A big thing to be adrift – but thankfully its so big that everyone can see it and it poses little danger to shipping.
Experts have been called in to transport a ship’s giant fender from a Norfolk beach back to its moorings in a North Sea oil field.
Inflated rubber Yokohama fenders, like the one on Thornham Beach, protect quay walls and are used in ship-to-ship transfers at sea, the coastguard said.
Warnings were sent out over the past few weeks to shipping after the fender came free during a gale off Norway.
A team now aims to refloat it and return it.
The Coastguard and Maritime Agency traced the owners of the fender, which is 30ft (9m) long and 20ft (6m) high, using a number printed on its side.Its owner, a Dutch company, has now organised a team of experts to go to the beach in north-west Norfolk.
