# Looting



## non descript (Nov 18, 2005)

Nice to see someone write in plain English in Lloyd's List about Looting and not mess about using other emotional expressions that hide the true nature of the activity..


*Police on alert for looters as Ice Prince timber heads for shore*
Sandra Speares - Thursday 17 January 2008
_WARNINGS have been issued to deter anyone planning to loot any timber that comes ashore from the Greek-flagged Ice Prince, which sank off the Devon coast early on Tuesday, writes Sandra Speares.
Police have been authorised by the Receiver of Wreck to take action against infringement of the Merchant Shipping Act, which could result in fines of up to £2,500 on conviction. The authorities will be hoping to avoid the looting seen following the grounding of the MSC Napoli and the Kodima.
Sawn timber from the Ice Prince is expected to start coming ashore in the next new days as an estimated 2000 tonnes of wood is understood to have been washed overboard.
Trinity House vessel Patricia is set to lay buoys around the wreck and survey the area to assess the ship’s potential hazard to other vessels. The coastguard tug Anglian Earl will remain on site until the survey is complete.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency says salvage firm Smit and the owners of the vessel, Athens-based Elmar Shipping, have been holding talks with Secretary of State’s Representative for salvage and intervention, Hugh Shaw, to plan how best to recover bunkers and other pollutants from the vessel.
Discussions were also taking place to appoint a contract to be responsible for collecting the cargo, the MCA said.
The 7,156 dwt Ice Prince was estimated to be carrying 313 tonnes of intermediate fuel oil. The MCA said yesterday that there had been reports of a light sheen of oil on the surface at the wreck site, but this had been dispersed naturally. 
A decision as to how to deal with the removal of the wreck has yet to be taken, the MCA said_


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## SN NewsCaster (Mar 5, 2007)

*What happened to the Branscombe booty? (BBC News)*

Twelve months ago, scavengers swarmed to Branscombe in Devon in search of plunder. But what happened to the booty they took away?

More from BBC News...


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## Pompeyfan (Aug 9, 2005)

Better picture than the single piece of wood I saw yesterday floating by. The poor thing looked lonely (Jester) 

David


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## R831814 (Jun 9, 2006)

You should have rescued it even though you risk arrest(Jester)


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## yorky jim (Jul 7, 2006)

i suppose it,s better than a oil slick,


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## Duncan112 (Dec 28, 2006)

Couple of years ago I met a Cornishman who's T shirt carried the message:

Fishing....Skat
Mining......Skat
Farming.....Skat
Ah well, back to wrecking me hearties

Amused me anyhow


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## sparkie2182 (May 12, 2007)

lots of nice new garden sheds on the southwest coast this spring


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## Sister Eleff (Nov 28, 2006)

Pompeyfan said:


> Better picture than the single piece of wood I saw yesterday floating by. The poor thing looked lonely (Jester)
> 
> David


David you could have turned it in to the Police station, with so many dire warnings being issued, surely there has to be rewards (LOL)


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## Pompeyfan (Aug 9, 2005)

Sister Eleff

It was still floating, and I was sat in my car in a car park above the place. It had not reached the shore, well not at that stage. I simply called the coastguard and left it at that.

No doubt plenty has washed up now, but with gale force winds and driving rain, I am staying indoors. 

Not like sunny Sydney here at the moment (Cloud) 

David


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## Nairda59 (Jul 6, 2005)

As long as you tell 'em you got their stuff, there isnt any crime being committed and legally they have to pay your legitimate expenses for saving their stuff in the first place.
This is just typical bluster by people in warm cosy offices with little real knowledge.
This is Flotsam in its true and original meaning.


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

And nobody picked up on this Australian ability to turn a lump of wood into a police station.[=P]


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## SN NewsCaster (Mar 5, 2007)

*Shipwreck timber washing ashore (BBC News)*

People are wading into water along the south coast to grab timber from a cargo ship that sank.

More from BBC News...


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## Riptide (Aug 21, 2007)

sparkie2182 said:


> lots of nice new garden sheds on the southwest coast this spring


Not to mention beach huts,now theres a way to make some money.Kenny.(==D)


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## SN NewsCaster (Mar 5, 2007)

*Beach shut as timber comes ashore (BBC News)*

Water sports enthusiasts are warned to stay clear of timber from a sunken cargo ship as a beach is closed.

More from BBC News...


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## SN NewsCaster (Mar 5, 2007)

*Shipwreck timber surrounds coast (BBC News)*

Thousands of tonnes of timber are washed on to south coast beaches after a cargo ship sinks off Dorset.

More from BBC News...


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## cboots (Aug 16, 2004)

How can this be classified as "looting", surely it is salvage.
CBoots


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## muldonaich (Nov 19, 2005)

its a free for all at the end of the day all you are doing is cleaning upthe beaches


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Knee-jerk reaction guaranteed to get everyone upset and purely because of the bad press of the last incident.
Salt water soaked wood is not at the top of my shopping list![=P]


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## aqua bat (Jul 4, 2007)

after seeing the reports of all the timber being washed up has brought back memories of thirty four years ago when the PROSPERITY a timber carrying ship founded on rocks on the west coast of guernsey with the loss of all 18 crew 
this left the guernsey coast covered with timber for months after


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## Peter4447 (Jan 26, 2006)

When the 'Kodima' lost her timber cargo in Whitsand Bay in February 2002, an MCA official stated on TV that 90% of items salvaged can be kept providing it is reported to the Receiver of Wreck (which in this case was HM Coastguard). 
Six years and the MSC Napoli later we now have an identical cargo being washed ashore from a sister ship to the 'Kodima' - funny how the situation has changed!

Peter4447(Thumb)


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## frank earl (May 28, 2007)

*they cannot be serious..............*

Surely once wood is floating it becomes flotsam,driftwood washed up on a beach.How can this legally belong to anyone?What about a test case?Having been soaked in salt water,it may not be fit for much.What if it was picked up by another ship?Would it then be salvage?We could all go out in rowing boats collecting wood and claiming salvage.It does not make sense to me.


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## Sister Eleff (Nov 28, 2006)

Marconi Sahib said:


> And nobody picked up on this Australian ability to turn a lump of wood into a police station.[=P]


Good one Marconi Sahib! (Thumb) (Applause)


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## Steve Woodward (Sep 4, 2006)

Apparently anyone caught taking this cargo from the beach will find themselves in lumber with the police(Jester)


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
I do not wish to know that. Kindly leave the stage.(LOL)


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## boulton (Aug 1, 2007)

*Surely it is just coincidence that an anonymous plank of wood happens to washed-up !!*

Would not the salvers wanting to retake possession of the timber have to prove that the timber washed-up on the beach did in fact come from the Greek-registered Ice Prince?

Unless every plank is stamped or marked (as does happen on the ends of planks, I’ve noticed in wood yards etc), surely it is just coincidence that an anonymous plank of wood happens to be washed-up days after a ship in the vicinity looses its deck-cargo of wood?


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## boulton (Aug 1, 2007)

*Surely it is just coincidence that an anonymous plank of wood happens to be washed-up*

Would not the salvers wanting to retake possession of the timber have to prove that the timber washed-up on the beach did in fact come from the Greek-registered Ice Prince?

Unless every plank is stamped or marked (as does happen on the ends of planks, I’ve noticed in wood yards etc), surely it is just coincidence that an anonymous plank of wood happens to be washed-up days after a ship in the vicinity looses its deck-cargo of wood?


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Most construction timber now comes marked so that it can be traced to origin.
Either across the end with a bar code or down the side.
The days of rough carcassing are gone because of the danger of splinters in the poor builder's hands.[=P]


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## Pilot mac (Jun 28, 2005)

Fubar,
some shippers bar code packs of timber so that they can detect exactly where their timber is at that time. eg the pack is swiped when leaving the timber yard, swiped when loaded and swiped again when discharged, and again when loaded on to lorries for road transport to destination. It is a brilliant tool for shippers/receivers and also extrememly handy for stevedores
as they can determine packs remaining/hourly rate / discharge rate etc.
However I have not seen individual pieces barcoded prior to shipment, maybe that is done by the wholesaler/retailer at the point of sale?

regards
Dave


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## Tony D (May 2, 2004)

Spanish fishermen will be allowed to take it after all the South Coast is in their waters.


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Not too sure, Dave.
I've seen individual bar codes on the ends of timber in place of the usual red paint stencil we used to see and the two pieces of timber (50x75 & 50x100) I have are ink stamped on the faces by the producer at point of origin. The stamp isn't a barcode but identifies the grower/producer and has a batch number.
Mind you, they're the new standard of "regularised" carcass timber that's replacing the rough sawn stuff.
If the washed up stuff is just the old fashioned stuff then it might not be so easy to identify.

Salaams
Kris


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## Pilot mac (Jun 28, 2005)

Kris,
funny business this timber trade! We are now exporting timber to ......
Sweden can you believe?

regards
Dave


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## Bruce Carson (Jun 14, 2005)

I'm a lumberjacker and I'm OK
I steal by night and I steal by day
The ship piles up and you're damned tootin'
I'm out there just doing some lootin'
Keeping the beaches clean is my design
You don't get caught, you pay no fine
"Seawood" is what my house I'll name
To honour from whence the material came
Anon.


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## Pompeyfan (Aug 9, 2005)

The plank I saw and photograph on another thread was certainly marked like all those now washed up. It was certainly from the Ice Prince but days ahead of the rest, so it must have been a very fast splinter (Jester) 

David


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## Derek Roger (Feb 19, 2005)

Pompeyfan said:


> The plank I saw and photograph on another thread was certainly marked like all those now washed up. It was certainly from the Ice Prince but days ahead of the rest, so it must have been a very fast splinter (Jester)
> 
> David



Dear O Dear David !
LOL Derek


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## Peter4447 (Jan 26, 2006)

Pompeyfan said:


> The plank I saw and photograph on another thread was certainly marked like all those now washed up. It was certainly from the Ice Prince but days ahead of the rest, so it must have been a very fast splinter (Jester)
> 
> David


Perhaps it fancied itself as a Surf Board!
Peter(Jester)


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## billyboy (Jul 6, 2005)

I recall as a child, a load of Pit props got washed up on the beach at newhaven. Amazing just how many a man could tie onto a bicycle and still be able to push it along...LOL


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## dom (Feb 10, 2006)

*dom*

anyone taking the stuff could be logged of course


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## Steve Woodward (Sep 4, 2006)

Should be made to walk the plank


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## Chouan (Apr 20, 2006)

Sorry, I'm getting bored of this, wouldn't you?


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Not particularly.
A bit of humour never hurt anyone.
Besides it give us some practice in constructive use of the English language.


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## Chouan (Apr 20, 2006)

I thought my puns were a bit more obvious than that!
Perhaps I should rewrite them.
Sorry, I'm getting board of this, woodn't you.


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

That's better!
You have to give us it in understandable form.[=P]


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## frank earl (May 28, 2007)

*stiff as a board................*

I had a young lady at mine for the weekend. On Monday,I said to her:"It would be best if you went home today,wouldn,t it." She said "Dont call me wooden tit".Frank.


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## MARINEJOCKY (Nov 25, 2007)

all that wood reminds me of my trip up to South Uist. In the bar at the ferry there is a picture of the ship that went down during the war and was the center of the Whiskey Galore movie. 

I always thought the movie was true about the locals taking all of the whiskey but that was for the movie's only. There are no tree's on the islands but plenty of whiskey and the locals were more interested in the dunnage that was washed ashore. There was very little whiskey onboard and a salage operation years later proved this. I think they found some wine bottles that turned out to be pretty poor.


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## dom (Feb 10, 2006)

*dom*

CCB reports that a brake away splinter group is working at the far end of the beach,reports they are selling to a well known fence


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## Bruce Carson (Jun 14, 2005)

I s'pose you can't see the forest for the seas.


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## tunatownshipwreck (Nov 9, 2005)

Bruce Carson said:


> I s'pose you can't see the forest for the seas.


Heh.
Makes me wonder which is the captain's log.


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## seabreeze (Jul 17, 2005)

tunatownshipwreck said:


> Heh.
> Makes me wonder which is the captain's log.


Theirs not a grain of truth in this story


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## K urgess (Aug 14, 2006)

Definitely a shed load of timber.


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## Peter4447 (Jan 26, 2006)

Marconi Sahib said:


> Definitely a shed load of timber.


You are definately a little Sun BEAM this early in the morning Kris
Peter(Jester)


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## dom (Feb 10, 2006)

*dom*

i belive the national cribbage team was seen on the beach practicing


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