The Brazilian Navy sank this Friday the aircraft carrier ‘Sao Paulo’, which for five months had been sailing aimlessly across the Atlantic, turned into a ghost ship.
“The procedure was conducted with the necessary technical competence and security” to “avoid logistical, operational, environmental and economic damage to the Brazilian State,” the Navy said in a statement.
The sinking, authorized by the federal Court, was carried out despite the fact that the Brazilian Attorney General’s Office filed a new appeal before the Court on Thursday to prevent the action for environmental reasons, since the hull contains asbestos and other toxic products.
The ‘Sao Paulo’ was sold for scrap in 2022, but no foreign port accepted it because of the toxic materials in its hull.
The aircraft carrier was sunk in Brazilian territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean, some 350 kilometers from the coast, because it was “inevitable” for it to sink spontaneously since the hull is damaged and has buoyancy problems.
What was the largest military ship in Brazil was carrying 9.6 tons of asbestos, a potentially toxic and carcinogenic substance, as well as 644 tons of inks and “other dangerous materials,” the Attorney General’s Office alleged.
The journey of the former warship, which served the French Navy under the name “Foch”, began in August, when it was sold for $2 million to a Turkish shipyard specializing in shipbreaking.
The ship never reached its destination because the Turkish authorities prohibited its entry, so it had to turn around shortly before reaching the Strait of Gibraltar.
Since then, the second and last aircraft carrier of the Brazilian Navy fleet has been roaming the Atlantic, due to the refusal of the ports, including the Brazilian ones, to receive it.
Built in France in 1963, the aircraft carrier was 266 meters long, capable of holding 1,300 crew members and carrying 30 fighter-bombers.
Brazil bought it in 2001 for $12 million, but deactivated it in 2017 because it spent more time in port than at sea.
