Without hesitation, Brazil will save by sinking a decommissioned aircraft carrier into the Atlantic Ocean. The idea, somewhat detrimental to the naval environment, has emerged in recent months when authorities have failed to find a shipyard to dismantle the sixty-year-old warship.
“Given the situation and the increased risk of towing the ship, in light of the deterioration of the hull’s buoyancy and the inevitability of an accidental and uncontrolled sinking, there is no choice but to throw it overboard in a planned and controlled sinking,” said the South American country’s Department of the Navy.
Predictably, the government’s choice aroused the wrath of environmentalists, as the aircraft carrier contained tons of asbestos, heavy metals, and other toxic substances that would disperse into ocean waters and contaminate the marine food chain.
French environmental group Robin des Bois described the ship as “a poisonous package weighing 30,000 tons”, AFP agency reported. The aircraft carrier was built in France in the late 1950s and took part in the first nuclear tests in the Pacific and various crisis scenarios in Africa, the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia. Brazil bought it for $12 million in 2000. However, in 2005, a fire on the ship accelerated its decline and became unusable. Last year, Brazil allowed Turkish firm Sok Denizcilik to dismantle it for scrap metal, but Turkish environmental authorities later blocked the plan as the ship was on its way to Turkish shipyards.
Brazil later brought the aircraft carrier back, but did not allow it to enter port due to “high risk” to the environment. The Brazilian navy said it has now towed the ship to a depth of 5,000 meters, 350 kilometers offshore. The military said it would be “the safest area” to sink it. Now he awaits the final decision of the government led by Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has always said he was more sensitive to environmental issues than his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
