On the beaches of Cornwall you can find much more than just shells.
Ocean-themed Lego bricks including tentacled octopuses, diving gear, whales, diver’s fins, seaweed, rafts, life jackets, dolphins and dragons were among the five million Lego bricks lost at sea when the Tokio Express container ship was hit by a powerful wave, resulting in goods falling into the sea.
The wreckage spilled five million Lego bricks into the water, most of which were washed away. The collection of these plastic Lego bricks captured the hearts and minds of locals in the immediate aftermath of the accident, especially children who also held a contest to find the most bricks.
The Tokio Express was a container ship registered in Hamburg. It was built in 1973 and originally owned by Hapag-Lloyd. It changed hands and was acquired by Westwind International in 1997 and Falani in 1999, before being scrapped in 2000.
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Great Lego Spill
On February 13, 1997, the Lego Tokyo Express was en route to New York City from Rotterdam when it was hit by a 20-mile (32 km) wave at Land’s End, a headland in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. To the east is the English Channel and to the west, the Celtic Sea.
The Tokio Express tilted dangerously to one side by 60 degrees and then 40 degrees backwards, losing 62 containers. Among them was a container containing about five million Lego bricks, most of them made for sea-themed play sets, according to Lego Aquazone and Lego Pirates.
No one knows how the container was opened, but it released colourful Lego pieces that still wash up on Cornish beaches.
The LEGO pieces included 418,000 plastic flippers, 13,000 weapons, 4,200 octopuses, seaweed, dragons, figurines, 97,500 shipping containers, 26,600 lifeboats, 88,316 plastic flower baskets, over 18,000 reef and castle pieces.
These pieces of plastic have survived so long in the water that even in 2024, 27 years after the accident, also known as the Great Lego Spill, people are finding them on beaches or coastlines in England and as far away as Ireland and Belgium.
They have retained their shape and color and are often washed ashore or caught in trawl nets. In fact, pieces are said to have traveled much greater distances.
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Some pieces, such as octopuses and green dragons, are considered rare and sought after by bathers and collectors, while other pieces, such as flowers or seaweed, are usually sent for recycling.