Company Renounces Former Aircraft Carrier from Navy; Ibama Responds and Goes to Court, Which Grants Request to Prevent Abandonment

Without Permission to Dock the Vessel in Any Brazilian Port and with Daily Losses, MSK Gave an Ultimatum to Brazilian Authorities. However, Ibama Accused the Measure of Abandonment

At every moment, the imbroglio involving the former aircraft carrier NAe São Paulo is becoming larger and more confusing. The latest news is that MSK Maritime Services & Trading, responsible for the old vessel of the Brazilian Navy, warned that it would “relinquish ownership of the hull” if Brazilian authorities did not provide the necessary approvals and/or actions to receive the hull by 3 PM on Wednesday (11). Then, it happened that the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) stated that this measure would be a definitive act of abandonment of the ship and that, if it did so, it would penalize the company for committing an environmental infraction.

The Institute also took legal action to prevent the responsible party from abandoning the ship. Federal Judge Ubiratan de Couto Maurício granted the request and prohibited MSK from carrying out the threat of abandonment.

In the warning letter sent to the authorities, MSK does not explicitly mention “definitely abandoning” the former aircraft carrier of the Navy. According to the company, the vessel is secure, but there is no clarity on whether the hired tugboat will leave the ship. The responsible party states that failure to comply with the request will result in the disposal of the aircraft carrier, with all subsequent responsibilities falling on Brazilian authorities. Furthermore, according to the text, considering all legal facts, the legal owner of the hull of the former NAe São Paulo has the right to dispose of the ship in full compliance with international laws and commercial rules.

For MSK, Brazilian authorities are not making an effort to find a solution for the former aircraft carrier to dock for repairs and then proceed to the correct green recycling process of its material, as is the international standard for disposal, in Turkey. The situation has also been reported to the United Nations (UN). The responsible party also claims that the green recycling project for the vessel began many years ago, with significant investment in completing all preparatory tasks for the international bidding process. The financial loss of keeping the aircraft carrier at sea has already exceeded over US$ 5 million.

Ibama states that it will continue coordinating efforts with the Brazilian Navy to avoid immediate or subsequent environmental damage and that it “repudiates any action aimed at releasing solid waste into Brazilian waters and will take all necessary measures to prevent this type of environmental damage.” The former aircraft carrier São Paulo belonged to the Armed Forces of Brazil for 20 years, but has always been the subject of controversy and exorbitant spending. In 2020, the vessel was sold to the Turkish company SOK for dismantling and recycling at an international shipyard. When it was en route to Turkey, the ship had to return to Brazil due to environmental and sanitary risks; and now it is adrift, without a destination, about 30 kilometers off the coast of Pernambuco (17 nautical miles).

Why Is the Ship Considered Dangerous?

In October of this year, when the former aircraft carrier left Rio de Janeiro and was approaching Morocco, Greenpeace issued an alert that there were hundreds of tons of asbestos in the hull of the former Navy ship, which was being towed by a MSK tugboat, a potentially carcinogenic material. There is also information that the vessel carries mercury.

Thus, the vessel had to return, as the Navy ordered that docking occur at the Port of Suape, on the southern coast of Pernambuco. However, the Pernambuco government filed a lawsuit in federal court to prevent the polluted hull from being docked there, due to environmental, sanitary, and even local port operation risks, as the ship is so large that it would occupy more than one commercial berth. Following the repercussions of the case, no other Brazilian port or shipyard is willing to accept the former aircraft carrier.

The Navy states that the asbestos present in the vessel poses no health risks in its current state, as it conducted a comprehensive asbestos removal operation on the propulsion compartments, catapults, auxiliary engines, and diesel generators in the 1990s. Check the Navy’s note on the case, issued back in October 2022. The situation remains unresolved. Ibama is continuing to monitor the situation.