The MSC Zoe lost hundreds of shipping containers in rough sea in January 2019
Translated by Thomas Ansell
In January 2019 the enormous cargo ship the MSC Zoe lost hundreds of shipping containers overboard in rough weather. The accident led to large amounts of rubbish washing up on the shores of the Wadden Islands, and a huge cleanup operation (some of the containers had harmful chemicals in them).
The accident caused near-irreversible damage to the Wadden Sea’s fragile ecosystem, and experts predicted that its effects would be felt for several years to come. Now, reports the Omrop Fryslân, another piece of container from the ship has been identified partially submerged in a sand bank.
The Rijkswaterstaat has said that is hasn’t been possible to remove the container parts due to the extra damage it would do to the sandbank and its surroundings. Apparently, the large piece of rusting metal was originally the floor of one container. More large pieces of container are also still under the sand and sea-bed, but they will also be removed in short order, says the Rijkswaterstaat.
MSC is paying for the cleanup operation, and has said that all pieces will be removed before the start of the stormy winter season. According to the Rijkswaterstaat, there are still large numbers of bright pink plastic children’s toys washing up on beaches around the Wadden Sea.
Photo by Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash
