Banana containers clear-up operation begins

Work to clear up containers that came ashore after falling from a cargo ship is under way, councils have said.

Sixteen containers, mostly full of bananas, fell overboard off the Isle of Wight on Saturday, at about 18:00 GMT.

Councils in West Sussex said seven containers had washed up around Selsey, two at Pagham Harbour and two at Bognor Regis.

HM Coastguard said a helicopter and fixed wing aircraft had been searching for the missing containers.

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency broadcasted warnings to ships in the Solent after the containers came off cargo ship the Baltic Klipper near the Nab tower lighthouse, off Bembridge.

It said no crew members had been injured and the containers had been carrying "non-hazardous cargo".

The incident disrupted some shipping movements and the P&O Cruises ship Iona was delayed in departing from Southampton because of the obstruction.

West Sussex County Council, Arun District Council and Chichester District Council said they were leading the clean-up operation and had appointed a contractor to do the work.

Eight containers were carrying bananas, two had avocados, another plantain and five more were empty.

Anything that is found from the containers should be reported to HM Coastguard's Receiver of Wreck.

The Coastguard said anyone who failed to declare items within 28 days was breaking the law and may have action taken against them.

But it said "that will not include perishable goods" and "members of the public should comply with the instructions provided by the council".

Tesco labels can be seen on the bunches of fruit washing up on the shore.

The supermarket said it was already working with its supplier and had a good availability of bananas available in store and online.

Steve Wenham, from Portsmouth, who has worked on ferries in the Solent, said the Baltic Klipper was a refrigerated vessel specialising in soft fruits and was a "regular visitor" to the area.

"She normally does a round-robin trip every month from the Caribbean or West Africa," he said.

"If any containers have sunk they're not going to be a problem, but it's the ones that are still afloat, they're the hazard."