- One of the world’s largest container ships, the MSC Zoe, lost nearly 300 containers in a storm off the coast of the northwest coast of Germany late January 1 into early January 2.
- Dozens of the containers have since landed on beaches in the Netherlands, where beachcombers have been taking home the loot – including TVs, My Little Pony dolls, and down jackets.
- Officials in both Germany and the Netherlands have warned treasure hunters to stay away from the containers, since three of them contain hazardous materials and they haven’t been located yet.
A storm off the northwest coast of Germany caused one of the world’s largest container ships to lose nearly 300 containers overnight on Tuesday.
Since then, dozens of the containers have floated southwest and landed on beaches on nearby Dutch islands, where local laws allow locals to take the loot home.
Beachcombers have been posting images of the treasure that washed ashore, which include IKEA furniture, My Little Pony dolls, and TVs.
Photos of the beachcombing efforts are incredible.
One of the world's largest container ships, the MSC Zoe, encountered a storm while sailing in the North Sea, near the German Island of Borkum, the night of January 1 and the morning of January 2.
Source: Reuters
Overnight, the rough waters caused the ship to lose up to 270 containers.
Source: Kustwacht Nederland
Dozens of the containers then floated southwest, washing ashore on the Frisian Islands (also called the Wadden Islands), a chain that protects the coast of the Netherlands.
Source: Reuters
Treasure hunters flocked to the beaches to scavenge for the freight that washed ashore.
Source: Reuters
Dutch law allows locals to claim whatever they find on the beach as their own.
Source: RTE
That means that some lucky beachcombers came away with brand new TVs, though it's unclear whether they would function after the fall from the ship.
Source: BBC
Officials in both Germany and The Netherlands warned people to stay away from the shipwrecked goods, since three of the containers that fell off the ship contained hazardous materials.
Source: Reuters
The three containers, which are still missing, contain organic peroxide, which is flammable and highly toxic. One 25 kg package of peroxide was found washed ashore on the island of Schiermonnikoog on Thursday.
A Dutch coast guard spokesman told one of the country's broadcast stations, NOS, that the three hazardous materials containers likely sunk.
Source: AFP
The Coast Guard have also put out a warning to boaters in the area, to watch out for floating containers in the water.
Source: Reuters
On Thursday, the MSC Zoe docked in the German port of Bremerhaven, where the accident was being investigated by both the parent company and local police.
Source: AP
Parent company MSC Mediterranean Shipping released a statement, saying it "takes this incident very seriously, both in terms of the impact of such accidents on the natural environment and in terms of any damage to customers' cargo."
Source: MSC Mediterranean Shipping
They've hired a salvage company to retrieve the lost cargo, and are dispatching a boat equipped with sonar to locate the sunken containers.
Source: MSC Mediterranean Shipping
Meanwhile, locals have taken to social media to post pictures of their finds. Many used the hashtag "#jutten" in their posts, the Dutch word for "beachcombing."
http://instagr.am/p/BsI2M6zghjD
The most popular beach find looked to be hundreds of My Little Pony dolls.
Two little girls showed off their army of ponies at a local restaurant.
In het Wrakkenmuseum in Formerum #Terschelling pic.twitter.com/2RroiXrMDY
— Erwin Wijman (@erwinwijman) January 3, 2019
The bright pink toys brought color to the gray day.
A container ship lost 30 containers on the Northsea llast night. Anyone need a Mercedes rear light or an IKEA Fullsmockåd? #terschelling #MSCZOE pic.twitter.com/Qse4QqmaoZ
— Willem de Groot (@gwillem) January 2, 2019
Even adults were overjoyed to find the My Little Pony dolls.
Some went so far as to bring them into the hot tub and turn them into bath toys.
http://instagr.am/p/BsJXjhXgx3f
Really, people couldn't stop posting pictures of the shipwrecked dolls.
The dolls will no doubt make a great donation to charity once they are cleaned up.
In addition to My Little Pony dolls, this family picked up a treasure trove of wallets, flip flops, and light bulbs.
Other clothing found on the beach included expensive-looking down jackets in a variety of colors.
It wasn't quite the right season for flip flops on this beach.
De Milieujutter start morgenvroeg om 10.00 uur vanaf Midsland aan zee. Alle hulp is welkom en nodig. Ook aanhangwagens. #terschelling #containers #Noordzee #Waddenzee pic.twitter.com/utdBIqbgVV
— VVV Terschelling (@terschellingvvv) January 2, 2019
Once dried, these slippers would certainly be great for a cozy northern Europe winter.
Extreme pollution at #Ameland beaches after #MSCARGO vessel looses 270 #containers. Each pair of shoe was wrapped in #plastic and with silica gel bag. pic.twitter.com/hEcpg3RcpF
— Siegmund Metselaar (@smetselaar) January 3, 2019
As would these green plush blankets.
http://instagr.am/p/BsLGT4lDDHk
IKEA furniture was also among the freight lost in the storm.
The backs of desk chairs were some of the more documented items found on the beach.
It's unclear if the legs they attach to were onboard the ship
Small IKEA storage containers also appear to have washed ashore.
Items as big as refrigerators were among the loot.
Bij #wierum spoelen koelkasten aan. Alle hulp om de zeedijk schoon te maken is hier welkom! pic.twitter.com/C5AmEs59sG
— Johanna Kommerie (@johannakommerie) January 3, 2019
Items as small as delicate light bulbs were on the beaches. These no doubt caused worry, since they so easily shatter.
Several volunteers and treasure hunters posted videos from the beach.
Om een klein beetje een indruk te krijgen van de omvang van het probleem met de afgevallen containers. pic.twitter.com/wpeojIiSIe
— Beachmanager (@Beachmanager) January 3, 2019
The clean-up effort could take days. About 100 Dutch soldiers will be deployed to the beaches on Friday to help speed up the effort.
#Terschelling clean up underway with everyone helping pic.twitter.com/AYbiUTpveN
— Erik Scheer (@ErikScheer) January 3, 2019
Source: AP
