Containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea.

Dozens of containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea after a ship lost part of its cargo in heavy seas, bringing a windfall for local treasure hunters.

The Dutch Coast Guard said up to 270 containers had fallen off the Panamanian-flagged MSC ZOE, one of the world's biggest container ships, in rough weather near the German island of Borkum and floated southwest toward Dutch waters.

Containers broke open on the shores of the Dutch islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. Others were floating or stranded off the coasts of Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, part of a chain of islands that guard the Dutch coast.

The Coast Guard warned ships in the area to beware of floating containers. Three containers holding hazardous materials have not yet been located, the Coast Guard said.

Dozens of containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea after a ship lost part of its cargo in heavy seas, bringing a windfall for local treasure hunters.

Dutch media reported that local treasure hunters had found an array of items from containers whose contents had spilled, including light bulbs, car parts, Ikea furniture, clothing and toys.

Local media carried pictures of groups of people congregating around beached blue containers and one carrying off what appeared to be a flatscreen TV still packed in foam.

Such material is considered flotsam, and residents of the islands have a centuries-old tradition of collecting it.

It was unclear if the goods were water-damaged.

The mayor of the island of Vlieland, Tineke Schokker, said that the municipality doesn't mind scavenging.

"It's just really nice of people," she told local news agency ANP. "Processing it would cost more than the stuff is worth, and anyway with the two officers we have it would be impossible to guard, the stuff is littered over the whole beach."

A spokesman for the ship's operator, MSC, had no immediate comment.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates.</s>Around 270 containers are estimated to have fallen overboard from MSC Zoe, an ultra large containership owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), while the boxship was battling heavy weather on its journey toward Bremerhaven, Germany, on January 2.

The Dutch Coast Guard informed that at least 21 containers have washed ashore at the beaches of Vlieland, Terschelling and Ameland, adding that there are still containers in the water. The coast guard said on Wednesday that interested parties should not help with the cleaning activities as there are three unlocalized containers ​that could contain hazardous materials.

According to the latest update from Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (Havariekommando), some of the containers that went overboard have already been spotted, including six in German waters. However, it is yet to be determined whether a container with dangerous goods had been among those that went overboard.

“MSC has started a clean-up operation in response to a substantial spill of containers in the North Sea,” MSC said in a statement today.

“Unfortunately, a number of the containers were damaged or lost overboard amid very difficult conditions.”

The Swiss-based containership owner has appointed a salvage company to coordinate the retrieval of cargo and beach clean-up operations and is also deploying specialised ships equipped with sonar to search for missing cargo at sea.

“MSC 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. In all aspects of the clean-up MSC is collaborating with local authorities,” the company added.

“MSC will ensure that customers who seek further information receive direct communications in the coming days. They are invited to contact local MSC representatives.”

MSC Zoe proceeded to Bremerhaven for cargo discharge operations. The German authorities said that the ship moored at Bremerhaven at 00:35 this morning after being accompanied to the port by the multipurpose vessel Neuwerk.

MSC said it was analyzing the causes of the incident.

Image Courtesy: Havariekommando; Kustwacht</s>A Dutch beach has been left covered in chemicals and plastic after hundreds of shipping containers fell into the North Sea.

At least 270 containers toppled into the ocean from the freighter MSC Zoe on Wednesday, many of which were filled with plastic toys, flat-screen TVs and hazardous materials.

Treasure-hunters are being warned not to touch anything that washes ashore, but scavengers have flocked to the beach in search of items.

Among the debris was a 25kg bag of peroxide, a bleaching agent which can cause injury when it comes into contact with skin.

It is not yet know how many of the containers sank to the sea bottom and how many could still be floating in the ocean and pose a risk to marine life or other ships.

The bag was safely removed by emergency crews, but more debris is expected to wash ashore in the coming days.

The Dutch military has been mobilised and hundreds of local people have volunteered to clean away the pollution which washed up on or near the Dutch islands of Terschelling, Vlieland, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog.

Defence Ministry spokesman Sjaak Van Elten said: ‘The expectation is that more things may wash up on beaches tonight.’

But the Dutch Coast Guard said attempts to locate floating containers were being ‘hindered by multiple sport planes that have come to look … We ask them to remain out of the area of this air space to prevent dangerous situations’.

German authorities are leading the investigation into what caused the accident, which occurred in German waters near the island of Borkum.

An MSC statement said the containers were lost overboard during ‘heavy weather’, and a salvage company had been hired to assist in the clean up and search for missing items.

MSC said it was taking the incident ‘very seriously, both in terms of the impact of such accidents on the natural environment and in terms of any damage to customer’s cargo’.

The MSC Zoe, one of the world’s largest container vessels, is owned by Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company.

The freighter is currently docked at port in Bremerhaven, Germany.</s>The MSC Zoe, one of the world's largest cargo ships, lost some of its cargo on Tuesday as it navigated stormy waters on its way from Antwerp in Belgium to Bremerhaven in Germany.

The Dutch coastguard said more than 20 containers have washed up on the beaches of Vlieland, Terschelling and Ameland on the western side of the Frisian Island chain.

Six containers have been spotted in German waters and the country's East Frisian Islands were also on alert, with a warning issued on Borkum late Wednesday.

A message, issued via the mobile warning and information service KATWARN, said that containers and hazardous goods could make their way onto the beaches.

Following discussions with the ship's crew, emergency authorities in the North Sea coastal city of Cuxhaven reported that at least one of the containers has inside it the industrial chemical benzoyl peroxide, used to make plastic.

The shipping company that operates the MSC Zoe is deploying specialised vessels kitted out with sonar to clean up the "substantial spill," it said in a statement.

The cargo ship arrived in Bremerhaven during the night, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said on Thursday.

It is 394 metres in length and can carry more than 19,000 standard-sized containers.</s>Up to 270 containers at least one transporting dangerous materials fell off a cargo ship in a storm on its way from Belgium to Germany, the German Maritime Emergencies Command said.

The ship was heading from Antwerp to Bremerhaven in the North Sea.

The shipping company corrected the operation team’s initial estimate of 30 containers falling overboard, the command said on Wednesday.

At least one container that went overboard contained hazardous materials.

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According to the Dutch coastguard, at least three containers contained peroxides, chemical compounds which can be dangerous in high concentrations.

The container ship, the MSC Zoe, is one of the largest container ships in the world and can transport roughly 19,000 containers.

Thus far, 21 containers have washed up on the Dutch islands of Vlieland, Terschelling and Ameland, the Dutch coastguard said.</s>AMSTERDAM (REUTERS) - Dozens of containers with items including flat-screen televisions have washed up on Dutch islands in the North Sea after a ship lost part of its cargo in heavy seas, bringing a windfall for local treasure hunters.

The Dutch Coast Guard said up to 270 containers had fallen off the Panamanian-flagged MSC ZOE, one of the world's biggest container ships, in rough weather near the German island of Borkum and floated south-west toward Dutch waters.

Containers broke open on the shores of the Dutch islands of Terschelling and Vlieland.

Others were floating or stranded off the coasts of Ameland and Schiermonnikoog, part of a chain of islands that guard the Dutch coast.

The Coast Guard warned ships in the area to beware of floating containers.

Three containers holding hazardous materials have not yet been located, the Coast Guard said.

Dutch media reported that local treasure hunters had found an array of items from containers whose contents had spilled, including light bulbs, car parts, Ikea furniture, clothing and toys.

Local media carried pictures of groups of people congregating around beached blue containers and one carrying off what appeared to be a flatscreen TV still packed in foam.

Such material is considered flotsam, and residents of the islands have a centuries-old tradition of collecting it.

It was unclear if the goods were water-damaged.

The mayor of the island of Vlieland, Tineke Schokker, said that the municipality doesn't mind scavenging.

"It's just really nice of people," she told local news agency ANP.

"Processing it would cost more than the stuff is worth, and anyway with the two officers we have it would be impossible to guard, the stuff is littered over the whole beach."

A spokesman for the ship's operator, MSC, had no immediate comment.</s>Search is on for containers lost off Dutch coast by ship

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands are searching for up to 270 shipping containers lost at sea by a cargo ship caught in a storm, saying some are carrying hazardous materials.

German authorities say the cargo ship that lost the containers landed in the German port of Bremerhaven early Thursday.

The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said six containers so far have been sighted in German waters, while more than 20 have washed ashore in the Netherlands or are drifting off the Dutch island of Terschelling.

German authorities say at least one of the containers is carrying organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound.

Authorities in the Netherlands have warned the public to stay away from the containers.</s>BERLIN — Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands were searching Thursday for up to 270 shipping containers lost at sea by a cargo ship caught in a storm, saying that a few of them are carrying hazardous material. A bag of the substance washed ashore on a Dutch island.

The ship that lost the containers, the MSC Zoe, arrived in the German port of Bremerhaven early Thursday. The ship, which had last called at Sines, Portugal, lost part of its cargo Wednesday in a storm off the northern coast of the Netherlands and Germany.

Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said authorities have established that three missing containers at most contained a dangerous substance, but none of them has been found yet.

The substance in question is an organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound. On Thursday, authorities in the Netherlands said that one bag of peroxide had been washed ashore on Schiermonnikoog island.

German authorities said that most of the containers located so far were in Dutch waters. Special ships equipped with sonar were being used to search in the North Sea for sunken containers.

The Dutch defense ministry said it was recalling soldiers from their Christmas leave to help clear up beaches on North Sea islands starting Friday, following requests from the mayors of Schiermonnikoog and nearby Terschelling island. It said about 100 soldiers will be deployed.

Officials in both countries have warned the public to stay away from the containers.

The ship’s operator, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, said 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.”

It said it is collaborating with local authorities “in all aspects of the cleanup.” Police in Bremerhaven were investigating the cause of the accident.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>BERLIN — Authorities in Germany and the Netherlands are searching for up to 270 shipping containers lost at sea by a cargo ship caught in a storm, saying some are carrying hazardous materials.

German authorities say the cargo ship that lost the containers landed in the German port of Bremerhaven early Thursday.

The Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said six containers so far have been sighted in German waters, while more than 20 have washed ashore in the Netherlands or are drifting off the Dutch island of Terschelling.

German authorities say at least one of the containers is carrying organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound.

Authorities in the Netherlands have warned the public to stay away from the containers.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>Public warned away from ship containers lost off Dutch coast

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch authorities are warning the public to stay away from some of the 270 containers that a cargo ship lost off the northern coast of the Netherlands because they contained a hazardous chemical.

The Dutch coast guard said three containers carried closed-off barrels of an organic peroxide, a flammable and highly toxic compound.

The container ship is suspected to have lost cargo that included toys, light bulbs and flat screens during an overnight storm off the coastal border between Germany and the Netherlands.

German maritime officials identified the ship as the MSC Zoe.

By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, more than 20 containers had washed ashore on the Wadden Islands, a North Sea archipelago.

Some beaches on the islands already saw a surge of curious people checking out what washed up.
The Dutch Coast Guard says 270 containers fell off MSC Zoe in heavy seas near the German island of Borkum and floated towards the Netherlands. Treasure hunters revel on the West Frisian islands of Terschelling and Vlieland. Three containers containing hazardous materials are still missing and ships are warned for floating containers.