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Spain should investigate ship carrying dangerous waste: Greenpeace
AFP
MADRID
Petroleumworld.com 10 11 06
Greenpeace called on Spain Tuesday to probe the possible dumping of dangerous waste by the sister ship of the Probo Koala, the cargo freighter linked to a pollution crisis in Ivory Coast that left eight dead and dozens hospitalized.
"We have alerted the Spanish government to the suspicious activities of the Probo Emu, suggesting it would be a good idea to open an investigation," Greenpeace's spokeswoman for Spain, Sara del Rio, told AFP.
The environmental advocacy group suspects the Probo Emu of transporting dangerous waste similar to that dumped last month by its sister ship in Ivory Coast.
The Probo Koala, chartered by Netherlands-based shipping company Trafigura Beheer, off-loaded more than 500 tons of waste -- reportedly a mixture of oil residue and caustic soda used to rinse out the ship's tanks -- in Abidjan.
A local company charged with disposing of the waste is blamed for dumping it on several landfills in the city of four million people, sparking a health crisis which has claimed eight lives, hospitalized 66, and triggered 90,000 calls to doctors for medical help.
Greenpeace points to the similar activities and movements of the two identical ships, built in South Korea and both registered in Panama.
The Probo Emu completed "several round-trips between Nigeria and the port of Gibraltar" between the end of August and the beginning of October, said Del Rio.
Estonia impounded the Probo Koala last week in Paldiski harbor, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Tallinn. Officials said it would be retained "for as long as needed to carry out all necessary criminal investigations."
Greenpeace said that the Spanish government had not yet responded to their call for a probe.
"It is difficult to investigate a ship that has not docked in a Spanish port," a spokesman for the Spanish merchant marines told AFP. "But we will follow up if it enters our waters."
These ships are used as "floating refineries -- they produce poor-quality fuel that they then transfer to other ships," Del Rio said, adding that this activity "produces toxic residues that the ship then has to discharge".
Greenpeace said it was still looking into whether the Probo Emu, like its sister ship, has been chartered by Trafigura Beheer.
AFP 10 1520 GMT 10 06
Copyright ©2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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