Foam Washes Ashore Along NC Beaches

The Hapag-Lloyd vessel Paris Express faced severe weather Sunday evening, May 6, 2007 in the Atlantic Ocean. It was on its way from Savannah, Ga. to Norfolk, Va. Twenty-one containers went overboard due to the rough weather. Some of those containers unfortunately included packing polystyrene. None of the containers that burst when going into the water housed hazardous material. On the other hand, officials say that the Styrofoam could potentially be harmful to the National Seashore areas if it washed ashore. Nesting habitats for endangered turtles and some bird species in the two National Seashores along North Carolina are under a careful watch.

Hapag-Lloyd quickly contacted Moran Environmental Recovery so they could remove the foam immediately. Hapag-Lloyd is working closely in the clean-up efforts right along with the Unified Command (which includes the National Park Service and United States Coast Guard). Other agencies also involved include the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission, Carteret County Emergency Management, Dare County Emergency Management, Hyde County Emergency Management, and Currituck County Emergency Management to name a few.

Thirty workers from Moran Environmental Recovery from Davis, N.C. traveled to Cape Lookout to help pick up the foam. Twenty more of those workers are in Buxton and more are expected to arrive along the coast shortly. The Unified Command has established a community hotline at (252) 240-8144 for people to report any sightings of foam along the beaches.