Mariners should stay alert for any more floating logs drifting around Bermuda after investigations into the mystery of the giant poles washing ashore since September indicate there could be more than 300 still bobbing around in the Atlantic from the same source.

At least a dozen huge logs, some up to 80 feet in length, have been found either washed ashore on beaches around the Island, or floating in the shallows creating a hazard to watercraft and shipping. Beachcombers have been helping with the identification by securing details from tags attached to some of the poles and these have been passed to world-famous beachcomber Curtis Ebbesmeyer in Seattle, who informed earlier this month that the logs appeared to have come from a shipmentfrom Texas to Oman.

Bermuda Harbour Radio now believes the logs were lost from a shipment on the 156-metre bulk carrier in June.

It has established this from markings and coding on the logs, which point to the logs originating from a wood preservation company in Eugene, Oregon before being taken to Houston for shipment. ?It is currently believed that up to 350 of the creosote treated Douglas fir poles may have been lost overboard from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines registered vessel on June 5 during bad weather when the ship was some 765 miles east southeast of Bermuda,? said Bermuda Harbour Radio in a statement this week.

?The US shippers were still awaiting final confirmation on the quantity lost overboard based upon what was discharged at the delivery port in Oman.?

In the interests of safety, mariners are being requested to keep a sharp lookout and report any sightings of further poles to Harbour Radio so that other mariners in the area can be alerted. Logs that drift close to shore or end up beached will be dealt with ?case by case?.

The statement adds: ?While there is always the possibility of collision at sea with any number of floating hazards the quantity of logs involved with this incident should have anyone engaged in offshore activity particularly concerned. The Bermuda boating public is advised to continue to be extra vigilant and reduce speed on the water, particularly at night, to avoid a serious collision from occurring.?