The container is about 27m high and is thought to have fallen from a ship. Picture by Allan MacDonald
Posted on 12/30/2007 8:47:38 AM PST by yankeedame
Last Updated: Saturday, 29 December 2007, 15:17 GMT
The container is about 27m high and is thought to have fallen from a ship. Picture by Allan MacDonald
Experts are trying to identify a huge metal container that has been washed up on a beach in the Western Isles. The tank, which is 27m high, has no markings and is thought to have fallen from a ship before being washed up on the west of Benbecula.
It was discovered by a dog walker on Poll Na Crann beach - known locally as Stinky Bay - near Griminish.
Stornoway Coastguard is using two numbers on the container to try to find out where the item has come from.
The beach is known as Stinky Bay because of the fermenting seaweed found there.
Alasdair MacEachen, assistant director of environmental services at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar told BBC Scotland: "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.
Although it looks as if it's empty and it's been ruptured, my advice would be not to go too close to it
Alasdair MacEachen Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
"It's a big object so you can't miss it, and it's not often you see something like that on the beach.
"It would be standing almost 30m tall and really looks pretty much like a silo. I think it's a bulk storage tank of some sort, possibly for storing some liquids."
Mr MacEachen said they may decide to anchor the container to the beach to stop it from floating out to sea and becoming hazardous to ships, but in the meantime he advised onlookers to keep a safe distance.
"Although it looks as if it's empty and it's been ruptured, my advice would be not to go too close to it," he said. "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."
You mean its Hillary’s nuclear-Vibrowhatever?
In the Book of Kells, perhaps? :-)
Dio, You rock! :)
Is it SkyLab?
My goodness, my Guinness!
Dio... you are the best!
(now I wonder how many hours it took you to find a silo picture that looked just like the one that washed up?)
From BBC 40 minutes ago
Beach container mystery resolved
The mystery of a huge container washed up on a beach in the Western Isles has been solved.
The 27m container has been identified as a beer fermentation tank belonging to the American brewery Coors.
The container was found by a dog walker on Poll Na Crann beach - known locally as Stinky Bay - near Griminish, on west Benbecula.
Stornoway Coastguard believed it fell from a ship but said none of the tanks had been reported missing.
A number of people contacted the BBC news website with theories as to the identity of the container.
One reader thought the numbers 5580 written on the container could have meant the container was used to house the chemicals used in DTD 5580, a three-part paint scheme used for aircraft all over the world.
Another website user thought it could have been a rocket stage previously launched from the South Uist launch site.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7165151.stm
A lost Coors beer tank?
“a beer fermentation tank belonging to the American brewery Coors.”
Coors does NOT make beer!
http://shenandoah.com/stories/?id=6123
Fourth overnight Coors tank transport set for Tuesday night
Another transport of four oversized fermenting tanks will travel Central Virginia’s roads overnight on Tuesday, March 14 and Wednesday, March 15. Motorists are advised to expect traffic delays during the transport operation on Routes 3, 29 and 33.
After leaving the staging area in King George County at 11 p.m. Tuesday the convoy will travel west on Route 3 through Fredericksburg to Culpeper, then south on Route 29 to Ruckersville in Greene County. From Ruckersville the tanks will travel west along Route 33, crossing the mountains to Route 649 in Rockingham County. The convoy will then travel Route 649 to Route 340, where it will turn onto Route 340 and continue to the Coors facility.
Motorists who travel the transport route should expect delays as the tanks travel through in the early morning hours Wednesday. When the tanks cross the Blue Ridge Mountains on Route 33 beginning at 8 a.m., Route 33 will be intermittently closed until the tanks clear the mountain crossing. Anyone who uses Route 33 between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. should consider an alternate route on Wednesday.
Lockwood Brothers, Inc. is moving 40 stainless steel fermenting tanks from King George County to the Coors Brewing Co. facility in Elkton, a distance of approximately 100 miles. The size of the tanks, each of which is approximately 70 feet long, 21 feet in diameter and 70,000 pounds, requires that extraordinary measures be taken to ensure the safety of those in the convoy as well as others traveling the convoy route. The tanks are part of Coors’ project to transform the Elkton facility from a packaging and distribution center into the company’s East Coast brewery.
The operation has been planned to avoid as much as possible disruptions to traffic along the transport route. The tanks will be moved in convoys that will travel through Central Virginia during the early morning hours each Sunday and Wednesday throughout March and early April. Once under way, the transport operation will be flexible dependent upon weather conditions.
The transport schedule will remain the same throughout the operation with the exception of one change between the Wednesday and Sunday runs. On Wednesdays the convoy will stop on the Route 33 bypass at Stanardsville until 8 a.m. to allow Greene County’s school buses to complete their routes. Route 33 will be closed beginning at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays to allow the convoy to cross the mountain. On Sundays the convoy will stop at Stanardsville until daylight; Route 33 will be closed and the convoy will begin the crossing shortly after dawn.
Portable message boards on the two-lane section of Route 3 east of Culpeper, on Route 33 west of Stanardsville and on Route 33 east of Elkton will advise motorists of traffic delays during the transports. The signs will be updated throughout the operation with information about the next scheduled transport. Information about the transport operation will also be posted on Virginia’s 511 system, which is available by dialing 511 on any telephone in Virginia and on the 511 Web site, www.511Virginia.org.
The transport plan has been carefully coordinated to minimize the effects on local schools, businesses and commuters. Virginia State Police will accompany the trucks to provide an escort and traffic control. In addition, a contingency plan has been developed to ensure that the transport does not interfere with morning commuter traffic along the Route 3 corridor.
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is responsible for ensuring that the transport complies with all regulations and assisted with the coordination of the operation to reduce travel impacts.
Contributed by the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Based in Golden, Colo., Coors Brewing Co. is adding a brewery to its East Coast distribution center in Elkton. The brewery is scheduled to open next year and will produce about 7 million barrels of beer annually.
The fermenting tanks, manufactured in Germany, were shipped to Hampton Roads and barged up the Rappahannock River to a landing at Farley Vale Farm in King George. Resembling rockets, the tanks have been stored nose to nose since they began arriving last fall.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2006/022006/02182006/169087
“Ah, good ol’ trustworthy beer. My love for you will never die.”
I wonder if this tank was one from the original German shipment of 30+ tanks and if it has been floating around for about a year. Or if it was a new replacement tank being shipped from Germany for a malfunctioning one that was in the original 30+ shipped tanks.
Coors Containers? Good catch, DioG.
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