Napoli beaching 'lessons learned'

Fifty of the ship's containers were washed ashore at Branscombe

An "awful lot of lessons" have been learned from the beaching of the MSC Napoli off the Devon and Dorset World Heritage Coast, an inquiry has heard.

The 62,000 tonne container ship was deliberately grounded in Lyme Bay after suffering storm damage in January 2007.

At the Devon County Council inquiry, an emergency planner said it showed how materials other than oil could pollute.

A retired assistant chief constable added that police officers dealt with "unprecedented circumstances".

'Unique incident'

The Napoli was grounded while it was being towed to Dorset after getting into difficulty in the English Channel off Cornwall in January 2007.

It was damaged in a storm en route from Antwerp in Belgium to South Africa and deliberately grounded amid fears it could sink and cause a Channel pollution catastrophe.

Professor Ian Mercer, chairman of the Devon inquiry, said: "This incident was relatively unique."

He said he did not recall the Secretary of State's Representative for Maritime Salvage and Intervention - then Robin Middleton - having to beach any craft, let alone a container ship before.

Prof Mercer said that everyone had learned "an awful lot of lessons".

"It seems to me we have to regard the Napoli as a massive lesson for coastal authorities and coastal police authorities as well as local government," he said at the inquiry in Exeter.

'Clear risk'

After 50 of the vessel's 2,000-plus containers washed ashore at Branscombe beach, thousands of people helped themselves to the contents - from disposable nappies to motorbikes.

Retired Devon and Cornwall Assistant Chief Constable Bob Spencer told the inquiry that it was "clear there was a public risk of people going onto the beach, as there were containers".

At that stage, the beach was fenced off, he said, after officers faced "unprecedented circumstances."

Speaking of lessons learned, he said: "I would always, in a similar scenario, ensure as soon as possible there would be containment of the beach."

"Once you have established that safe cordon, a lot of the other issues would not perhaps be so severe."

Devon's emergency planning officer, Richard Horne, told the inquiry the incident opened officials' eyes to forms of pollution other than oil.

He said the National Contingency Plan should be broadened to cover pollution from cargo and other materials.

The inquiry is expected to end this week.