The waves have delivered thousands of face masks to Australia shortly before they will reach port. A cargo ship from China lost 40 of the containers it was carrying due to rough seas. Part of its cargo, medical supplies, appliances and construction materials, has ended up on the country's beaches. The Singapore-flagged APL England ship lost them last Sunday when it was maneuvering to head to the destination port, Melbourne, but bad weather conditions forced it to set sail for Brisbane.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received news that there were masks on various beaches north of Sydney, The Guardian reports , and related them to the loss of the ship's containers. On Wednesday, authorities were waiting to confirm whether the ship could safely reach Brisbane port.
Large areas of the affected beaches have been covered by masks. "When I got to [Coogee Beach in Sydney], the beach looked like a garbage dump. The entire left side was covered in face masks and entire unopened plastic-wrapped packages," says Aliy Pott, a resident of the zone. "I brought some extra gloves and two people came and helped me. We filled several garbage bags," he said. Groups of volunteers have turned up on the shore to help with the cleanup.
In an on-board inspection, AMSA found that, in addition to the 40 containers that fell into the sea, another 74 suffered damage and fell onto the deck of the ship. Once the ship is transferred to port, the authority will begin an investigation to determine if the cargo was well stacked and insured, and also if the accident involves any violation of environmental protection regulations.
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