Islands hit as 270 containers fall off ship

As the extent of pollution became clear on five islands including Terschelling, coastguards searched the North Sea for missing containers.

The cargo fell off the MSC Zoe near the German island of Borkum, but the tide carried many of them to the south-west. Initial images showed children's toys and TVs on Dutch beaches.

But officials said three containers carried toxic substances, and Dutch and German coastguards warned local people to steer clear of them.

One of those containers had a cargo of peroxide powder, and a 25kg bag of the chemical was found on the island of Schiermonnikoog on Thursday, along with several containers and their contents.

MSC Zoe: Islands hit as 270 containers fall off ship

A storm call Zeetje with gale force winds hit the north of Germany late Tuesday night. The ship lost 270 containers as they bounced around on deck. Some waves were 33ft tall.

Free Tv's and toys are ok but I am sure the chems are unwanted.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Just goes to show, no matter how much we master the world around us, Mother Nature tops us all 1000 fold.

I do wish the best for crew members and their families.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

I doubt a television dipped in salt water is much good to anyone.

a reply to: theatreboy

The crew is fine. The containers just fell off the ship in a storm...

a reply to: Bluntone22

Thanks, always good to hear.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Man they package and make them good these days, just sit it in the sun for a few hours.

Can't you tell from the twitter pic

a reply to: LookingAtMars

Or just fill your bathtub with rice and stick it in there for a couple days. Should work fine.

dang... I would LOVE to find a bag of peroxide. So many experiments I could do with 25kg of it...

also fyi "solid peroxide" is usually sodium percarbonate. Which isn't really toxic, but in high concentrations could be a burn hazard as it breaks down into soda ash, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Sodium Percarbonate+Water--->Hydrogen Peroxide+ Soda Ash---> Hydrogen + Oxygen + Soda Ash