Beach Scavengers - Salvage or Theft?

Perhaps it was the film ‘Whisky Galore’ which turned the idea of appropriating goods washed ashore from a wreck into a romantic notion. Prior to that wreckers were seen on a par with highway men and smugglers. Though, for obvious reasons, there are few genuine records of ships being lured to their doom by Westcountry folk with lanterns pretending to indicate safe waters, there are plenty of accounts of instances where an unfortunate ship lost through bad weather or poor seamanship provided a bounty for those able to remove the goods before the authorities could prevent them. Even then, though, it was acknowledged to be illegal to take the goods away with the intention of keeping them.

It is therefore, perhaps, somewhat surprising to see the apparent ambivalence to the activities of the beachcombers of Branscombe.

The legal starting point is clear. All the goods washed ashore from MSC “Napoli” belong to somebody and probably not the individuals seen wheeling the motorcycles off the beach.

The goods being washed on to the beach at Branscombe fall under the description of “flotsam”. It is a legal requirement that all flotsam is reported to an official designated to deal with such matters called the Receiver of Wreck. This should be done by completing a form available from any Maritime & Coastguard Agency office.

Upon receipt of the form the Receiver of Wreck will investigate ownership of the items reported. The owner has one year in which to come forward and prove title to the property. During this statutory period the finder may be allowed to hold the goods on behalf of the Receiver of Wreck whilst the investigations are carried out. Goods recovered from within UK waters which remains unclaimed at the end of the one year statutory period becomes the property of the Crown and the Receiver of Wreck is required to dispose of it. This may be through sale or auction, although in many instances the finder will be allowed to keep items of unclaimed wreck instead of a salvage award. This is at the discretion of the Receiver of Wreck and each case is judged on its merit.

A salvage award will be determined upon the effort and any danger involved in recovering the goods. In the case of the Branscombe beachcombers, this is unlikely to be huge.

Removing the goods and not completing the report form is simply theft with potential fines of up to £2,500 per offence. Additionally, any rights to a salvage award would no longer exist; indeed, in such circumstances the real owner of the goods could demand twice the value of the goods from the individual concerned.

This, combined with the apparent danger from unknown chemicals and substances means that unless and until the MCA request assistance in clearing up the debris from this area of outstanding natural beauty it is much safer simply to leave it to the professionals.