Now plastic in the ocean is spoiling SHIPWRECKS: Divers find hoard of bottles and drinks cans in long-lost Royal Navy vessel HMS Invincible

  • Divers at Portsmouth Harbour found the 18th-century wreck full of plastic waste
  • Experts said it filled up with 'everything imaginable' since it was last dived on 
  • They said it is acting as a 'collection point' for waste, some of it decades old 

It has been undisturbed on the seabed since 1758 - but even this historical shipwreck is not safe from the blight of plastic pollution.

Divers searching the wreckage of HMS Invincible in Portsmouth Harbour were shocked to discover it was full of plastic bottles as well as drinks cans and fishing wire.

The Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust said the shipwreck had filled up with 'everything imaginable' since it was last dived on in the 1980s.

They said it is now acting as a 'collection point' for plastic waste, some of it dating back decades, in a shocking illustration of how little plastic decays over time.

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Divers searching the wreckage of HMS Invincible in Portsmouth Harbour were shocked to discover it was full of plastic bottles as well as drinks cans and fishing wire

The 74-gun Invincible sank in 1758 when its rudder jammed and it hit a sandbank near the Isle of Wight, before capsizing three days later - by which time all the crew had escaped unharmed.

Kevin Stratford, from the Marine Archaeology Sea Trust, said it is common for marine archaeologists to find shipwrecks filled with plastic pollution and that this plastic damages wildlife that has colonised the wrecks.

'The diving community has long been involved in cleaning up our oceans as we are the people who get to see the high level of pollutants first hand,' he told the BBC.

'Shipwrecks themselves are a form of pollution - they aren't meant to be there, but they do act as a haven for fish and wildlife.

'Because they stand up on the seabed, they stop material being buried and become an accumulation point for everything nasty in the water.' Among the rubbish found on HMS Invincible were old cans of 7up and pepsi, plastic piping and fishing paraphernalia.

Mr Stratford said: 'It gets in the way of the archaeology but is also highlighting the potential for this and other shipwrecks to act as collection points for rubbish.

Divers from the Trust, which has received a £2million grant for the recovery of HMS Invincible, have spent 47 days on the wreckage this year and a total to 57,889 hours on the seabed

Divers from the Trust, which has received a £2million grant for the recovery of HMS Invincible, have spent 47 days on the wreckage this year and a total to 57,889 hours on the seabed

The 74-gun Invincible sank in 1758 when its rudder jammed and it hit a sandbank near the Isle of Wight, before capsizing three days later - by which time all the crew had escaped unharmed

The 74-gun Invincible sank in 1758 when its rudder jammed and it hit a sandbank near the Isle of Wight, before capsizing three days later - by which time all the crew had escaped unharmed

'The material slowly breaks down in the wrecks and likely pollutes much of the marine life inhabiting them.' Divers from the Trust, which has received a £2million grant for the recovery of HMS Invincible, have spent 47 days on the wreckage this year and a total to 57,889 hours on the seabed.

They are planning to carry out further research comparing plastic pollution on shipwrecks that had been covered over since the 1980s with others that have been left exposed.

Earlier this month the scourge of plastic pollution in our oceans was highlighted when a washing up liquid bottle turned up on a beach almost five decades after it was produced.

The Fairy liquid bottle, found at Brean beach near Somerset, must be at least 47 years old as it still has a pre-decimal price offer on it. Decimalisation of the British currency occurred in 1971. 

WHAT ARE THE LATEST PREDICTIONS FOR THE FUTURE IMPACT OF OCEAN WASTE?

The amount of plastic in the oceans is expected to triple in just ten years, a report issued by the UK government in March 2018 warned.

This key environmental problem risks being ‘out of sight, out of mind’ with more known about the surface of Mars and the Moon than the deep sea bed, it added.

The toll of plastic pollution in the sea could be 150million tonnes by 2025 – treble the 50million tonnes estimated in 2015. 

Our oceans store carbon dioxide and heat while producing oxygen and food, the Foresight Future of the Sea Report stressed. 

On the growing blight of plastic pollution, the document warned this will leave a physical presence, accumulating on coasts or in particular areas of ocean.

The report also warned plastic litter on coasts can increase the risk of dangerous bacteria in the water, such as E.coli. 

It said efforts to reduce plastic pollution should focus on stopping it entering the sea, developing new biodegradable materials and public awareness campaigns.