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The Brazilian Navy Is Taking Control of the Decommissioned Clemenceau-Class Aircraft Carrier After the Auction Led by Local Authorities Was Suspended Again, Check It Out!
The auction, which was supposed to decide the future of the ship containing large amounts of hazardous substances, originally started last December but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and ultimately suspended due to the Brazilian Navy. The reason for the most recent suspension was not disclosed.
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“It is still unclear why Brazil decided to interrupt the process. We are investigating the matter,” said Nicola Mulinaris, communication and policy officer at the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, in an interview.
Commissioned in 1963 by the French Navy as Foch, the aircraft carrier was acquired by the Brazilian Navy in 2000 and became its new flagship. After several maintenance capacity issues, it was officially decommissioned in January 2017.
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Since France was the original owner of the ship, the contractual clause in the sale of the Foch gives France the final say on where the aircraft carrier can be dismantled. Consequently, ship recycling yards authorized to participate in the bidding had to be approved by the French authorities. During the summer, France sent an official response to Brazil, indicating that only shipyards included in the EU list of approved ship recycling yards were qualified to receive and dispose of the ship, according to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
After France’s response, Brazil reassessed the applications and initially concluded that only one EU-listed shipyard had provided all the necessary documentation to participate in the bidding. At least one more EU-listed shipyard reportedly managed to submit the missing paperwork in the following weeks.
It Seemed Everything Was Ready to Move on to the Next Stage When the Auction Was Unexpectedly Suspended
“If the auction process is resumed, we hope that Brazil and France will maintain their initial decision and send the vessel to an EU-approved facility – anything else would be a scandal, given the notorious precarious conditions under which toxic waste is managed on the beaches of South Asia,” Mulinaris added.
Transforming the Brazilian Navy’s Warship into a Maritime Museum as an Eco-Friendly Alternative
In June 2018, the São Paulo/Foch Institute, a non-profit association, was created with the aim of preventing the destruction of the warship and transforming it into a naval museum with investors and exempting the government and the Brazilian Navy from expenses.
The institute used as a model the USS Intrepid, one of several museum ships in the United States. The São Paulo/Foch Institute hopes that the fate of the São Paulo aircraft carrier will not be the same as that of its predecessor, the minesweeper aircraft carrier (formerly HMS Vengeance – Colossus class) which was dismantled in 2001 in Alang – India.
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