news release
    29th March 2004

Campaigners from the environmental organisation Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) today re-enacted a scene from the RMS Mulheim ship crash at Lands End last year on the front steps of the Department for Transport in London. The delivery of a crumpled, scaled down version of the ship by oil-stained surfers highlighted their concerns to Shipping Minister David Jamieson MP, that the South West's coastline still remains at risk from a large scale shipping pollution incident.

One year on this week from the grounding of the RMS Mulheim, there has still not been a prosecution of the ships owner's despite a report published last summer by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch which highlighted a number of failings that contributed to the ships demise.

With no second crewman on watch, nor no navigational positions plotted on charts, the Chief Officer managed to get his trousers caught whilst getting up from his seat and subsequently knocked himself out. Whilst he remained unconscious the remaining crew slept. There was no alarm system set so the vessel was virtually on the rocks by the time the rest of the crew awoke.

Despite a concerted clean up by the local authority, surfers continue to report Mulheim plastic and foam appearing on the regions beaches in small amounts. Whilst the incident did not have all the tragic hall marks of a Prestige or Torrey Canyon, the waste from the Mulheim will be with us for years as it does not break down easily in the marine environment. A sample of the Mulheim's cargo SAS had analysed by Greenpeace laboratories also showed the presence of threatening PCB's which are known to bioaccumulate in the marine environment.

Whilst a prosecution has not yet been completely ruled out by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) believe that without one there will have been no environmental justice done.

Richard Hardy, SAS Campaigns Director said: "The emphasis is now on legislators to stop these disasters happening in the first place, as they are notoriously difficult to manage and control. SAS calls on the Minister to help the region be given a Particular Sensitive Sea Area Status (PSSA) in order to protect its uniqueness from the risks of large vessels carrying potentially hazardous cargoes".

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