Wednesday 24th January 2007
From MSC Napoli Response Centre
NAPOLI:
Pumping of the heavy fuel from the three tanks of the Napoli began yesterday at 2:30pm. Pump-out is progressing well, better than expected, as the team is pumping out 35 m2 per hour. Weather depending (and any other unforeseeable situations) pumping is expected to take five to seven days. There is some contaminated water on board the vessel also being pumped out.
Salvers, Smit, are bringing two barges fitted with cranes (400 and 500 tonne cranes) from Amsterdam. These will arrive in time for completion of the pumping. The barges will remove the containers from the cargo deck first, before removing the cargo from within the hull. It is expected that this will take between five to eight months to complete.
No new oil coming from the Napoli and yesterday's leak has been sealed. There is an oil slick of 4.4km long moving south from the vessel. Oil around the Napoli is being contained within booms.
ONSHORE:
The beach at Branscombe has been fenced off and made secure. Footpaths down on to the beach are also fenced off, as Devon County Council temporarily closed the paths leading to the beach from Branscombe to Beer on Monday for health and safety reasons.
Contractors appointed by the ship's owners to deal with any shoreline clean up are setting up a compound by the beach to hold the waste and their equipment. They will create a hardstanding (possibly on the grassy area off the beach) for a turning area. They will also be using some of the car park to temporarily hold the waste material prior to disposal.
The material will be returned to owner; recycled or will go to landfill.
The Donkey Sanctuary has offered land to use to facilitate return of materials from the public.
DRS is in contact with the Environment Agency about all aspects of waste disposal and they are in contact with Devon County Council concerning traffic management issues.
The Branscombe road is closed today as of 7am, with access granted only to local residents.
East Devon District Council has started litter picking on roads leading to the beach around Branscombe, as people leaving the beach have flytipped what they did not want to carry.
Branscombe Primary School closed yesterday and is closed again today.
Footpaths leading to and from the beach are described as being in a poor condition through over use.
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