Türkiye requests new report from Brazil for aircraft carrier to be dismantled in İzmir
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After efforts by environmental groups, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has requested a new Hazardous Substances Inventory report from the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) regarding the São Paulo aircraft carrier.
The letter was sent five days after the start of the procedures for the ship's departure from Brazil.
The ship is set to be dismantled in the Aliağa ship breaking facility in İzmir, western Türkiye. It is currently off the Sahara coast and being towed towards the Mediterranean Sea.
The letter coded "urgent" was written by Eyyüp Karahan in the name of the General Directorate of Environmental Management. It said the following:
"With our relevant communication, we have given conditional approval to the preliminary notification form numbered BR231121 belonging to the old navy ship named 'Nae São Paulo', which was requested to be brought to our country for dismantling by the Sök Denizcilik ve Ticaret Ltd. Company.
"However, as a result of the reports in the press that the Brazilian Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction and dangerous substance notifications made to our ministry, the necessity have arisen that the Hazardous Substances Inventory Report of the old navy ship in question should be re-prepared before the ship comes to our country, when it is in Brazil's territorial waters.
"Within this framework, it is required to have another internationally authorized company prepare a Hazardous Substances Inventory Report again while the ship is in the Brazilian territorial waters before it comes to our country and the expenses related to this work should be borne by the Sök Denizcilik ve Ticaret Ltd. Company.
"In the Hazardous Substances Inventory Report to be prepared in compliance with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation format, locations of asbestos and other hazardous substances should be shown on the ship plan and photographs of the sampled areas should be included in the report.
"Within this scope, I request that the information and documents of the Brazilian Supreme Court decision and the new Hazardous Substances Inventory Report be conveyed to us so that the conditional approval of notification can be re-evaluated."
What happened?The NAe São Paulo, a decommissioned aircraft carrier belonging to Brazil's navy, is set to be dismantled in the Aliağa shipyard in İzmir, western Türkiye. A company named Sök Denizcilik got the contract for the dismantling of the vessel last year and was given clearance by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change on May 30. The size of the São Paulo vessel and the harmful materials that can be released by dismantling the vessel, including asbestos, caused environmental concerns. Minister of Environment Murat Kurum on July 18 dismissed the reports that the vessel contained 900 tons of asbestos and said it contained only 9.6 tons of asbestos, citing a survey report. When the vessel enters Türkiye's territorial waters, it will be once again examined by "experts with international competence" and will be sent back immediately if there is a dangerous situation, he had said in a statement on his social media account. The report cited by Kurum was prepared by the Grieg Green company, according to the Demirören News Agency (DHA), which said it had obtained the survey report including information on how much asbestos is found in which parts of the vessel. However, the sister vessel of São Paulo, Clemenceau, was revealed to be containing more than 500 tons of asbestos during its dismantling in the mid-2000s, Evrensel newspaper reported. The government of France, which had built both vessels, initially stated in 2005 that the ship contained 160 to 200 tons of asbestos. Before the ship was dismantled in the UK between 2009 and 2010, analyses had found 760 tons of asbestos. |
(TY/VK)