Shipping line launches container clear-up operation
Volunteers and local authorities have helped clean up debris from the shores of the Netherlands and Germany over the past ten days.
Keystone
The MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has started cleaning up Dutch sea waters, ten days after the Swiss-based firm lost nearly 300 containers from one of its largest cargo vessels in a storm.
This content was published on
2 minutes
swissinfo.ch with Reuters/ug
“The clean-up will likely take months,” Dutch water authorities spokesman Edwin de Feijter said on Saturday. “The largest part of the debris has been located, but there are still parts missing.”
More than 250 containers, some holding hazardous chemicals, fell off one of the world’s largest container ships, the MSC Zoe, on January 2 in German waters near the island of Borkum during a North Sea storm.
Two salvage ships left the harbour at IJmuiden, near Amsterdam, on Friday, heading towards a container north of the tiny Rottumerplaat island, which is blocking an important shipping route between Germany and the Netherlands.
Work was planned to start at midday on Saturday, but rough weather looked set to delay the operation, De Feijter said, adding that 238 objects had been identified in the water so far.
“Those objects are not all entire containers, they can also be part of the cargo lost from broken ones,” he was quoted by the Reuters news agency.
Seventeen containers washed up on shore on several Dutch islands, with the debris of many others littering the islands’ beaches.
MSCExternal link, the world’s number two container shipping group, on Wednesday said it had made significant progress on the Dutch islands, with a total of 1,220 tons of debris collected so far.
The company thanked local authorities and municipalities as well as voluntary helpers for their support and warned bad weather could delay the clean-up.
Dutch authorities last week said they would hold MSC liable for the cost of cleaning up the waters.
Roughly 100 soldiers joined the clean-up operation last week, while local authorities and volunteers had already gathered up tons of waste from several kilometres of coastline.
MSC is the world’s second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity and it operates in all major ports of the world. Its headquarters are in the Swiss city of Geneva, a landlocked country in heart of Europe.
More
More
Shipping company to pay for container clear-up
This content was published on
Some containers, packed with car parts, TV screens, light bulbs, furniture, toys and other contents, have already washed up on the Wadden Island archipelago – which stretches through Dutch and German territory. The Dutch authorities have dispatched soldiers to help clear them. MSC said it would handle further clean-up operations, in collaboration with local authorities…
Is your place of origin, your Heimatort, important to you?
Every Swiss citizen has a Heimatort, a place of origin, but many have never visited theirs. What’s your relationship with your Heimatort? What does it mean to you?
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
‘Pressure will increase on Switzerland to invest more in defence’
This content was published on
Markus Mäder, Switzerland's state secretary for security policy, believes that more cooperation is needed in order to strengthen defence in Europe.
Just one in five Swiss attend a religious service at Easter
This content was published on
Only one in five people in Switzerland attend a religious service during the Easter period or give up meat or alcohol for at least one day of fasting. Around 25% of those polled see Easter primarily as a family holiday, according to the survey.
Major road disruptions continue after heavy snowfall in parts of Switzerland
This content was published on
The snowfall has ended in the southern Swiss canton of Valais, the cantonal emergency services said on Friday. Several roads, however, remain closed.
Swiss businessman gets prison term for asbestos deaths
This content was published on
Stephan Schmidheiny has been sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison by the Turin Court of Appeal in a case against the former Eternit executive over deaths linked to asbestos exposure in Italy.
This content was published on
Swiss imports and exports reached new heights in the first quarter, driven by the chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors. Shipments to the US rose sharply.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss-based traders scramble to adapt to sulphur shipping cap
This content was published on
It may not have a maritime coastline, but Switzerland will be on the front line regarding measures intended to make sea-bound transport greener.
This content was published on
Some containers, packed with car parts, TV screens, light bulbs, furniture, toys and other contents, have already washed up on the Wadden Island archipelago – which stretches through Dutch and German territory. The Dutch authorities have dispatched soldiers to help clear them. MSC said it would handle further clean-up operations, in collaboration with local authorities…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.