The Federal Court of Pernambuco banned the mooring in the state of a tugboat carrying an old Navy aircraft carrier, sold as scrap to a Turkish company and suspected of carrying toxic material.
The decision was taken this Wednesday (9) at the request of the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Pernambuco and the Suape Industrial Port Complex, which allege risks of environmental damage. The Court also determined a daily fine of R$ 100 thousand in case of non-compliance with the decision.
The vessel carries around ten tons of asbestos, a product considered carcinogenic and whose sale was banned in Brazil in 2017. There is also a suspicion that the vessel is contaminated with other toxic and even radioactive waste.
The Navy denies that the vessel presents health risks and says that the entire process of selling the ship was conducted “in full compliance with current Brazilian and international legislation”.
With 226 meters in length and approximately 33 thousand tons, the aircraft carrier São Paulo was the largest warship in the Brazilian Navy fleet, with capacity to carry more than 1,000 crew and 40 aircraft.
It was deactivated in 2018, auctioned in 2020 and auctioned for R$10.5 million by the Turkish shipyard Sök Denizcilik Tic Sti, specialized in ship dismantling.
The tug with the aircraft carrier left Rio de Janeiro in August for a shipyard in the city of Aliaga, Turkey, where it would be dismantled and turned into scrap. The trip generated protests around the world and was being 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.
Since then, the vessel returned to Rio de Janeiro, where it did not dock by decision of the Navy, and from there it went to Pernambuco. The ship has been off the coast of Pernambuco since the beginning of October, unable to dock at the port of Suape.
On Tuesday (8), the Navy communicated to the port of Suape a berthing operation by arribada – when the terminal is forced to receive the vessel, even if it has not been authorized by administrative means. Faced with the decision, the Government of Pernambuco appealed to Justice.
In the lawsuit, the Government of Pernambuco alleges that the ship’s mooring represents a health and environmental risk, since it has an “infinitely greater” toxic load than the declared one and the cadmium hull paint has indications of being radioactive.
It also points out that there is a nautical risk, with the possibility of the vessel sinking in the access channel or in the cradle of the port that would make its entire port operation unfeasible, in addition to the risk of abandonment, since the ship was prevented from docking in Turkey.
Responsible for the transport of the former aircraft carrier, the company MSK Maritime Services and Trading reported that it complies with international standards related to the recycling of vessels and that it is awaiting a resolution from the Brazilian authorities.
The company also highlighted that it is studying adopting legal measures due to the environmental damage caused by the action brought by the Government of Pernambuco.
“While the ship is still awaiting the decision of the authorities, around 20 tons of fuel are consumed for the tugboats to support the ship”, explains the company’s lawyer Zilan Costa e Silva.
The company also claims that the vessel did not reach its final destination “due to false news that led the Turkish environmental authority, under the precautionary principle, to suspend the authorization, thus fulfilling the determination of the Basel Convention”.
I have over 8 years of experience working in the news industry. I have worked as a reporter, editor, and now managing editor at 247 News Agency. I am responsible for the day-to-day operations of the news website and overseeing all of the content that is published. I also write a column for the website, covering mostly market news.
