20 000 dead seabirds coils along the Dutch coast: link with lost containers?

Scientists try to find out why the past few weeks some 20,000 dead guillemots along the Dutch coast are washed up.

The birds were all emaciated and there is concern that they have been the victim of the lost cargo of the MSC Zoe container ship, of which 345 containers in the sea have fallen during a storm.

Read also the Container ship had lost even more containers than expected in the North sea

The bad weather may be the access to food of the seabirds more difficult, but then the problem is not only limited to the Dutch coast, according to Mardik Leopold, zeevogeldeskundige of the University of Wageningen.

Although the guillemots perhaps plastic pellets have been swallowed, is a leakage of paraffin wax or palm oil may be more likely. On the island of Terschelling, where many containers of the MSC Zoe washed up, was also paraffin on the beaches found.

Dozens of guillemots were rescued and are cared for in a number of centres, where many will be fed with tubes because they are so weak. “We have seven crops, but the other four have to arrive before we make them a wash can give,” says Hetty Sinnema of the Fûgelhelling centre. According to her, the problem lies in their intestines, but she finds it still too early for the container ship to blame for the disaster.

The MSC Zoe lost at the beginning of January certainly 345 containers and not 291, as was initially reported. The loss of the containers was done on the North sea, a part of the load came ashore on the Dutch coast.