eBay removes looted ship items from site

LONDON: Internet auction site eBay has begun removing items for sale which were taken by scavengers from the wreck of a stricken cargo ship off south-west England.

Sophia Exelby, the Receiver of Wreck, said the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) had written to eBay after goods taken from the MSC Napoli began appearing on the site.

"We explained any sale of items was going to be a breach of legislation -- either it had not been reported and was therefore in breach of the Merchant Shipping Act, or is a breach of the Theft Act by selling stolen goods.

"Whatever way, any material from Branscombe that is for sale is illegal. We explained that to eBay and they have started taking stuff down already," Exelby said.

No one from eBay's British operation was immediately available for comment.

Police moved on Wednesday to prevent more beachcombers taking away items, warning they faced arrest if they do so and do not declare them before leaving.

Legislation allows items to be recovered from the beach as long as they are reported to the Receiver of Wreck within 28 days.

Storms in the English Channel last Thursday left the 62,000-tonne MSC Napoli with large gashes on both sides.

The container ship was deliberately run aground last weekend because of fears it would have broken up and sunk and has since spilt dozens of multi-coloured containers onto the shoreline.