'Tears' over North Sea ship crash debris on beach

People in Skegness have described being "moved to tears" after debris was found on a large stretch of the beach following a crash involving two ships.

The impact between an oil tanker and cargo vessel Solong in the North Sea, off East Yorkshire, on 10 March, triggered an explosion and fires, which have been extinguished.

One crew member of the Solong, a Filipino national, is missing and presumed dead. The Russian captain of the cargo vessel has been charged with gross negligence manslaughter.

The owners of the cargo ship admitted tiny plastic pellets, held in containers on board, had been released. The coastguard said they were being removed from the beaches in Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

John Byford, a photographer who lives in Skegness, said: "I was very upset to see it. This beach is my home.

"I often complain about litter, but this is much more serious."

Mr Byford said the debris was strewn along a large stretch of the beach and also in the vicinity of the Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve.

"It's going to have a big impact, but we can all work together to clean up the beach," he said.

Kyle Campbell, who was out walking his dog earlier on Wednesday, said stumbling on the debris had been "really distressing".

"I've never seen anything like this before, it broke my heart," he said.

"We see on TV this accident and we don't really think it's going to have an impact.

"I kayak on the sea, I swim in the sea and it's like this has been ruined."

Chief coastguard Paddy O'Callaghan said a "counter pollution retrieval operation" was ongoing after small balls of plastic resin, known as nurdles, were sighted off The Wash and along the Norfolk shore between Old Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea.

Conservation groups have said the nurdles, which are not toxic, can have a devastating impact on animals, including seals, puffins and fish, if they are eaten.

Tammy Smalley, from the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust, said they had been made aware of the incident late on Tuesday.

"I'm born and bred in Skegness. I actually shed a tear last night when I saw the pictures coming through," she said.

In addition to nurdles, Ms Smalley said there had also been several reports of dead birds.

"Unfortunately, the risks posed by nurdles increase when other pollutants become stuck to them," she said.

"We urge members of the public to report nurdle sightings, but to avoid touching them as they may have toxic pollutants stuck to them."

Pellets were previously spotted in The Wash, a large inlet of the North Sea which stretches from south of Skegness, in Lincolnshire, to near Hunstanton, in Norfolk.

Mr O'Callaghan said local authorities were "leading the onshore response in both Norfolk and Lincolnshire".

"Aerial surveillance flights are monitoring both vessels and the retrieval operation daily," he said.

Mr O'Callaghan said both the Stena Immaculate oil tanker and Solong remained stable and that salvage operations were continuing.

Following the crash, 36 people - from both vessels - were rescued and taken safely to shore in Grimsby.

On Tuesday, Crowley, the Florida-based maritime operations company which was managing the tanker, posted a photo on social media showing 19 of the 23-strong crew members and praised their "exceptional bravery".

The photo had been taken in a restaurant in Grimsby on Friday, Crowley said.

Mark Angelo Pernia, 38, was named by the Crown Prosecution Service as the missing crew member.

The captain of the Solong, Vladimir Motin, 59, of Primorsky in St Petersburg, Russia, is charged with gross negligence manslaughter and is remanded in custody until 14 April when is due to appear before the Central Criminal Court in London.

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