28-tonne pontoon washed up

The emergency began at the weekend when two of the expanded polystyrene-filled concrete structures were swept from the deck of a ship in the weekend's storm.

Coastguards including those at Bexhill were put on the look-out for the pontoons.

The barge-like structures are designed to float low in the water, buoyed-up by their expanded polystyrene filling. Coastguards said they would have been difficult to spot from the bridge of a ship and presented a considerable hazard to shipping.

The Solent-based Coastguard helicopter India Juliet spent much of Monday attempting to spot the pontoons. Dick Rowsell, Coastguard Station Officer at Bexhill, said on Monday afternoon that one pontoon had washed ashore at Herbrand Walk, the other at Cuckmere Haven.

"A salvage team from Newhaven have a Land Rover down on the beach at Herbrand Walk and a line on it so it can't float off again with the tide.

"The thing has been floating around for a couple of days. It is a considerable hazard because if one of the high-speed ferries hit it there would be trouble.

"The team is hoping to strip out the polystyrene so it does not float out again on the next tide."

At the scene, Gordon Amos of Titan salvage said: "It is a ferro-concrete pontoon. Two of them were deck cargo on the Othonia, bound for Southampton. The pontoons were going to a yacht marina at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

"But they broke free in the storm and went over the side in about 50 fathoms of water."

The pontoon lay beached and overturned. One of its concrete sides had been smashed, exposing the expanded polystyrene-filled interior. Steel reinforcing rods stuck out at angles.

"We shall have to take the polystyrene out and use cutting torches to get the reinforcing rods off in case someone hurts themself on them.

"Then we'll just have to break up the concrete and remove it. I would think there is about 15 tonnes remaining. It will be a couple of days before we get this little lot sorted..."