Mysterious object washes up on Southland beach

The mystery object. Photo / Supplied

Has the mystery of a 100m-long object that washed up on Te Waewae Bay in western Southland this week been solved?

Deputy harbourmaster Ian Coard said no one seemed to know what the long black object was or who it belonged to.

"The object has been washed on to the beach with an incoming tide and we are very keen on some help figure out what it is," he said.

"We've been to check it out today and attempted to move it with a couple of people, but it didn't want to budge."

The object was made of some kind of plastic and has metal loops in each end.

Herald readers have chimed in with their theories on what it might be.

Most said it was a boom used for containing and cleaning up oil spills.

Others said it was a polyethylene pipe, most likely intended for stock effluent, sewage or water.

Gordon McGahey of RX Plastics said it would have the manufacturer's name on it.

Lance Brown agreed, saying such pipes were towed at sea to transport them to different locations. That explained the plug at the end and the towing point, he said.

"By towing, long lengths can be easily moved and often many lengths are towed at one time.

"This is a relatively small diameter and length compared to some that are towed. I have towed 500m lengths [of] 1.2m diameter."

Other suggestions included a boom for aquaculture, an underwater power cable conduit, the bottom of a shark net, part of an ocean plastic gathering system, or part of an old military vessel.

Environment Southland was notified of the object earlier this week by a local constable.

The concern now was identifying it, locating an owner and getting it above the tide line so it doesn't become a navigational hazard.

People are encouraged to share their ideas on what this could be on Environment Southland's Facebook page or email them to service@es.govt.nz.

Photo / Supplied

Photo / Supplied

Photo / Supplied