Devon County Council

"The beaching of the MS Napoli is an event which has touched the lives of people in my  own village of Branscombe and communities along the Jurassic coastline of Devon and  Dorset. It is right that local government provides an opportunity for people to share their  views and experiences, so that we can help ensure that incidents like these do not  happen in the future. If, regrettably, any do occur then everyone will be better prepared to  deal with such an emergency as well as being clear about their respective powers and responsibilities".
Councillor Margaret Rogers,
Executive Member for the Environment,
Devon County Council.
Branscombe, February 25, 2008

"Dorset and Devon share an internationally-important site in the Jurassic Coast, and we have to remain constantly vigilant about any threats which could cause serious environmental damage. There are no doubt lessons to be learned for all agencies involved in dealing with the MSC Napoli incident and, where possible, we should put procedures in place to minimise the risk of something like this happening again."
"A local public inquiry into the matter could provide an invaluable opportunity for agencies and communities to share knowledge, discuss concerns and identify actions which may help protect our precious marine and coastal environments in the future.”
Councillor Hilary Cox,
Cabinet Member for the Environment
Dorset County Council

“The grounding of the Napoli took us all by surprise but I believe that, after some initial problems, the situation was handled quite well. However, there are always lessons to be learnt from incidents such as this and East Devon District Council is keen to do what it can to help find out what worked well and what could have been done better.”
Councillor Christopher Gibbings
Champion for Community Safety
East Devon District Council