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Napoli salvage cargo bid to begin Napoli salvage bid hit by delay
(about 22 hours later)
Coastguards are making final preparations to lift off more than 2,000 containers from the MSC Napoli, which is beached at Branscombe, Devon. An operation to unload more than 2,000 containers from the grounded cargo ship Napoli has been postponed.
The ship ran aground after being damaged in storms. Hundreds of scavengers then converged on the beach to loot washed-up containers. Two large cranes were being moved into position off the Devon coast to begin removing items from the stricken ship.
Locals have criticised the way police and coastguards dealt with the influx. However, the operation will not go ahead on Sunday after a mooring cable snapped on a barge carrying a crane.
The salvage operation could take up to five months as the team are working at a protected World Heritage Site. Scavengers had previously converged on the beach to loot containers washed up after the storm-damaged vessel was deliberately run aground.
At a public meeting for 300 Branscombe villagers on Saturday, some locals complained that the situation was being badly-organised by the authorities. Risking life
But the police said it was a matter of restricting access to the beach whilst allowing local residents to go about their business. The cable will have to be fixed before the operation can go ahead and there is a question mark over whether any containers will be removed on Monday.
On Friday, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency warned opportunists that they face arrest if they take goods that wash up ashore, while the salvage operation is under way. A team of about 20 salvage operators will be involved, some of them divers who will go into the ship which has been flooded with water and oil.
The actions of the scavengers led to a depot is being set up locally for anyone wanting to return items already taken from the beach. Their lives are more valuable than the cargo Mark ClarkMaritime and Coastguard Agency
Mark Williams, chief executive of East Devon District Council, said: "The main critical comments were made to the MCA and the police." The divers will be putting their lives at risk when they move around the precariously positioned containers to find the best ways of getting them off.
Oil pumping continues Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesman Fred Caygill said there were no guarantees that the operation would get under way on Monday.
Meanwhile, salvage teams are continuing to pump out 3,500 tonnes of oil from the ship's fuel tanks. So far more than 1,700 tonnes of fuel oil has been pumped into a waiting tanker. Dangerous work
The two barge cranes have sailed from Rotterdam. His colleague Mark Clark added: "They have had an issue rigging. They have to replace one of the mooring wires."
Fred Caygill, Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokesman, said: "They are going to be doing a test rig and they are hoping to start offloading at first light tomorrow. Mr Clark said they would have to take the "greatest of care" with such a dangerous work area.
"The salvage team have a major operation on their hands, not just taking the containers off but taking the oil off as well. "The vessel is at an acute angle with crushed containers and spilling goods. People have to get on those containers and secure heavy chains so it's a very dangerous job," he said.
"Think of it as a game of jenga. You pull out the wrong block and I'm not saying it will all come tumbling down but it's as precise as that." "Their lives are more valuable than the cargo."
The largest crane will remove the 2,291 containers - laden with everything from BMW motorbikes to nappies - in priority order. Priority order
The smaller crane will then transfer them to a barge which will take them to Portland Port in batches of up to 90 at a time. The salvage operation in could take about five months as the team are working at a protected World Heritage Site.
'Extreme exhaustion' The two barge cranes to be used to salvage the remaining containers have sailed from the Dutch port of Rotterdam.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds warned on Thursday that up to 10,000 seabirds could be caught in the oil slick from the wrecked ship. The largest one will remove the 2,291 containers - laden with everything from BMW motorbikes to nappies - in priority order.
About 1,000 affected birds have been collected, but the charity said the final total could be much more. The smaller crane will then transfer them to a barge which will take them to Portland port in batches of up to 90 at a time.
RSPB volunteers will comb a 100-mile stretch of beach looking for more affected birds this weekend. Structural failure
The 200 tonnes of oil which had leaked into the sea has now been treated. The MCA has warned opportunists they face arrest if they take goods that wash up ashore while the salvage operation is under way.
At a public meeting for 300 Branscombe villagers on Saturday some locals complained about the way the situation has been handled, however the police have defended their actions.
About 1,000 birds caught up in oil leaked from the ship have been collected, but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said the final total could be as many as 10,000.
French officials are checking to see if oil washed up on beaches in Brittany came from the ship.
The 62,000-tonne MSC Napoli, which was holed in storms on 18 January, was deliberately run aground following "serious structural failure".The 62,000-tonne MSC Napoli, which was holed in storms on 18 January, was deliberately run aground following "serious structural failure".
Twenty six crew were rescued after abandoning into a lifeboat.
The ship was then grounded in Lyme Bay, a mile off Sidmouth, amid fears she would sink while on tow to Portland, Dorset.
The ship had been meant to unload almost half of the containers at South African ports.
MSC NAPOLI SALVAGE OPERATION The Napoli's containers will be unloaded from the stern first by crane barge Big Foot A second crane on Big Foot will then transfer containers to shuttle barge Boa Barge 21 Shuttle barge will then transfer containers to Portland Harbour, where they will be offloaded Lightering vessel Forth Fisher is positioned on the other side of the ship pumping off its remaining fuel oil A decision will be made over whether to re-float the ship after all the oil and containers have been removed Key fuel tanks and total contents identified by Marine Coastguard Agency on 23 January. Oil is being pumped off at a rate of approx. 30 tonnes per hourMSC NAPOLI SALVAGE OPERATION The Napoli's containers will be unloaded from the stern first by crane barge Big Foot A second crane on Big Foot will then transfer containers to shuttle barge Boa Barge 21 Shuttle barge will then transfer containers to Portland Harbour, where they will be offloaded Lightering vessel Forth Fisher is positioned on the other side of the ship pumping off its remaining fuel oil A decision will be made over whether to re-float the ship after all the oil and containers have been removed Key fuel tanks and total contents identified by Marine Coastguard Agency on 23 January. Oil is being pumped off at a rate of approx. 30 tonnes per hour