Brazil to sink São Paulo aircraft carrier in Atlantic

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The 34,000-ton, 870-foot Brazilian aircraft carrier São Paulo will be sunk in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Brazil, announced the Navy of Brazil.

São Paulo which was sailing to Türkiye in order to be dismantled in a shipyard in Aliağa, İzmir was stopped to enter the territorial waters of Türkiye after protests by environmentalists, trade unions, and professional organizations in August 2022.

The ship carrying tonnes of asbestos and other toxic contents had made a U-turn in the strait of Gibraltar and returned to Brazil.

The ship was moved into international waters recently. The Navy announced that the aging ship, which suffered hull damage during its journey, had the risk of being grounded or sunk and therefore not permitted to Brazilian harbors. They had no other choice but to sink the ship 350 kilometers off the coast and at a depth of 5,000 meters.

Brazil's Ministry of the Environment Marina Silva spoke out her concerns about the potential environmental effects of asbestos but her objection was overlooked. The Navy stated that this region was away from protected environment areas and free of any submarine cables.

"Conditional permit"

The São Paulo nuclear aircraft carrier served until 2000 in the French Navy named Foch and was purchased by Brazil and was retired in 2017 due to the high cost of modernization requirements and other problems.

Brazil lodged a tender in 2019 in order to sell the body of the ship which was completed in March 2021.

It was revealed that the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Türkiye had given "conditional permit" to the Ministry of Environment of Brazil for the dismantling of the ship.

Sök Denizcilik, a company that has a shipyard in Aliağa, took the dismantling of the ship for 1,8 million dollars.

After the ship took off from the Rio Harbor in Brazil on August 4, 2022, a demonstration was organized in Aliağa to protest the plan to dismantle the ship carrying asbestos in Türkiye.

On August 26, Minister Murat Kurum announced that they will not permit the ship to be dismantled in Aliağa, İzmir. (TY/PE/VK)