It seems that after the container ship MSC Napoli was wrecked many car parts from BMW were washed ashore – much to the surprise of those who walk the beach. The ship was carrying containers full of BMW gearboxes and windscreens that washed up on the Branscombe Beach in East Devon.
One group alone used a pallet to pull about 50 gearboxes, worth at least £100,000, off the pebble beach. Others tried to wheel the heavy car parts inside barrels which had been washed off other containers or used prams and pushchairs as makeshift trolleys.
The beach was shut by police after the roads leading to it became clogged with looters who flocked to Devon from all over Britain hoping more booty would be washed up. The most famous cargo was a consignment of 39 £12,000 BMW motorcycles which were wheeled straight off the beach.
The removal of items from the beach was legal as long as salvors filed forms declaring their salvage to Sophia Exelby, the Receiver of Wreck. She has now started writing to the salvors telling them they can keep the BMW parts. BMW’s insurers have written off the loss because it would have been difficult to try to collect all the parts and check them for seawater or other damage. The German carmaker has offered to buy back the motorcycles for a salvage fee of around £3,000 apiece and is still negotiating with those who declared them to the Receiver of Wreck.
They are worried the bikes may be unsafe and want to buy them back for around £3,000 so they can destroy them. A spokesman for the Receiver of Wreck said:
“BMW have issued a statement to all finders pointing out that these parts are listed as damaged on the BMW parts database and should not be used or sold and that liability for them now rests with the finders. “At present, we do not have any plans for prosecutions in relation to Napoli recoveries.”
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