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BRANSCOMBE, England - Scavengers who made off with motorcycles, wine barrels and other booty washed ashore from a damaged cargo ship off southern England may be arrested, authorities said today.
Officials condemned the "abysmal behaviour" of people who travelled miles to scour the wreckage strewn along a beach in Devon, saying they were no more than looters.
Up to 1,000 people defied gale force winds overnight to pick over the containers and barrels washed up from the MSC Napoli after it was deliberately run aground to stop it sinking at sea during storms.
"Frankly, the scenes that I witnessed late last night on the beach were despicable," coastguard officer Mark Rodaway told a news conference.
"I personally witnessed young children sat on the beach in the middle of the night, gale force conditions, crashing seas, not supervised while their parents blatantly looted things."
Waves of people, some with children or walking their dogs, spent hours picking through the debris.
The free-for-all has been likened to the 1949 film Whisky Galore!, based on a true story about Scottish islanders who gathered thousands of bottles of whisky from a sunken ship.
On Branscombe Beach, people hauled away everything from BMW motorcycles worth more than 12,000 pounds ($34,430) to puppy food, Bibles and plastic bags full of disposable nappies.
Others grabbed new car parts, including gear boxes, wing mirrors and steering wheels. Police said some items had already appeared for sale on the internet.
"Those people that are doing that at the moment are liable to be arrested," said Sharon Newman, of Devon and Cornwall Police.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) vowed to get tough on the scavengers, prosecuting those who have failed to notify the authorities about the goods they found on the beach.
Under Britain's shipping laws, 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.
"If people are holding ... wreck that they are not authorised to hold, then warrants for entry into their premises and houses may be obtained," the agency's Robin Middleton said. He described people's behaviour as "absolutely abysmal".
Some of the containers were carrying the possessions of people emigrating to South Africa, officials said.
"Personal belongings ... were being rifled through and strewn on the beach," Rodaway said. "I spoke to a Swedish lady this morning who had witnessed on television her family heirlooms being cast aside."
Locals said there was a long tradition of people scouring the coast after shipwrecks.
"It is clearing up the beach, and it is part of the beach culture," one unnamed woman told the Independent newspaper.
Private security guards are to secure the beach, while the MCA is seeking powers to keep people away from the area.
Heavy lifting equipment is to be moved down to the beach to begin removing the containers and other goods.
The Napoli is listing at between 18 and 25 degrees and has already lost waste oil and more than 100 of its 2,400 containers into the sea. About 200 tonnes of oil have leaked but the MCA said this did not pose a major environmental threat.
- REUTERS
