Large amount of marine litter removed from the ocean near Shetland
Andrew Hirst
Around 250 metres of plastic pipe has been cleared from the seas near Shetland thanks to a team effort.
Lerwick Port Authority (LPA), Shetland Islands Council and the cleaner seas network, Kimo, worked together to remove marine litter.
The debris was spotted during offshore survey work by research vessel Amundsen north-east of Unst and retrieved by the crew of Sanco Scorpio, a Norwegian seismic survey ship, while en route to Lerwick.
The heavy duty plastic pipe – 90mm in diameter and10mm thick – was cut into more than 50 manageable sections for secure storage on deck.
The LPA arranged personnel and transport for transfer of the 680kg of pipe to the SIC’s waste disposal facility for recycling, with the council’s nominal charge met by Kimo.
Julia Cant, network coordinator for Kimo UK, said: “This is a pretty amazing result.
“By working together in a spirit of goodwill, we’ve removed a very large and cumbersome piece of marine
litter from the ocean for good and at minimal cost.
“A huge thankyou to everyone involved.”
The LPA’s health, safety, environment, and quality manager Stuart Wadley, added: “Waste materials in the ocean are a serious threat to sealife, the environment and, potentially, shipping.
“In the ongoing battle to clean up, every little helps – although in this case, not so little.
“Sanco Scorpio’s crew deserve praise for their efforts and the example set for other vessels.
“We were pleased to play our part.”
KIMO international which spearheads the Fishing for Litter scheme, in which the LPA is a participating port.
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