- MV Cita
On
26 March ,1997 , the 300-ftmerchant vessel MV Cita pierced its hull when running aground on rocks off the south coast of theIsles of Scilly in gale-force winds en route fromSouthampton toBelfast . The incident happened just after 3 am when the German-owned,Antiguan -registered 3,000 tonne vessel hit Newfoundland Point, St Mary's.The vessel
Of Antiguan and Barbudan registry, the "Cita" had a
gross weight of 3,083 tonnes, DWT|3,900|metric|first=yes, and capacity of TEU|241|first=yes. Adry cargo vessel built in 1976, she was owned and operated byReederei Gerd A Gorke , Germany.The wreck
The crew of the stricken vessel were soon rescued by
St Mary's Lifeboat , "RNLB Robert Edgar " with the support of aH-3 Sea King rescuehelicopter fromRNAS Culdrose .Many containers were washed up on the rocks and beaches of the Isles of Scilly, and many were found in the
Celtic Sea , travelling as far asCornwall .Locals were thankful that the wreck was mostly cargo, so the risk of pollution was much less than it could have been, such as in the aftermath of the "
Torrey Canyon " disaster. The specialist salvage vessel "Salvage Chief " removed 90 tonnes (98%) of fuel from the "Cita" before she sank, leaving only a minoroil slick . Oiled sand onPorth Hellick beach, part of the Isles of ScillySSSI , was removed by excavation. Three tugs were summoned to collect the containers drifting around the Celtic Sea.The wreck stayed above the surface for several days before sinking off the ledge into the deeper water further from the coast.
alvage and looting
The "Cita"'s cargo consisted of 200 containers, twenty of which remained onboard. Items such as computer mice, car tyres, tobacco, house doors, plywood, plastic bags, and women's summer shorts were among the contents of containers wrecked around St Mary's. Most locals assisted in the clean-up operation, removing the items from the coastline. Quinsworth bags, bound for Ireland, were used in shops for months following the wreck of the vessel. A couple of months later, St Mary's Quay had several containers moored alongside by local fisherman, waiting for them to be sold back to the shipping companies or for scrap.
People removing items from the shoreline for their own use could have been faced with prosecution, according to police at the time. Eight extra police were brought over to Scilly from mainland Cornwall to assist, taking notes of who was removing goods. Customs officers said that, under the Merchant Acts of 1894 and 1906, people are obliged to report recovered
flotsam to theReceiver of Wreck . There is no known case of police taking up criminal proceedings for the removal of the flotsam.Report
According to David Martin-Clark, the reason behind the wrecking of the cargo vessel was "the watch-keeping officer had fallen asleep and the watch alarm had been switched off."
References
* Larn, Richard & McBride, David (1998) "The Cita - Scilly's Own "Whisky Galore" Wreck". Shipwreck & Marine. ISBN 0-9523971-1-0.
* Brace, Matthew (1997) Scilly islanders in mad rush to grab ships cargo "The Independent ", p. 9, 27 March, 1997.
* Ship runs aground "The Times ", p. 2, 27 March, 1997.
* Gregorian, Darth (1997) Tide of fortune turns for islanders whose boat came in "The Times ", pp. 3 & 21, 28 March, 1997.
* Islanders face action for plundering grounded ship "The Independent ", p. 13, 28 March, 1997.
* Grounded ship 'a total loss' "The Times ", 29 March, 1997.
* Scilly Isles clean-up "The Independent ", p. 2, 1 April, 1997.
* Oil hits coast "The Times ", p. 6, 1 April, 1997.External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Shores/7006/97apr11.htm Wrecks] - 11 April, 1997
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