Birds on their way to breed were the most seriously affected by an oil spill from a container ship grounded on the South Coast.

Adult male guillemots and razorbills were the most frequent casualties among the 3,000 birds affected by the spill from MSC Napoli in January. That so many were prime breeding birds is feared to have caused long-term damage.

The ship was grounded in Lyme Bay to prevent her sinking in deeper waters when the vessel developed a dangerous structural fault. Cargo washed up on Brans-combe beach led to a frenzy of looting.

Heavy oil leaking from the vessel caused slicks up to five miles long. At least 300 birds died, most of which were about to breed.

“Most seabirds have a low annual breeding rate, so this loss of breeding age, adult male birds is quite serious. Only time will tell to what degree,” said Mark Grantham, a scientist from the British Trust for Ornithology, Of the 300 bodies collected for examination, 168 were guillemots, 104 were razorbills, and there were several fulmars, gannets and gulls.

Scientists found that 77 per cent of the guillemots were of breeding age and a further 20 per cent were close to it. Among the razorbills, 82 per cent were of breeding age or close to it.

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