The Turkish company Sök Denizcilik determined the return of the aircraft carrier São Paulo to Rio de Janeiro, in compliance with the determinations of the governments of Brazil and Turkey. The vessel is accused by environmental organizations of illegally exporting toxic waste.
The ship was purchased from the Brazilian Navy and was on its way to a shipyard in Turkey for dismantling. At the end of August, Turkey suspended authorization to receive the vessel. Soon after, Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) canceled the export authorization.
This Friday (9), the vessel was off the coast of Morocco, where it spent the last few days waiting for a definition of its destination. But she was already sailing towards Brazil. “We have instructed the company that tows São Paulo to return to Brazil,” Sök said in a statement.
The company denies that it has failed to comply with the Basel Convention rules that deal with the export of toxic waste, but acknowledges that it may have delayed the delivery of documents relating to inspections on the vessel. The decision to return to Brazil, he says, obeys the determination of Ibama.
The São Paulo aircraft carrier was sold in 2021 for R$10.5 million. She was the largest Brazilian warship, with 31 thousand tons, 266 meters in length and capacity for up to 40 aircraft. Its armament consisted of three dual missile launchers and large-caliber machine guns.
Its export to Turkey was questioned by environmental organizations on the grounds that the inspection to analyze the amount of toxic waste failed to find less than ten tons of asbestos, while an aircraft carrier of the same class, the Clemenceau, had about 760 tons of asbestos. tons.
In the statement, Sök denies that São Paulo carries this volume of asbestos, a product that causes diseases such as cancer and asbestosis, an occupational disease that attacks the lungs. And it says it carried out a second inspection, as determined by the authorities.
“We work with the best companies in the sector in every detail to avoid any doubts,” he said. “However, we believe that the only point where we could be wrong was the delay in sharing information and updates about the project with the public.”
According to experts, in addition to detailing the amount of asbestos on board, the company should inform the countries in whose waters the aircraft carrier would sail on its trip to Turkey. Abrea (Brazilian Association of People Exposed to Asbestos) advocates that asbestos be inventoried and removed in Brazil, under the supervision of public institutions.
The ship’s voyage has been monitored in real time by Greenpeace and was the subject of protests in Turkey and a ban on passage along the coast of Gibraltar, British territory in the strait that gives access to the Mediterranean Sea. His arrival in Brazil is scheduled for October 2nd.
THE Sheet he has been trying to talk to the Navy by phone and e-mail since the end of August, when he published the first report on the subject, but received no response.
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