A ship that has caused a lot of headaches.
Just over a week ago, a crippled cargo ship, the MSC Napoli, carrying 2400 containers, was grounded on a sand bank near Branscombe in Devon. The ship was repaired a few years ago and heavy weather tore away at the old repair leaving a gaping hole in her hull. She was grounded as it was feared she would sink before reaching a nearby port.
Many of you probably watched TV pictures of the stranded, ailing ship as she listed heavily over and tossed 100 or so of her containers into the sea. The story was huge in Britain due to the environmental hazards (oiled coast, seabirds in distress etc), and, more notoriously, for the hundreds of scavengers who poured onto the beach to "salvage" goods from washed-up containers. Some happy "pirates" rode away on expensive BMW motorbikes. They have been called looters, thieves, scavengers and a lot of other things but it is none of my business.
Interestingly, and purely by accident, I came across an article (see link below), about Volkswagen South Africa. The factory issued a statement a few days ago that a four day week was in the offing due to a reduction in production. The reason: The good ship Napoli had been on her way to Cape Town with vital car parts for VWSA. The containers (on board, in the sea, on the beach~no longer), have car parts for BMW and other dealerships, motorcycles (minus a few) for BMW , hundreds of oak wine barrels destined for an SA wine estate, and, sadly the personal possessions of families moving to South Africa.
A single photo in a frame, washed up on a beach in Devon, represents the total belongings lost to a family somewhere. Needless to say the beachcombers tossed the photo. Makes you want to weep.