Millions of cigarettes to come ashore in Cornwall
It was one of 517 to fall from the deck on the Bay of Biscay during storms earlier this month.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is arranging recovery of the Maersk container which landed in the early hours today (Sunday) but have been delayed by the high tide.
Police officers who have cordoned off the beach have issued a stern warning to anyone hoping to pick up a free packet of soggy cigarettes.
A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: “At the moment the container is still in shallow water and is floating, so is not accessible.
“We will wait to see if it does come ashore with the high tide or float off again, but the police and the MCA were expecting it, and arrangements are in place to recover it.
“It was reported by a member of the public at 8.10am this morning and officers are on scene to make sure no one puts themselves at risk to recover anything.
“The contents belong initially to the original owner of the container, and then to the official Receiver of Wrecks, so anyone taking anything that washes ashore, even one packet of cigarettes, is effectively committing theft and will be prosecuted.
“If challenged by police at the scene, they have no option but to hand back what they have recovered.
“So the message to anyone intending to go down there looking for free fags is don’t bother.”
The 1998-built ship was reportedly heading from Rotterdam to Sri Lanka when the containers toppled into the sea after it was caught in a fierce storm on February 14.
It is understood they fell into the water when six compartments of the ship, known as ‘bays’, tilted over as winds forced the ship to roll up to 40 degrees.
None of the crew was injured, but it is reported to be the biggest loss of containers that Maersk has ever suffered.
It is thought some of the containers were empty and many have already sunk.
The police spokesman added: “We’re told most of them would have sunk or washed up in France, but this was one that bobbed its way all the way to here,” said the police spokesman.
“The police and the MCA were expecting it, we just did not know where on the coast it would arrive.”
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