Final piece of Napoli wreck to go

The remaining stern section of the MSC Napoli will be dismantled

The final section of the MSC Napoli is being removed 15 months after the ship sank off Devon.

Contractors have begun work to cut off the propeller, rudder and main drive shaft using small explosives.

Accommodation, scrap barges, a crane and a cutting machine will then move in to deal with the material.

It will be five months before the last piece of the Napoli is removed from the seabed off Branscombe beach, which will remain open.

Washed ashore

The ship was deliberately beached in Lyme Bay after it was damaged in storms while en-route to South Africa.

In the ensuing £50m salvage operation, nearly 4,000 tonnes of oil was pumped off the ship and more than 2,300 containers removed.

Thousands of people descended on Branscombe beach to scavenge the contents of 50 containers which washed ashore.

The ship was later split in two by controlled explosions and the bow taken to Belfast.

A pollution control plan will be in place throughout the operation and once it is removed the material will be taken to Holland for recycling.

Once the work is complete a full underwater survey will be carried out to ensure that the seabed has been cleared of all recoverable debris from the vessel.