Mystery object washed up on stinky shore
Virgil:
December 29th, 2007
You’ve taken your dog for a walk on Poll Na Crann beach - known locally as Stinky Bay - and the worst you expect to find is the smell of fermenting seaweed. However it was a lot more fishy when such a dog-walker stumbled upon a huge unidentifiable metal container measuring 27 metres high. The tank, which is so large it can be seen as you pass in a car, was washed up on the west coast of Benbecula, in the Western Isles.
The huge object has been described as looking like a “silo”. It has no marks apart from two numbers, which experts are trying to use to identify the tank’s origin. It is thought that the object fell from a ship, and is probably a bulk storage tank containing liquids. However, despite this sordid diagnosis the incongruent object has been a source of intrigue among the local population. Alasdair MacEachen, assistant director of environmental services at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, commented that:
“It’s certainly generated a fair bit of interest with people walking on the beach or just travelling along the road, because you can actually see it from the main road along the west side of Benbecula. It’s a big object so you can’t miss it, and it’s not often you see something like that on the beach.”
The authorities are considering anchoring the object down - not to make it a permanent tourist attraction, but rather to avoid any tragedies. As it was so precariously brought to shore, it is likely to continue roll over as the tides wash by, and an object of that size could be fatal to anyone caught in the way of its movement. Furthermore, they want to avoid the silo from rolling back out to sea, where it could become a hazard to any closeby ships. MacEachen continues:
“Although it looks as if it’s empty and it’s been ruptured, my advice would be not to go too close to it. It’s a fairly light construction so you don’t want it rolling on top of someone, and with that sort of thing you can never tell. My advice would be to just observe it from a distance.”
One can only wonder how such a huge object managed to disappear from a ship without being noticed, and how it managed to get washed all the way back up to shore?