Brazil sinks 'ghost' aircraft carrier with toxic substances in Atlantic

The Brazilian Navy has sunk this Friday the aircraft carrier 'Sao Paulo', which for five months had been sailing aimlessly across the Atlantic with toxic waste and had become essentially 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 Justice, was carried out despite the fact that the Brazilian Attorney General filed a new appeal before the Justice on Thursday to prevent the action for environmental reasons.

The 'Sao Paulo' was sold for scrap in 2022, but no foreign port accepted it because of the toxic materials in its hull.

9.6 tons of asbestos

The aircraft carrier has been sunk in Brazilian territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean, some 350 kilometers from the coast, because it was "inevitable" that it would 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 Navy assured that the company that acquired the 'Sao Paulo' five months ago to disassemble it and recycle its materials did not adopt the necessary measures to obtain authorization to tow it to port and to be able to repair the serious damage that threatens its capacity.