(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
AFP
Durrës, Albania: A ship carrying possibly toxic industrial waste will be able to unload at an Albanian port, authorities said on Friday, after being refused entry to Thailand and spending months at sea.
The Turkish-flagged Moliva container ship -- believed to be carrying around a hundred containers filled with suspicious waste -- arrived in the waters near the port of Durres last week.
It had not been allowed to dock as the port and other authorities worked to ensure that its containers could be stored in a secure place.
But on Friday port authorities said the ship would be allowed to unload its containers.
Once unloaded, the cargo will be sequestered by the prosecutor's office and the containers will be transferred to a secure location and opened so the contents could be examined, officials said.
The containers left Albania in early July, and according to documents from Albanian customs authorities at that time, its cargo consisted of industrial waste, specifically "iron oxide", whose export is authorised.
However, information passed on by a whistleblower to the Basel Action Network (BAN), a non-governmental organisation that combats the export of toxic waste to developing countries, suggests the cargo actually contains electric arc furnace dust (EAFD).
Classified as toxic waste, this dust must be stored and transported under very strict conditions.
Ultimately rejected by Thailand, the containers returned to Albania after several months at sea, with stopovers and ship changes in various countries including Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkiye.
According to the paperwork on file, the waste comes from the Elbasan steel plant in central Albania.
The shipment of industrial waste from Western countries to be processed elsewhere in developing countries is a global business estimated to be worth between 44 billion and 70 billion euros ($48 billion to $77 billion) annually, according to environmental NGOs.
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