West Sussex shipping containers: Chichester MP says remnants of this disaster 'continue to wash up on the beaches'

A major clean-up operation, to recover debris and containers washed ashore between Selsey and Bognor Regis, continued over the weekend.

Climping Beach Conservation said it urgently needed volunteers following the discovery of insulation foam ‘strewn across Climping Beach from Elmer all the way to the River Arun’.

There is also concern that more of the debris is making its way into Pagham Harbour and the nature reserve, which has been described as ‘hard to access’.

The incident first unfolded on Monday, December 8 – when containers lost from cargo ship Baltic Klipper washed ashore in areas of West Sussex. Since then Ambipar environmental specialists – supported by resident volunteers – have carried out extensive shoreline and waste management work. Ground crews have been supported by drone technology as they identify and assess material washed ashore.

Fixed-wing HM Coastguard aircraft have also been flying ‘counter pollution patrols’ along the coast.

Donna Tretheway, who runs a volunteer group called ‘The Selsey Beach Litter Ninjas’ told this newspaper: “It's been an incredible response from near and far. People have put in back-breaking hours of work going up and down that shingle in all weathers, carrying extremely heavy stuff.”

The Ninjas revealed on social media, on Monday (December 15), that the current hands-on operation would be scaled back.

“Thank you all once again for your incredible support over the past week, this has truly been a remarkable community effort,” a statement read.

"With Ambipar now taking appropriate action, we feel it is the right time to scale back our hands-on operations. Please be assured that members of our team will continue working behind the scenes with the relevant stakeholders to maintain full oversight of ongoing activities.

“If you would like to continue picking, you are very welcome to do so. Please place any filled bags by the council green bins, where contractors will collect them.

“Should you choose to keep picking, please make sure you are aware of tide times and only collect within two hours either side of high tide. Additionally, do not attempt to remove any embedded metal, and please avoid going near or entering any of the containers. Stay safe and thank you.”

Gloves and pickers are available to collect from the Ambipar compound at East Beach Car Park. People are asked to place bags either near a green bin, a visible place along the beach, or, if it's out of sight, use What3Words and send the location to Donna. Alternatively, ‘just flag one of the Ambipar guys down and let them know’.

Chichester MP Jess Brown-Fuller said on Thursday that she was ‘pleased to get out of Westminster’ and ‘join some of the fabulous volunteers’ on the beach at Selsey.

"As the Selsey Beach Litter Ninjas scale back their hands-on operations along the Selsey beaches, I’d like to take a further opportunity to thank every volunteer who has been out, leading the clean-up operation and looking after the volunteers with food and drink,” the MP said.

"Ambipar themselves acknowledged that they would not be this far along without the incredible volunteer power the community has provided, over hours and hours in the last week, while they focussed on the logistics of getting the waste removed and the metal containers off the beaches.

“The remnants of this disaster continue to wash up on the beaches across the whole constituency, including in the Witterings, all the way along to Bognor beach. If you spot waste you do not think has been reported, please email [email protected]

“I remain concerned that more of the debris is making its way into Pagham Harbour and the nature reserve, which is hard to access. Last week I asked if a boom could be fitted to protect the harbour, but the metal washing up would make this ineffective and destroy the equipment so the option had been discounted. I have asked for this to remain under review.”

On Monday, the MP wrote to Ambipar and to the owners of the cargo ship. She asked for ‘recognition of the huge saving the community has provided’ by ‘acting quickly and clearing so much of the plastic, metal and produce’.

Mrs Brown-Fuller also asked them to ‘consider making a financial donation to some local causes’.

She added: “I will continue to receive updates from West Sussex County Council; if there is anything particularly constituents would like me to ask/raise, please drop me an email or pop a comment here and I’ll do my best to get your questions answered.”

The containers which washed up were carrying fruit such as bananas and avocados, which were heading for supermarkets. According to www.petmd.com, the risk of avocados ‘outweighs the benefits’ for dogs.

The operation is being co-ordinated by West Sussex County Council, Arun District Council, and Chichester District Council, together with environmental specialists Ambipar.

They said their joint priorities ‘remain the safety of the public and protecting the environment’.

Dedicated waste management and segregation sites were established to ensure that all recovered material is handled and disposed of safely. As of Friday, the site in Selsey covered the size of around eight tennis courts, while the Bognor Regis site, set up on Thursday, December 11, covered roughly the size of two tennis courts.

The councils added: “To date, collection teams and volunteers have gathered approximately 19,000 litres of bananas, along with one and a half 40-yard skips of plastic and one 40-yard skip of mixed waste. A single 40-yard skip can hold the weekly household waste of around 25 to 30 families, giving a sense of the scale of material being recovered.

"We would like to remind anyone visiting the shoreline that the washed-up containers are not safe to enter or climb into. While some may look amusing or tempting to explore, especially those containing bananas, several are structurally weakened, may shift without warning, and contain broken metal and debris that could cause serious injury. Your safety is our priority, and we want everyone to enjoy the coastline without putting themselves at risk.

“The community response from people volunteering to support the work has been incredible and all agencies would like to extend their thanks again for the help so far.”

A lot of praise has been given to The Selsey Beach Litter Ninjas.

A comment left underneath the latest update from the volunteer group read: “This has been a remarkable response by volunteers to a tragic ecological event. But none of it would have been possible without the leadership of Donna Trethewey, who set up the Selsey Beach Litter Ninjas group three years before this event happened and who picks litter on the beach EVERY DAY.

“She has led this response strategically, whilst also been on the ground hauling large bags of litter herself right from the start. She is amazing and I know she'll be quite cross with me for writing this, but I think she really needs some recognition for her efforts.

“Thank you Donna, you're an incredible human-being.”