Msc Napoli...Environmental disaster, or a potential "Golden Egg"?

Question

http://www.dailymotion.com/julianjoepeace/video/x2qsdy_msc-napoli_news

Damaged 18th January 2007 & subsequently beached the MSC Napoli was a nightmare come true for the 14,000 + residents of Sidmouth and the World Heritage Coastline off Branscombe.

Using explosives for the third time, the ship was finally split in two and a further seepage of oil was successfully minimised. We cant begin to calculate the possible ongoing effects of environmental damage, but could the ill-fated ship be a potential Golden Egg for the Devon Coast?

If the sunken half of the ship was towed a little further out to sea, it may attract a variety of marine life similarly to that of a coral reef. This in turn could attract divers, biologists, tourists (grottle) boat trips (?) media and could open the floodgates for added revenue to the nearby coastal towns.

What are your views.

Answer 1

Sinking a vessel to help promote the creation of a reef for that sustains sea life takes a significant amout of removal work to make the ship environmentally friendly. A recent U.S. Naval ship (about 120 feet long) sunk off of Florida required 7 tons of material to be removed first!

If this is going to be done (it has great potential), it has to be done right. Material experts, proper salvagers brought in and regional environmental groups playing a role.

I like this idea and the potential.

I do think the bigger issue here is that this NEVER should have happened in the first place. Those responsible need to be hit with fines that will slap them back to the stone age and I think for many of the others involved with this shipping company jail time is in order.

Answer 2

Most of the answers were rather simplistic. 1.) The Boy Who Cried Wolf The media acts like EVERY storm is going to be the apocalypse. It is one of the few things that has people glued to the TV watching local news. Also, national news gets hysterical about things that will be disasters far from where you live. After a few storms that are over-hyped, people stop listening. Everyone responds by raising the "volume", emphasizing the disaster more. When the real disaster comes, it's hard to distinguish it from last year's media hyped "Snomageddon". For disaster preparedness, it is as important to not give false warnings as it is to give real ones. Many people only have so many vacation days and so much money to prepare for disasters. Evacuation takes vacation days, and moving to a hotel costs money. Many don't have enough of either. 2.) Their Employer won't let them This is a factor everyone leaves out. If your employer won't give you the day off, you HAVE to drive to work...and evacuation becomes problematic. Often when you have to make the decision whether to come in or not, it is like an hour before your work opens. (To allow for a commute in bad weather.) Often there is no one with the authority to say "stay home" available that early. In this bad economy, it is risk to not show up at work. 3.) Everyone tells people there is a crisis, but few clearly and realistically explain what they should do about it. It doesn't matter weather people think this storm will be a disaster or not, if they don't know what they should *DO* about it. I think if you want people to heed warnings, you need to have fewer "false alarms". You also have to get rid of this notion that raising the volume of your warnings gets more people to respond. Clear instructions on what to do in a crisis are more useful then hysteria. People who blame it all on ignorance and pig headedness are condescending and just don't get it.

Answer 3

I like your idea, you should put your notion forward to the Heritage Coast Trust, maybe you'd get some kind of recognition. I agree, the possibilities of a marine life explosion could create a huge load of interest in the area, the locals however may not be as enthusiastic. The vid was serene, what's the music you used? Well done PC

Answer 4

A cabbage with a huge heart, always looking on the bright side. The whole scavenging thing was a disgrace and I'm sure the people of sidmouth and surrounding areas were appalled at the numbers of modernday pirates that saturated the area. Let's hope something good does come of the whole mess. luv the clip jj

Answer 5

I'll say the disaster, though messy, was not as bad as it could have been. It could take a couple of years for the marine life to establish a home dear, but you're right. The thing is, will the parties in question realise the potential. Take your idea further.

Answer 6

I`m sure that you are right. There are numerous locations where this is done. However, if the ship can be towed, maybe it should be towed to a breakers yard.

Answer 7

i agree with jen, 'cept I know a little piece of that huge heart is still down there eh cabbage. The slideshow thingy was a nice touch an ta for the two points.

Answer 8

Hi - I think it's a great idea but I think the second half was towed away this week ( I'm not 100% sure of this).

Answer 9

Cut it up for scrap.