Volunteers on Orkney are collecting truckloads of debris washed ashore from the fishing boat Genesis, which ran aground off the west coast of Hoy on 1 October and was subsequently battered by heavy seas, with footage showing it breaking apart; all 17 crew members were rescued.
Since the grounding, fishing boxes, pallets, parts of the vessel and items such as welly boots, thought to have belonged to crew members, have been washing up along the coastline, buffeted by recent storms. Those clearing beaches at Rackwick Bay told the BBC they expect to keep finding wreckage for months or years.
One volunteer, Hannah Findlay, spotted green fishing boxes strewn across a beach near Skail, about 30 miles from Hoy, a week after the incident. "I thought 'right, well I've got to do something about this,'" she said. "The sea can be really ferocious here and it's just smashing it against the rocks - the stuff is just breaking up." She began collecting on her own, then enlisted a friend and joined other volunteers. Findlay said teams were beginning to see the "innards" of the boat, including wooden structures and bunks, along with more unusual items. "We were just chatting this morning about how much Sellotape we have been finding and that's got to be coming off this boat," she said. "Most of what was on there we'll be finding for months or years to come."
Alan Tulloch told BBC Scotland News the volume of plastic is visible from planes, and that recent storms have buried debris which will wash up later. "The majority of the material is still there. Thousands of bits of now pretty broken up plastics. There is ropes and lines and bits of the cabins too," he said. "It's extremely inaccessible, you are straight into the Atlantic. There are rocks the size of transit vans. We are just trying to gather as much as we possibly can. It's going to be a long process." Collected waste is loaded onto a trailer and taken to a waste centre on Orkney's mainland.
Last week, during calm weather, a volunteer team used a boat and a rigid inflatable boat to get close to the wreckage site. HM Coastguard previously said the amount of diesel on board was believed to be minimal, and its counter-pollution team was liaising with the vessel's owner over potential salvage. Four of the crew were from Spain and the rest from Indonesia; all have left the island.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The wreck is releasing plastics and other debris that will keep washing up on Orkney's beaches, affecting the coastline and its wildlife.
- The clean-up is a volunteer-led effort in a remote, storm-exposed area, highlighting the difficulty of responding to shipwrecks in such conditions.
- It raises questions about salvage and pollution control for vessels that break apart in inaccessible Atlantic waters.
Background
Orkney is an island group off Scotland's north coast, exposed to strong Atlantic storms. The Genesis, a fishing boat, ran aground on 1 October and was later battered apart by heavy seas; all 17 crew were airlifted to safety. The wreckage has been dispersing along the coast ever since.
Key Perspectives
- Hannah Findlay, volunteer: said she felt she had to act after seeing green fishing boxes on a beach, and that the sea is "smashing it against the rocks".
- Alan Tulloch, volunteer: said the majority of the material is still at the wreck site and that the clean-up will be a long process because the area is extremely inaccessible.
- Volunteers at Rackwick Bay: told the BBC they will be finding parts of the wreckage for months or years to come.
What to Watch
- Whether further storms expose more buried debris along the coastline.
- Progress of salvage or counter-pollution operations by HM Coastguard and the vessel's owner.
- How long volunteers can sustain the clean-up effort.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
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- SupportedVolunteers are clearing truckloads of debris from the wrecked Genesis fishing boat.BBC Scotland: “Volunteers have been collecting truckloads of debris washed ashore from a fishing boat which ran aground and dramatically smashed apart off the west coast of Orkney.”
- SupportedParts of the Genesis, fishing boxes and items thought to be crew belongings continue to wash ashore after it ran aground.BBC Scotland: “Since then, fishing boxes, pallets and parts of the vessel itself have been washing up along the coastline, buffeted about by recent storms. Items also include personal belongings such as welly boots, thought to have belonged to members of the crew.”
- SupportedThe Genesis ran aground off Hoy’s west coast on 1 October.BBC Scotland: “The Genesis fishing boat struck rocks off the west coast of the island of Hoy on 1 October.”
- SupportedThe boat was battered by heavy seas, and footage showed it breaking apart.BBC Scotland: “The Genesis was left stranded on rocks after the incident and was subsequently battered by heavy seas, with footage showing the vessel breaking apart .”
- SupportedAll 17 crew members were rescued.BBC Scotland: “All seventeen members of its crew were airlifted to safety.”
- SupportedPeople clearing debris at Rackwick Bay told the BBC they expect to find wreckage for months or years.BBC Scotland: “Those picking up the debris at Rackwick Bay told the BBC they will be finding parts of the wreckage for "months or years to come".”
- SupportedFindlay said, “I thought 'right, well I've got to do something about this,'” to BBC Scotland.BBC Scotland: “"I thought 'right, well I've got to do something about this,'" she told BBC Scotland.”
- SupportedFindlay said, “The sea can be really ferocious here and it's just smashing it against the rocks - the stuff is just breaking up.”BBC Scotland: “"The sea can be really ferocious here and it's just smashing it against the rocks - the stuff is just breaking up."”
- SupportedFindlay said, “We were just chatting this morning about how much Sellotape we have been finding and that's got to be coming off this boat.”BBC Scotland: “"We were just chatting this morning about how much Sellotape we have been finding and that's got to be coming off this boat," she said.”
- SupportedFindlay said, “Most of what was on there we'll be finding for months or years to come.”BBC Scotland: “"Most of what was on there we'll be finding for months or years to come."”
- SupportedTulloch told BBC Scotland News that plastic was visible from planes and storms had buried debris that would wash up later; he described the debris as extensive and the clean-up as a long process.BBC Scotland: “Alan Tulloch told BBC Scotland News there is so much plastic is it visible from planes - and that recent storms have buried debris which will wash up in time. ... It's going to be a long process.”
- SupportedA week after the grounding, Findlay saw green fishing boxes near Skail, about 30 miles from Hoy.BBC Scotland: “The week after the grounding, Hannah Findlay was walking her dog near to Skail - about 30 miles (48km) away from Hoy - where she saw lots of green fishing boxes strewn across the beach.”