Toxic-laden ship heads to India after being banned in Bangladesh
The ship contains many tonnes of hazardous asbestos, toxic paints and fuel residues After being banned in Bangladesh, a toxic-laden ship, Probo Koala, is headed towards Indian shores for dismantling, a global group of activists called 'NGO Shipbreaking Platform' has warned.The ship, a 1989-built oil carrier cargo vessel weighing 31,255 tonnes now named Gulf Jash, was banned from entering Bangladesh waters recently after environmentalists in neighbouring countries warned the government about it.The ship has been in the thick of controversy in Africa and Europe. Its previous owner, a company called Trafigura, tried to offload its on-board toxic material in Amsterdam. It was detected in time and when the authorities imposed heavy charges for proper disposal, the company decided to instead send the ship to Africa.After trying its luck in Nigeria, the company finally found a dealer in Ivory Coast to dump the chemicals off board. Hundreds of tonnes of toxic chemicals were poured into the country's largest city, Abidjan. NGO Shipbreaking Platform said the toxic dumps lead to the death of 16 people and thousands of people falling ill.The company had to reportedly settle cases out of court by paying out 30 million pounds to the victims and nearly 100 ...
Read more