Russian cargo ship sheds 1,500 tons of timber in English Channel .

A Russian cargo ship lost 1,500 tons of timber when it was hit by force 10 gales in the English Channel.

The Sinegorsk was said to be limping to shelter close to the Isle of
Wight after high winds knocked it off balance off the coast of Sussex,
toppling the cargo off the deck.A spokesman for the Maritime and
Coastguard Agency (MCA) said that the load is expected to wash up along
a
four-mile stretch of coast between Brighton and Newhaven
overnight.Scavengers are expected to descend on the area to pick up
what they can.Coastguards have been radioing warnings to others vessels
in the area to steer clear of the debris.Police
and local authorities are braced for a repeat of the salvaging frenzy
seen last year when another cargo ship, the Greek-registered Ice
Prince, sank off the coast of Dorset shedding a similar load of timber
exactly a year ago.Beaches along an eight mile stretch of coast
were described as "like a branch of B&Q" as almost 2,000 tons of
timber was washed up with scavengers wading into the water to haul in
the valuable wreckage.The Sinegorsk was en-route from Russia to
Egypt when it was hit by high winds in the Dover straits which caused
it
to list 15 per cent early on Monday.Cargo stored on the top deck of the
440ft long ship slid into the waterAs the alarm was raised at about
8.15am, the crew water on the other side to help reduce the tilt.A
coastguard helicopter was sent to fly over the area to monitor the
wood, made up of sawn timber that had been stored in bundles on the
vessel,
while a tug was sent to escort it to safety.All 25 crew on board are
said to be safe and despite the list there are no plans to abandon the
vessel.



I wonder if any will wash up around our coast , it could come in handy !

we need decent decking to be washed up somewhere lol

It is hardly the glistening gold and silver booty of a sunken pirate ship.Nonetheless,
scavengers flocked to Kent's beaches to collect some of the tens of
thousands of planks of wood that washed ashore from a Russian cargo
ship.Despite having warned people not to pick up the lost
timber, police officers yesterday failed to prevent locals from
illegally taking the wood for themselves .Instead officers
looked on as looters helped themselves to as many of the planks as they
could carry - and bundled it in waiting vans.
Yesterday East
Kent Chief Superintendent John Molloy said: 'This cargo remains the
property of the original owner and to steal it is not only foolhardy,
but
also a criminal offence'He added: 'Where appropriate, we will also take
action against those who create a nuisance, park dangerously or
trespass.'





A beach walker is dwarfed by tons of wood which washed ashore at Ramsgate, a week after it spilled off a Russian cargo ship



Police and coast guard have warned the public against taking any of the timber The
shameful scenes on beaches around Broadstairs have echoes of the
large-scale looting which took place when the MSC Napoli ran into
trouble off Branscombe, Dorset in 2007. Then thousands of locals
streamed onto the sand to illegally take practically anything they
could
lay their hands on - from disposable nappies to motorbikes. The
Russian-registered Sinegorsk ran into trouble in rough weather in the
English Channel on Monday morning.
It ended up shedding 1,500 tonnes of its sawn timber load around 14 miles off the coast of Newhaven, East Sussex.






Piles of wooden planks washed up on a beach near Margate in Kent Since
then, the cargo floated up the channel towards the Dover Strait,
eventually landing on shore in the early hours of yesterday. According
to English maritime law, it is illegal for anyone to try and keep items
from a wrecked ship. Anyone who tries to keep items from the Receiver
of Wreck - the official whose job it is to return the booty to the
ship's owners - can be fined up to £2,500. A spokesman for Dover
Coastguard said they began to receive reports of timber coming ashore
on the coast at Ramsgate and Margate this morning.
He said: 'It is starting to come ashore now. Our concern is that people may try to take the wood.
'If they wade in to recover it they are putting themselves in real danger as the sea is so rough.




Ramsgate
resident Ella, right, and her 3-year-old son Deon play on timber washed
up on the shore 'The legality of what they are doing also needs to be
questioned. They must realise it is someone else's property.'
Kent
Police also warned people against trying to remove any of the timber
and said people would be putting their lives at risk by attempting to
get the wood.








People begin to remove timber from the beach at Ramsgate Sands on the Kent coast








That will do nicely: A man salvages a cargo of timber lost from the Russian registered ship 'Sinegorsk' as it washes ashore Mr
Molloy added: 'I would like to remind people that the shoreline can be
a dangerous place, particularly with the current poor weather and
people could be putting themselves at unnecessary risk by venturing
into the sea to salvage the timber.
'This cargo remains the property of the original owner and to steal it is not only foolhardy, but also a criminal offence.
'Where appropriate, we will also take action against those who create a nuisance, park dangerously or trespass.
'We are not trying to ruin people's fun but the winter coastline is not a place to take risks.'










I could do with a few van loads of that. :)