Asbestos on aircraft carrier barred in Turkey poses no risk, says Navy

Accused by environmental organizations of illegally exporting toxic materials and banned from entering Turkey, the aircraft carrier São Paulo returned to Brazil last week and is facing the coast of Pernambuco being prepared for re-export.

In its first statement about the case, more than a month after the first contact with the Sheetthe Navy denies that the vessel presents health risks and says that the entire process of selling and transferring the vessel was conducted “in full compliance with current Brazilian and international legislation”.

The aircraft carrier was sold by the Navy to the Turkish shipyard Sök Denizcilik and Ticaret Limited, which specializes in ship dismantling. The vehicle left Brazil on August 4, on a trip that generated protests around the world and has been monitored in real time by Greenpeace.

Faced with complaints about the illegal export of asbestos, the Turkish government revoked authorization for the vessel to enter on August 26, when the ship was approaching the Strait of Gibraltar, on a trip made with the aid of a tugboat.

Soon after, Ibama (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) suspended the export license and ordered the ship’s return to Brazil.

The Navy says that, after the decision to demobilize the carrier, it opted to sell the hull for “green dismantling”, a safe recycling process for which the Turkish shipyard Sök is accredited and certified.

It also states that it determined in a public notice the fulfillment of requirements of international norms, such as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and its Deposit (1989); and the submission of an Inventory of Hazardous Materials.

The inventory counted just under ten tons of asbestos on board, a result questioned by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform based on the dismantling of a sister ship from São Paulo, called Clemenceau, which would have found 760 tons of the material, which causes lung diseases.

According to the Navy, São Paulo had already gone through a process of de-asbestos in the 1990s, with the removal of around 55 tons of material from the propulsion, catapult, auxiliary machines and diesel generators compartments.

“Additionally, it is relevant to mention that the asbestos currently existing in the ex-NAe [navio-aeródromo] São Paulo does not offer health risks, in the state it is in”, says the Navy.

“The procedures were carried out in full in accordance with the rules issued by Ibama, which is the national authority responsible for issuing the authorization for the export of hazardous or controlled waste under the Basel Convention”, says the note.

After the return trip, the aircraft carrier São Paulo was redirected from Rio de Janeiro to Pernambuco, where it is anchored while it completes the procedures for a new export, which, according to the Navy, are the responsibility of the purchasing company.

“Finally, it is worth noting that the MB [Marinha do Brasil} acompanhou o retorno do casco do ex-NAe São Paulo ao Brasil e permanece adotando as ações necessárias à segurança da navegação, salvaguarda da vida humana no mar e prevenção da poluição hídrica a partir de embarcações.”

Maior navio de guerra brasileiro, com 31 mil toneladas, 266 metros de comprimento e capacidade para até 40 aeronaves, o porta-aviões São Paulo foi comprado pela Sök por R$ 10,5 milhões em um leilão realizado em dezembro de 2021.

Sua exportação chegou a ser proibida por liminar judicial emitida no mesmo dia em que deixou o país a pedido do ex-militar Emerson Miura, que queria transformá-lo em um museu flutuante, inspirado no porta-aviões USS Intrepid, ancorado em Nova York.

Ao ser notificada da liminar, a Marinha informou que o pedido não poderia ser acatado porque a embarcação já estava em águas internacionais.