Contractor DRS is using heavy machinery to clear away large amounts of timber washed onto Sussex beaches from the sunken Ice Prince.
The Swedish softwood arrived onto beaches in Littlehampton, Shoreham, Worthing, Brighton, and up to Beachy Head during the weekend.
The timber is being removed from the beaches by appointed contractor DRS, which conducted the clear-up operation in Devon last January when hundreds of containers washed onto beaches from the striken Napoli. Local authorities are attempting to find a buyer for the wood.
“People are being told that they can’t take the timber away,” Ted Moor, manager of Stamco Timber’s branch in Hove. “A police helicopter is hovering over the area using loudspeakers.”
Mr Moor said he did not think the glut of timber would affect the supply chain in the Sussex area. “When it dries out, it will be as bowed as anything,” he said.
SCA has confirmed that it had sold 4,600m³ of timber to a Swedish customer, which had been shipping the wood on the Ice Prince to Egypt when the ship ran into trouble, losing its deck cargo of about 2,000 tonnes of timber.
Worthing Borough Council has told the public that under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 it was an offence to keep any of the wood cargo.
Police have ben given powers by the Receiver of the Wreck, and anyone removing timber could be fined up to £2,500.
However, the Worthing Herald reported that young people had built a small beach house with some of the wood.
