Navy sinks old aircraft carrier in Atlantic with toxic material

The “planned and controlled procedure took place in the late afternoon” today, around 350 km from the coast, in an area of ​​“approximate depth of 5.000 meters”, informed the Navy.

The decision, announced this week, caused controversy because the 266-meter-long former aircraft carrier “Foch” is full of asbestos, paint and other toxic waste, according to several NGOs and the MPF.

“The vessel's scrap currently contains 9,6 tons of asbestos, a substance with toxic and carcinogenic potential, in addition to 644 tons of paint and other dangerous materials,” said this week the MPF, which tried to prevent the sinking with multiple legal appeals.

The MPF argues that “a technical note from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) points to the risk of serious environmental damage in the event of a possible sinking, especially taking into account that the hull is damaged”.

The ship, which wandered for months in the Atlantic with no port to receive it, was described as “a toxic package weighing 30 tons” by the French organization Robin des Bois.

Brazil will sink aircraft carriers with toxic waste in the Atlantic

🚢 Brazilian authorities decided to sink the old aircraft carrier “Foch” – renamed “São Paulo” in 2000 when it became Brazilian flag – which had been wandering at sea for months in search of a port of refuge, military sources said this Thursday ( two). The decision is controversial: the old 2-meter vessel is full of asbestos, paint and other toxic waste, according to several environmental organizations.

Inevitable spontaneous sinking

But the Brazilian Navy and the Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday night that there was no other option due to its poor condition and the failure to find a port to accommodate it. Otherwise, they said, a spontaneous sinking of the hull would be inevitable.

The operation took place shortly after authorization from a second instance judge, who rejected a request from the MPF, according to the Brazilian press.

Stopping the sinking “would probably result in futility, given the imminent spontaneous sinking of the hull, which would in no way favor the environment and could also pose risks to the life and safety of the crew”, wrote the judge of the Federal Regional Court of the 5th Region (TRF-5) in its decision, according to G1.

“The procedure was conducted with the necessary technical competence and safety by the Brazilian Navy, in order to avoid logistical, operational, environmental and economic losses to the Brazilian State”, guaranteed the Navy.

Built in the 1950s in Saint-Nazaire, in western France, the “Foch”, which served the French Navy for 37 years, was sunk by a Dutch tug, hired by the Turkish shipyard Sok Denizcilik.

The shipyard had purchased the aircraft carrier as scrap in April 2021 to dismantle it, but was at risk of abandoning it in the absence of finding a port to receive it.

In June 2022, the Turkish shipyard obtained authorization from the Brazilian authorities to take it to Turkey to be dismantled. But when she reached the Strait of Gibraltar at the end of August, Turkish environmental authorities reported that the vessel was no longer welcome.

The former glory of the French Navy, capable of catapulting aircraft weighing 12 to 15 tons at a takeoff speed of 278 kilometers per hour, had been acquired by Brazil in 2000 and renamed “São Paulo”.

(with AFP)

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