Concerns raised as plastic pellets wash up after North Sea collision

Plastic pellets have washed up on shore following last week’s collision between the Stena Immaculate tanker and the containership Solong in the North Sea, raising concern among conservationist groups.

The UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said on Monday it was advised by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) of a sheen in the sea just off The Wash, which has been identified as “nurdles” – small pellets of plastic resin used in plastics production.

The nurdles, sized between 1-5 mm and weighing less than a gram, are likely to have entered the water at the point of collision, the coastguard said, adding that they are not toxic but can present a risk to wildlife if ingested.

Coastguard rescue teams and other counter-pollution specialists are conducting a retrieval operation along the shore between Old Hunstanton and Wells-next-the-Sea.

“This is a developing situation and the transport secretary continues to be updated regularly,” said Chief coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan.

Multiple wildlife and environmental organisations warned the nurdles can have a devastating effect on animals, including seals, puffins and fish.

“We’re very concerned about the nurdles and burnt material that is adrift at sea as well as being washed up along the Wash and the Norfolk coast following the tanker collision last week, and we will continue to support the authorities in their efforts to clean up the pollution,” said Tammy Smalley, Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust’s head of conservation.

“At this time of the year, there is also the risk that the birds return to their nests and feed the nurdles to their chicks. The plastic may also work its way up the food chain to larger marine mammals which feed on fish or smaller animals which have eaten nurdles,” she added.

Hugo Tagholm, executive director of Oceana UK, said the pellets can be trapped in the stomachs of wildlife and stop them eating real food, leading to starvation, warning that it’s nearly impossible to remove them from the ocean once they have entered it, and that they can become more and more toxic as they break down into smaller and smaller pieces.”

Sophie Benbow, the director of marine at the conservation organisation Fauna & Flora, noted that plastic pellets were “one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution globally and pose a grave threat to nature and coastal communities”.

“It is extremely concerning that the North Sea ship collision has resulted in a mass plastic pellets spill. Once lost into the ocean, these tiny pieces of plastic are almost impossible to contain,” she said.

Meanwhile, the ships involved in the incident remain stable, and salvage operations are ongoing.

Damage assessment of the Stena Immaculate confirmed that one tank containing jet fuel and one ballast tank containing seawater were affected by the impact, with about 17,500 out of 200,000 barrels onboard lost. The MCA said on Monday that there were “only small periodic pockets of fire” on the Solong which were “not causing undue concern”.