Volunteers across Orkney have been collecting truckloads of debris washed ashore from the Genesis, a fishing vessel that ran aground and broke apart off the west coast of the island of Hoy on 1 October. All seventeen crew members were airlifted to safety without injury, but the wreckage has created an ongoing environmental cleanup challenge. According to BBC News, fishing boxes, pallets, wooden structures and personal belongings continue to wash up along the coastline, buffeted by storms.
The Genesis was a Spanish-owned, UK-flagged vessel that struck rocks near the Old Man of Hoy landmark. Vessel tracking records indicate the boat subsequently broke into three sections—the stern, wheelhouse section and foreship—after an initial plan to refloat it failed. The captain, Alejandro Abuín Prado, reportedly believed a communication failure on board caused the accident.
Since the grounding, volunteers have been working to clear beaches of the scattered debris. Hannah Findlay began collecting items near Skail, approximately 30 miles (48 kilometres) from Hoy, about a week after the incident. She observed green fishing boxes strewn across the beach and decided to take action.
I thought 'right, well I've got to do something about this,' she told BBC Scotland. The sea can be really ferocious here and it's just smashing it against the rocks - the stuff is just breaking up.
On her first day, Findlay collected around 30 to 40 boxes. She enlisted help from a friend and joined other volunteers working along the coast to manage the cleanup effort. The teams have discovered increasingly unusual items as the wreckage continues to disperse, including life rings, welly boots thought to belong to crew members, and unexpected objects such as Sellotape.
Findlay explained that the scale of the debris field means recovery will take considerable time.
Most of what was on there we'll be finding for months or years to come.All waste collected has been loaded onto trailers and transported to a waste centre on Orkney's mainland.
What is the extent of the debris field?
The amount of plastic scattered across the waters and beaches is substantial enough to be visible from aircraft. Alan Tulloch, a volunteer coordinator, told BBC Scotland News that the majority of the material remains at the wreck site, with thousands of pieces of broken plastic, ropes, lines and cabin sections still present. He described the location as extremely inaccessible, with rocks the size of transit vans surrounding the grounded vessel and direct exposure to the Atlantic Ocean making recovery operations hazardous.
We are just trying to gather as much as we possibly can. It's going to be a long process.
During a period of calm weather last week, a team of volunteers used a boat and a smaller rigid inflatable boat (RIB) to venture closer to the wreckage site and retrieve additional debris. However, recent storms have buried material that will continue to wash ashore over time, extending the cleanup timeline.
What was the environmental impact?
HM Coastguard previously stated that the amount of diesel on board was believed to be minimal. The coastguard's counter-pollution team liaised with the vessel's owner and relevant authorities over potential salvage operations and environmental protection measures.
What is the investigation status?
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's Regulatory Compliance Investigations Team is investigating the grounding, while the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has completed a preliminary assessment. The MAIB will decide whether to launch a full investigation after reviewing evidence from its preliminary assessment, according to reporting from local sources.
What happened to the crew?
All 17 crew members were rescued without injury during the initial incident. Four of the vessel's crew were from Spain and have since returned home. The remaining members of the crew are from Indonesia and have also left the island following their evacuation.
