LEGO pieces are washing up on Irish beaches 27 years after millions mysteriously spilled in ocean

It’s not uncommon to be walking along the beach and come across some trash or debris. But if you notice a LEGO toy among the sand , that may actually be an interesting piece of history.

LEGO pieces have been washing up on several European beaches for the past 27 years. In 1997, a cargo ship called the Tokio Express was on its way to New York from Rotterdam when it was hit by a rogue wave .

The ship lost all 62 of its shipping containers. In one of those containers were nearly 5 million LEGO pieces .

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Ramifications from the environmental disaster are still present today, as beachgoers in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Belgium and more still find the toys washed ashore. While the hunt for LEGOs may be fun, the historical event signifies a more concerning question about microplastics in our waterways.

Tracey Williams, author of Adrift: The Curious Tale of the Lego Lost at Sea , wrote about the community of people dedicated to finding LEGO blocks from that fateful day. She said there are some pieces that are more likely to be found than others.

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Among other items, there were 352,000 pairs of diver’s flippers; 79,680 spear guns; 26,600 life jackets; 50,000 brooms and 97,500 scuba tanks. Some particularly sought after pieces are the 4,200 octopuses, 33,427 black dragons, and only 514 green dragons.

She said the best time to search for LEGO pieces is after high spring tides and strong onshore winds. They are often trapped in sand dunes and between rocks.

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She wrote in the book: “Over the years, ocean currents have swept the Lego vast distances – it’s been found in the Channel Islands, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Some oceanographers believe it could have drifted all the way round the world.

“Most of the Lego from the spill has never been found, however, and is thought to be lying on the seabed. Fishermen regularly haul up Lego, 20 miles off the Cornish coast. They find the bits that sank, while beachcombers generally find the bits that floated. That said, some of the Lego that originally sank is now making its way ashore, swept long distances by seafloor currents.”

A Facebook Page called Lego Lost At Sea documents the exciting occasions when a piece is found. In a recent post, fisherman Richard West found a LEGO shark in one of his nets 20 miles south of Penzance.

There were 51,799 sharks among the nearly 5 million LEGO pieces. The post said it’s the first shark to be found since the spill in 1997.

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