Despite protests from environmentalists, Brazil has sunk an old aircraft carrier with toxic asbestos sheets in the sea. The ghost ship had been adrift at sea for months.
Brasília/Recife – Despite protests from environmentalists, Brazil’s navy has sunk a ghost ship in the Atlantic that had been wandering around for months and was equipped with toxic asbestos sheets. The six-decade-old warship was “controlled” sunk about 350 kilometers off the coast of the country on Friday afternoon (local time), the Brazilian Navy said.
Brazil sinks ghost ship: protest against “environmental crime”
The former warship had previously been lost in the Atlantic for months. Brazil’s announcement that it would sink it had sparked violent protests. Environmental organizations spoke of an “environmental crime”. Robin Wood described the former aircraft carrier as a “30,000-ton poison package”.
The old French aircraft carrier São Paulo, which had been adrift for several months, had been scuttled in an area 350 kilometers off the Brazilian coast that is still legally part of Brazil. The sea is about 5000 meters deep there.
Geistschuff had been wandering the seas for several months
The former aircraft carrier has been adrift at sea off the state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil for several months. The Turkish company “Sök” bought it in 2021. But when the ship approached the Mediterranean from Rio de Janeiro, Turkey revoked permission to dock. It was brought back to Brazil, where it was also banned from docking because of the environmental risk. “Sök” threatened to abandon the ship.
Brazil’s environmental agency Ibama said in January that the aircraft carrier, once owned by the French Navy, is not carrying toxic cargo but does contain asbestos insulating panels. The authority suggested disposing of the ship in an environmentally friendly way in an approved shipyard. Environmentalists have criticized the decision to sink it. (dpa / AFP)
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