May 16, 2023
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On Wednesday, February 1, Brazil announced they had decided to sink the 32000-tonne Sao Paolo aircraft carrier from the 1960s after leaving it stranded at sea for three months.
Earlier this week, the Brazilian Navy revealed that they had abandoned the Asbestos carrying ship in international waters.
Last year, the vessel in the pipeline for scrapping in Turkey was sent back from the country because of an environmental hazard. The Brazilian Navy refused to take it back as it might be abandoned.
A tug was towing it to Turkey, but it wasn’t allowed to cross the Gibraltar straits and sent back as the navy couldn’t confirm that the ship didn’t have asbestos. Brazil refused to take it because the vessel was at risk of sinking due to water ingress.
Earlier, Environment Minister Marina Silva asked the navy to review its decision to sink the carrier, but they didn’t heed it.
Now the navy has confirmed that they will sink the carrier 350 km offshore at a depth of 5000 meters. It will be done within the country’s exclusive economic zone, where there are no undersea cables and environmental protection areas.
The navy will jettison the carrier’s hull to sink it in a planned way. It was set to be done on Wednesday, but public prosecutors intervened. Now, the court has ruled in favour, citing that the environmental factors are already considered.
The aircraft carrier served in the French Navy from 1963 to 2000, carrying 40 airplanes.
References: Reuters, Gulf News
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