Onions and chips keep washing up on England’s south coast. Here’s why
Vegetables, chips and insulation wash ashore English beach
- Over the festive period, some 40 shipping containers fell from vessels during storms, with goods like vegetables, chips, and insulation foam washing up on England's south-east coast.
- While millions of containers are shipped globally each year, losses are relatively rare, averaging 1,274 containers annually over the past decade, though this figure can fluctuate significantly.
- Spilled containers offer oceanographers unique opportunities to study currents but also pose serious risks, including hazardous contents and collision dangers for other vessels.
- Modern container ships are designed for efficiency, but severe storms can dislodge containers, particularly those stacked high, as forces can exceed the strength of their fixings.
- New international rules, effective from January 2026, will mandate ship owners to report all cargo losses, aiming to improve tracking and accountability amidst increasing storm intensity due to climate change.
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