The environmental non-governmental organization Basel Action Network (BAN) is calling for the seizure and return of two container ships suspected of illegally transporting hazardous waste.
The alert was issued after the Maersk Kampton turned off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) GPS beacon on July 31 and failed to enter Cape Town, South Africa on August 1. The ship, which departed Albania for Thailand, was reported to be carrying an estimated 327 tonnes of what BAN suspects to be toxic dust from steel furnaces collected from anti-pollution filters.
BAN executive director Jim Buckett said: “We can think of no other reason for this action than that Maersk was trying to avoid arrest or delay due to the possibility that its vessels may be involved in the smuggling of hazardous waste.”
BAN is also flagging a second vessel, the MAERSK CANDOR, currently sailing a similar route to the CAMPTON, carrying another 60 containers. The total estimated amount of hazardous waste on board both vessels is 816 tonnes.
Authorities request vessel interdiction
BAN confirmed that neither Albania nor Thailand had been informed of the export. Transporting hazardous waste without the approval of both the exporting and importing countries is illegal under the Basel Convention, an international treaty that limits the movement of hazardous waste between countries.
Environmental groups including BAN, Groundwork, South Africa's Friends of the Earth and Thailand's Earth have called on authorities in South Africa and Southeast Asia to seize the two ships.
Groundwork waste campaigner Musa Chamane said: “We demand that this renegade ship and the next one be seized and the containers analysed here to ensure other southern countries and oceans are not put at risk of the dumping of this toxic waste. If the containers are found to contain toxic waste they will be returned directly to the sender at their expense and will never be allowed to be left in Africa or dumped in Thailand.”
The shipping company Maarsk has also been asked to halt the transport and return the ship to Albania.
“We call on Maersk to immediately cooperate to assist the international community in preventing illegal dumping of hazardous waste,” added Jim Baquet.
Potential risks in Thailand
BAN suggests that if the shipping containers reach Thailand, the toxic dust could be spread on farmland or dumped within the country.
According to EARTH, over the past five years, local communities have received approximately 300 complaints about illegal waste dumping, with the negative impacts of the waste having serious consequences on the health and wellbeing of nearby residents.
“Under no circumstances will Thailand accept becoming a dumping ground for toxic industrial, e-waste and plastic waste from the rest of the world,” said Penchom Saetan, director of EARTH.
“We call on our governments and the South African government to take the necessary steps to immediately put a stop to this repugnant trade.”
