Although the Wadden Islands now are
clean, it is expected that a lot of debris will wash ashore again on Tuesday
from the containers that went overboard last Tuesday night. The Dutch Safety
Board is conducting an exploratory investigation into the accident.
At the moment, volunteers are no
longer needed on the Wadden Islands, the Friesland Security Region says today.
Only on Schiermonnikoog is a coordinated clean-up campaign ongoing. There,
volunteers who wearing reflective
vests stayed overnight
after the clean-up actions of Saturday and soldiers today clean the last areas.
The latter is on Schiermonnikoog because the beaches on the east side are
difficult to reach.
Although most large junk has been
removed from the beach, there still many small plastic particles and
disintegrating polystyrene in the dunes. Various nature organizations are very
concerned about the consequences of this for the environment. On
Schiermonnikoog today a kind of vacuum cleaner crosses the beach that cleans up
all the small plastic particles.
In the sea itself, fishermen have
helped in recent days with cleaning up junk floating in the water. According to
a spokesperson, not only small grits are picked up as shoes and toys, but also
refrigerators and gasoline tanks for cars. The fishermen, about fifteen ships,
also sail today and tomorrow to clean up. This is only possible in daylight
because the sea is dangerous due to all the floating junk in poor visibility.
Although the beaches are currently
stripped of toys, shoes, Ikea parts, and other washed-up debris, the
municipalities are holding their ground because of the northwest wind and
spring tide predicted for Tuesday. Probably a lot of rubble is washed up again.
The mayors of the islands hope that afterward, volunteers will want to help
again. For now, the security region warns against coming to the islands from
Monday. Due to the predicted storm, it will be too dangerous.
For those who want to roll up their
sleeves already, there is plenty to do on the mainland. Guides from the Wadloop
Foundation, from Waddencentum Pieterburen and Zeehondencentrum Pieterburen, can
still use the tidy coast along the entire Wadden coast. The guides are also
volunteers, the organizations emphasize. They too must "row with the
straps that they have."
On the Wadden coast, the items in the
salt marshes can only be collected on foot and brought over the dikes. The area
is too fragile to enter with tractors or carts. The organizations that
coordinate clean-up campaigns urge volunteers to dress warmly. The Friesland
Security Region emphasizes that it is wise for volunteers to join organizations
and bodies that are knowledgeable. For your own safety - people have already
been lost in cleaning up - but also to prevent more damage to nature in the
Wadden area.
The junk that is now washing up on and
around the Wadden Islands comes from at least 270 containers that fell from the
MS Zoë container ship in the night of 1 to 2 January. Only a small part of the
containers has already been recovered. The hazardous substance was peroxide in
a number. Volunteers who see the white bags containing the stuff have to stay
away and call 112.
The municipality of Vlieland and
Rijkswaterstaat have made the shipping company of the container ship liable for
the damage suffered. The Public Prosecution Service is investigating whether
someone can be prosecuted under criminal law for the garbage dump that has arisen
on and around the Wadden Sea area.
The Dutch Safety Board is in the
German Bremerhaven, where the ship is docked, for an exploratory investigation.
It is expected that during the week it will become clear whether the
investigation into the accident should be done by the Dutch or by the German
counterpart. This, for example, depends on whether the ship has lost its
containers in Dutch or German waters.
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company,
the ship-owner who lost the containers, said on Saturday that it wants to pay
all costs for the cleaning. The shipping company also promised to keep looking
for lost containers until the last one was found.
