Scavenging In Devon

What is your opinion on the hundreds of people scavenging items from the stricken container ship MSC Napoli?

For the last 2 days now hundreds of scavengers have been stealing items from the ship including BMW motorbikes, wine, face cream and nappies.

The worse thing seems to be people are opening undamaged containers to steal family heirlooms amongst other items from people emergrating to South Africa.

Powers not used for 100 years will be used to force people to return goods recovered from the stricken container ship MSC Napoli.... To be honest I really cant see how they can enforce this in any major manor, many items will of been moved on.

Separate laws will also be used to ban the public from Branscombe beach. Officers closed roads to the beach to deter treasure-seekers and to allow contractors to start the clear-up operation, which is expected to begin at 0700 GMT on Wednesday.

The police said organised gangs were targeting the beach and were behind some of the worst looting apparently, mainly seeking the high-value goods like BMW motorbikes and car-parts.

Under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, it is an offence for people to remove items from a wreck if they conceal or keep possession of cargo and refuse to surrender it.

People must fill out a form to tell the authorities what they have removed and they must store it for 28 days in case the owners want it back. But some of the items plundered from the container ship have already been listed on the internet auction website eBay. BMW steering wheel airbags - advertised as coming from the Napoli - were up for sale online.

Personally I can overlook people taking a few items like nappies for personal use... that really does not cause any major harm in the long run but stealing peoples heirlooms and BMW's is out of order... and the plain face cheek of these people putting them up online as from the Napoli!

More than anything I hope the people who have emigrated get thier belongings back, you cannot replace memories with cash. I know I would be distraught if such a thing happened to me.

I would be way to embarrassed to do any thing like that Why do people feel its OK to take other people property.

Its just like looting IMO.

Mine too Amie,

I just couldnt do it either, I worry about the example these people are setting to thier children.

I was raised on a ''if you cant pay for it, then you cant have it'' principle.

So all my life if I have wanted something, I have saved for it, and I tell you what, it has made me appreciate everything I have so much more!

I think it's disgusting people can do it.
To me it's no different than stealing.

There was a man on the radio who was taking things, and he could stop laughing!

Yes me to i think it is way out of order things like nappies yes are one thing but peoples belongings that to me is sick.

I was totally disgusted by the people being interviewed who were taking stuff from the beach. They actually thought it was their right to take it.

I come down on the "If it`s not yours don`t take it." Same applies to nappies or cars. the morals are the same.Looting a wreck is low behaviour IMO.

We must also stop and think about the devastating effect this ship is having on the environment and wildlife.
There has now been a change in wind direction and the chance of oil and fuel being distributed to a much wilder area.

To return to the original question, these peoples actions are dispicable. I only hope with the help of tv footage etc some of them can be brought to book, as it is an offence to loot or "wreck" from sunken ships.

Nippy the enviroment is my primary concern in this situation too and the scavengers are making the situation so much worse.

They are throwing thier rubbish and the wrappings off the cargo everywhere and making the clean up operation so much more difficult.

Even worse sea birds and sea life are getting entangled in thier mess and it is killing them!

Do these people have no concern for anythings welfare but thier own!

Watching those poor birds getting cleaned and dying from the oil redued me to tears, how could the people stand back, see these animals suffer and wantenly show no concern and just continue to go through other peoples cargo as a free for all... its beyond belief.

I find it heart wrenching watching all the poor animals and birds stuggling for their lives covered in muck, and think its is awful that it happened in the first place but that the situation has been made worse by looters is disgusting to me!
Human mentality is such a strange thing I am certain many of the people looting on this beach would never in their wildest dreams even think of stealing from a shop or stealing from someone but dont see what they are doing as wrong they see it in a totally different context the media do nothing to improve this to me it felt like they were advertising everything on the beach showing all the people and what they had salvaged just incouraged more people to do the same! Not so long ago a similar situation where wood spilt into the sea was washed up on our coasts I know of people stealing wood off of each others roof racks believing it to be ok seeing as technically the people they took it off stole it in the first place what kind of logic is that!