The 'forced shipwreck' of the ship carrying Vale's iron ore must take place remotely; The Navy guarantees that there will be no major environmental impact.

The Brazilian Navy confirmed on Saturday, (06/06), that the Merchant Ship Stellar Banner, which ran aground on the coast of Maranhão three months ago while transporting iron ore from Vale to China, will be sunk about 150 kilometers from coast of Maranhão. Petrobras exported 1,11 million tons of fuel oil and sets a new record in May.

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Polaris Shipping, owner of the ship, decided to sink the unit after reports of structural inspections carried out by representatives of the ship's classification society and the "forced castaway" must happen with the vessel being operated remotely receiving support from divers.

According to the Navy, the ship is already being prepared to avoid damage to the environment. Oily residues are being removed, as well as floating or contaminating objects on board.

“The Brazilian Navy, through the DN Command and the Port Authority of Maranhão, will continue to monitor activities together with the environmental authorities of the state of Maranhão and other environmental authorities,” the Navy said in a note this Sunday.

In addition to the Navy, the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and the State Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (Sema) are monitoring the work.

Last Thursday (4th) the Stellar Banner was towed from where it was stranded and ended up in deeper waters, around 111 km from São Luís.

The investigation into the Stellar Banner was made possible by the floating of the vessel, last week, after the withdrawal, in April, of around 145 thousand tons of iron ore that were being transported by the South Korean vessel.

At the time, 3.900 cubic meters of oil had already been removed from the vessel.