ENVIRONMENT
The shipwrecked Lego washing up on Europe’s beaches
September 4, 2024 - A freak wave tipped 62 containers from a cargo ship off the UK coast 27 years ago, with one filled with five million Lego pieces which are still washing up on beaches today.
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On February 13, 1997, a rogue wave off the coast of Cornwall, UK, tipped 62 containers off the Tokio Express cargo ship, one of which contained nearly five million pieces of Lego.
Over the ensuing 27 years since the accident, and somewhat ironically, the largely ocean-themed building toys have been washing up on beaches around the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands.
The most common Lego items to be found include Minifigure flippers (of which there were 352,000 in the container), scuba tanks (97,500), cutlasses (92,400), spear guns (79,680) and life jackets (26,600).
But some items are far rarer than others such as octopuses (4,200) and green dragons – which are the real find for collectors as there were only 514 of those originally on board.
The majority of pieces found have been items which float, however, some bigger bricks which don’t are starting to resurface.
On August 2, 2024, a fisherman’s net off the coast of Penzance, pulled up a Lego shark from the depths – the first to be found since the accident and one of 51,800 that were in transit on the Tokio Express from Rotterdam to New York.
It may be fun for beachcombers to look out for Lego washed ashore, but some combine it with a love for the ocean and surrounding environment.
Tracey Williams advocates for cleaner seas as well as operating the “Lego Lost at Sea” Facebook page. She also penned a book on the subject, “Adrift: The Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea” (published by Unicorn).