The coastline where the MSC Napoli is grounded is part of Britain’s first World Heritage Site and an important area for wildlife. A sizeable leak of oils or chemical toxins would threaten corals such as the Devon cup and the rare pink sea fan, as well as scallops harvested by fishermen.

Only a dozen seabirds have, so far, been found covered in oil from spillages from the vessel but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has a specialist team on standby in case of more widespread pollution.

The prospect of oil or chemical seepage is being monitored closely by the Environment Agency, which fears that wildlife would be devastated by any widespread contamination.

“It is a grave concern as the area is a World Heritage site and along the coast there are many sites of special scientific interest,” Julian Wardlaw, of the agency, said. “Any oil will have a damaging effect on wildlife and so we are monitoring it very carefully and the RSPCA is dealing with oiled birds.”

Of the twelve birds found covered in oil, at least one was dead. They included guillemots, common scoters and razorbills.

Melissa Moore, of the Marine Conservation Society, said: “Our main concern is for the reef habitat and also the birds.” Brian Greenslade, the leader of Devon County Council, pledged support for efforts to protect the wildlife and coastline. He said: “Our emergency planning team is fully geared up for dealing with situations of this kind and has rigorous plans in place. We are dealing with several containers which have been washed ashore, and we are working with experts in locating the containers and making sure they are safe.

“We are also working with environmental pollution teams to try to minimise the impact of any oil pollution coming to shore. Our priority is to ensure that members of the public are safe, and that the impact on our historic coastline is minimised.”

Margaret Rogers, also of Devon council, added: “We are very concerned about the effects of any pollution from the ship on our World Heritage coastline and are doing everything we can to support the Coastguard Agency in a fast and efficient clean-up of the debris.”

Lyme Bay is considered an important natural bay boasting a high density of corals. The coastline is dubbed the Jurassic Coast because its geology reveals a 180-million-year record of evolution.

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