Ship Collision Spills a Billion Plastic Pellets Into the River Tyne

On 19 July 2026, the vessel Wind Orca struck the berthed BG Orange at the Port of Tyne, releasing up to 25 tonnes of nurdles — plastic pellets used to make products — into the River Tyne. Roughly a billion pellets washed up near South Shields and spread toward Sunderland. The site sits under three miles from Marsden Bay, a major seabird colony. Nurdles absorb toxins and are nearly impossible to remove from marine environments.