plating in order to expose the structural beams below using shaped charges with a second cutting punch charge timed 50 milliseconds later than the first. That job successfully exposed the beams, so more charges were planted across

360-542: A significant number of permanent residents are retired. In 2009 over half the estimated population were aged over 50. The village straggles along narrow roads down steep-sided valleys, terminating at a shingle beach , Branscombe Mouth, which forms part of the East Devon and Dorset Jurassic Coast . To either side of the beach, the coast rises steeply to cliffs, which are in the ownership of the National Trust . It

405-562: Is a popular point for starting walks on the South West Coast Path ; it is a short walk eastwards to Beer (with two alternative routes, one at the top of the cliffs and the other ascending the cliffs via the interesting Hooken Undercliff area and a longer walk westwards towards Sidmouth . There is a small primary school, which had 68 pupils in 2005. It is owned and operated by the Church of England with grant assistance from

450-521: Is a topographical term still in use in English as well as modern Welsh to describe a steep-sided hollow or valley. Thus the name may derive from the first Celtic family or tribe to take possession of the land, probably from the Dumnonii tribe, sometime between 2700 and 2000 BC. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, Branscombe was a source of hand-made lace , and Branscombe Point is a style that

495-535: Is minimised”. Julian Wardlaw, who spoke for the Environment Group, an umbrella organisation for local green agencies, said Middleton had contacted it and asked where in Lyme Bay was the best place to beach MSC Napoli . Wardlaw said: "We told them: 'Nowhere in Lyme Bay'. It is too important an environment." However, at a subsequent public enquiry Wardlaw said he supported the decision to deliberately ground

SECTION 10

#1732765329799

540-471: Is still practised by lacemakers worldwide. Fishing was also a traditional industry, as well as a source of food. The manufacture of flints for early guns and the cooking of limestone to make fertiliser were short-lived but important local enterprises in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The current Church of Saint Winifred was built between 1133 and 1160 in the Norman era and enlarged in stages over

585-408: Is the case of England, which restricted the import of Asian goods only to American and British vessels. England only opened its ports after it had maneuvered itself into a position of strength, and then most like only to gain access to other continental ports. Similarly, France imposed a trade monopoly on its colonies which remained in place until 1869. Ships must be registered in the ship register of

630-706: The Devon County Council . The original building dates from 1878. There are two public houses in the parish, the Fountain Head and the Mason's Arms, both of which were included in CAMRA 's Good Beer Guide 2008. The Fountain Head is sited at the source of a spring in the hamlet of Street. The name of the Mason's Arms is a reminder that stone quarrying in the nearby beer stone caves was once a major employer in

675-554: The East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , overlooking Lyme Bay . Branscombe has one of the South West's most scenic bus routes. AVMT Buses run service 899 from Seaton to Sidmouth via Beer and Branscombe. The name of the parish is probably Celtic in origin. It is made up of two words, "Bran" and "cwm". Bran is a well established Celtic personal or tribal name that may also mean "black" or "crow black". Cwm

720-670: The English Channel ; with MSC Napoli increasing its list and with strong winds forecast refuge was taken in Lyme Bay . Lyme Bay is sheltered from northwest, west and southwest winds, common at that time of year. The ship’s deteriorating condition raised doubts about its ability to withstand the rigours of the journey to Portland. Robin Middleton, the Secretary of State's Representative in Maritime Salvage and Intervention who

765-632: The 41,773 tonnes of cargo on board, "1,684 tonnes are of products classified as dangerous by the International Maritime Organization ". 103 containers fell into the sea. Oil spilled 5 miles (8.0 km) to the north-east, which affected some sea birds. More than 420 were taken to the nearby West Hatch RSPCA Wildlife Centre, though most of the affected animals faced permanent injury or death. The specialised oil spill response vessel (French: bâtiment de soutien, d’assistance et de dépollution ) BSAD Argonaute proceeded to

810-583: The Hyundai- Vinashin Shipyard in Khánh Hòa Province , Vietnam , which included the welding of more than 3,000 tonnes of metal onto the hull. While en route from Belgium to Portugal on 18 January 2007, during European windstorm Kyrill , severe gale-force winds and huge waves caused serious damage to MSC Napoli' s hull, including a crack in one side and a flooded engine room. The ship was then 50 miles (80 km) off

855-515: The Receiver of Wreck were told they could keep what they found. Over the course of the next week, from 22 January, an attempt to remove the oil and other hazardous materials from MSC Napoli was made. The oil was very viscous in cold weather and needed to be warmed up before it could be pumped onto the tugs. On 23 January 2007 further details of the forthcoming salvage operation of both the ship and its cargo were released. The main point of concern

900-498: The UN's International Maritime Organization ( IMO ), on matters of safety, navigation, crewing etc. Part XII entail special provisions on protecting the marine environment, which includes placing special obligations on flag states to ensure compliance with international environmental legislation such as MARPOL . Failure to do so, can result in the flag state losing its jurisdiction over ships under its flag, also when these commit violations on

945-470: The Wadham family originally of Wadham, Knowstone , in north Devon and later seated at Merryfield, Ilton Somerset, who lived at Edge in the north of the parish from the end of the fourteenth century, and later used it as their dower house . When Nicholas Wadham died in 1609, part of his fortune was used to found Wadham College, Oxford . Branscombe's principal industries are farming and tourism, although

SECTION 20

#1732765329799

990-457: The acting Receiver of Wreck on the beach. This effectively meant that no further items could legally be removed from the beach. Following this announcement, and for safety reasons whilst the beach cleanup operation got under way, the Police ( Devon and Cornwall Constabulary ) together with the support of the National Trust (the owners of the beach) and the coastguard set up road blocks to close

1035-449: The beach harder as wreckers forced open some sealed containers and sifted through the contents, leaving the unwanted items strewn across the beach. Others claimed that removing the flotsam contributed to the cleanup of Branscombe beach. Items from MSC Napoli began to make landfall all along the south coast of England as far east as the Isle of Wight . The issue of wrecking or collecting

1080-404: The beach. At the same time the salvage firm erected fences on the beach to prevent public access. On 9 July 2007 MSC Napoli was refloated, but was re-beached on 12 July as a crack measuring 3 metres (9.8 ft) was found in the vessel's hull, running down both sides and through the keel. The decision was made to break the ship up near Branscombe beach; this was attempted using explosives after

1125-585: The beams which were ultimately severed. With only her deck plates on the main deck holding the vessel together around the bridge structure of the vessel, two tugs at either end of the ship tried to pull the ship apart. On 20 July 2007 a third controlled explosion finally split the ship in two. In August 2007 the bow section of the ship's hull was taken to the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast , Northern Ireland for disposal and recycling. HM Coastguard placed

1170-659: The closer ports of Falmouth, Cornwall and Plymouth , Devon were rejected in addition to others in France, although the Falmouth harbour master Captain Mark Sansom said he had confirmed that MSC Napoli could have been accommodated in Falmouth Bay. Adrian Sanders , MP for the parliamentary constituency of Torbay raised questions about why MSC Napoli was not taken to Falmouth or France. The flotilla proceeded up

1215-537: The coast of The Lizard , Cornwall . At approximately 10:30 UTC , the crew sent out a distress call. Not long afterwards, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship into one of the lifeboats. They were out at sea for several hours before all 26 crew were picked up from their lifeboat by Sea King helicopters of the Royal Navy 's Fleet Air Arm and taken to Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall. During

1260-502: The difficult rescue, one helicopter broke two winch lines, making it even harder to rescue the seamen. The rough seas and gale-force winds gave the men acute seasickness , and in some cases dehydration due to overheating. On 19 January 2007, the ship was taken under tow by the salvage tug Abeille Bourbon , later joined by Abeille Liberté . The vessel was to be towed to Portland Harbour in Dorset , 140 miles (230 km) distant;

1305-470: The earlier grounding in 2001 did not contribute to the loss. The 2009 album Arrogance Ignorance and Greed by West Country folk duo Show of Hands features the track "The Napoli" which comments on the subsequent looting of the wreckage. A Doctor Who episode, titled " The Power of Three ", was partially inspired by the story of MSC Napoli . One of the BMW motorcycles salvaged from the wreck became part of

1350-463: The flotsam from the beach caused much discussion and gained media attention as the locals and the authorities became more concerned at the level of scavenging taking place from Branscombe beach and elsewhere along the coast. Eventually, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency invoked powers under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 . The agency said people taking goods would now be asked to deliver the items to

1395-519: The following 200 years, but there is some archaeological evidence suggesting there may have been a former Saxon church or building on the site. Aethelweard (c.880-922) , the youngest son of King Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith whom he married in 868, inherited Branscombe by his father's will of 899, a copy of which is now in the British Library . The church contains a memorial of

MSC Napoli - Misplaced Pages Continue

1440-609: The high seas. Each flag state has set up its own flag state control system: Branscombe Branscombe is a village in the East Devon district of the English County of Devon . The parish covers 3,440 acres (1,390 ha). Its permanent population in 2009 was estimated at 513 by the Family Health Services Authority, reducing to 507 at the 2011 Census. It is located within

1485-687: The inaugural Branscombe Music Festival, hosted by BBC Radio 3 presenter Petroc Trelawny . Performers included the Carducci String Quartet, Philip Higham (cello), Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello with Iain Burnside (piano), the Leo Green Experience jazz band and the Trelights Brass Quintet. On 18 January 2007 the container ship MSC Napoli was holed whilst in the English Channel during

1530-592: The jurisdiction whose flag it is flying. Flag registers in many countries are open to ships with foreign owners. Normally, each flag state has only one ship register, but several countries have more than one register: Flag states must, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) ensure that ships under their flag comply with international regulations, often adopted by

1575-410: The nation exclusive control over the vessels. Shipowners during this time needed protection from pirates and privateers which was provided by naval vessels of the flag state. In some cases states offered subsidies to the shipbuilding industries. In addition to these incentives, states might impose restrictions based on flag state, closing ports to other ships. One well known example of how this was applied

1620-640: The regulations of, or inspection and scrutiny by, the country of the original owner. Normally the nationality (i.e., flag) of the ship determines the taxing jurisdiction. Since the Flag Right Declaration of 1921, it has been recognised that all states—including land-locked countries —have a right to maintain a ship register and be a ship's flag state. Because of the failure of some flag states to comply with their survey and certification responsibilities, especially flag-of-convenience states that have delegated their task to classification societies ,

1665-445: The same time. The accident was found to be the result of structural failure of the vessel hull skin and girders at the interface between the transverse stiffening of the engine room and the longitudinal stiffening of the cargo area. This was due to the loading on the structure due to the ship, containers and the rare sea state exceeding the capacity of the hull girders in this area. No deficiencies were found in material or construction and

1710-480: The sea bed was habitat for endangered species such as the pink sea fan and sunset cup coral. Devon county councillor Stuart Hughes said, "So many questions need to be answered there has got to be a public enquiry". Brian Greenslade, leader of Devon County Council , confirmed that the council would be holding a public inquiry into the beaching. The move came amid questions about the decision to take MSC Napoli to an area of protected World Heritage Site coastline. Of

1755-507: The spill area with anti-pollution personnel and equipment. After containers from the wreck began washing up at Branscombe, around two hundred people went onto the beach to scavenge the flotsam , despite warnings from the police that those failing to notify the Receiver of Wreck of goods salvaged risked fines. Scavenged goods include 17 BMW R1200RT motorcycles, empty wine casks, nappies , perfume , and car parts. After initially tolerating

1800-413: The storm Kyrill , forcing the rescue of her 26-man crew by French Navy and Royal Navy helicopters . On Saturday 20 January 2007 she was beached at Branscombe to enable the salvage of the cargo. The MSC Napoli was carrying 2,394 containers, of which around 150 contained "hazardous" substances including industrial and agricultural chemicals, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency . The ship

1845-568: The stricken container ship off the East Devon coastline describing it as the ‘least worst option.’ The beaching location was at Branscombe around 1 mile (1.6 km) off the Devon coast, near the coastal town of Sidmouth on 20 January. This area of the coastline where MSC Napoli was beached is a part of Britain's first natural World Heritage Site , the Jurassic Coast . In winter Lyme Bay hosts large numbers of wintering sea birds whilst

MSC Napoli - Misplaced Pages Continue

1890-425: The vessel was presented to the people of Branscombe and East Devon by the ship's owners Metvale Ltd and was unveiled at Branscombe Mouth on 16 July 2008. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch conducted an investigation into the accident, and a report on the investigation was published at the end of April 2008. Det Norske Veritas , the classification society responsible for the ship, also submitted its report at

1935-451: The village; from the undercliff path east of Branscombe Mouth, an adit to the former beer stone mine can be seen. The Mason's Arms is also a hotel. A village brewery, Branscombe Vale Brewery, has won many awards for its beer. The village contains three National Trust properties, The Old Bakery, Manor Mill & Forge , restored by the Trust, which has owned them since 1965. July 2013 saw

1980-571: Was leading the MCA 's salvage response team, decided to beach the ship in Lyme Bay. Middleton said that the environmental sensitivities in the Lyme Bay area were fully assessed before the decision to beach MSC Napoli was made. He said, "The beaching location was selected based on minimising the impact of any spillage and enabling salvage work to remove the vessel and cargo to take place. The local authorities and environmental groups have been notified and all agencies are working together to ensure that pollution

2025-474: Was the threat of an oil spill ; some seabirds were already affected and recovered along the Jurassic Coast. Aside from the main salvage operation of MSC Napoli , a local salvage firm was appointed to clear up the beach and remove the containers and flotsam. The earlier scavenging of the washed-up containers and cargo created a difference of opinion among people, some claiming it made the cleanup of

#798201