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The Brazilian Navy is about to sink the aircraft carrier SaoPaulo which has been floating offshore for three months. Photo/Military-Today
BRASILIA – Navy Brazil will sink a aircraft carrier 1960s era “ghost” after floating offshore for three months.
The aircraft carrier SaoPaulo has been floating offshore for three months since Turkey refused entry to destroy it because it could pollute the environment.
It is considered a “ghost” aircraft carrier because it has been abandoned by its crew.
The Brazilian Navy on Wednesday said the ship would be sunk in waters of the Atlantic Ocean which are under Brazilian jurisdiction.
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The 32,000-ton carrier SaoPaulo had been towed by tugboats to Europe but did not pass through the strait of Gibraltar, and was turned back across the Atlantic after Turkey determined the ship was an environmental hazard.
The Brazilian Navy, in a statement, said the ship had taken on water and was at risk of sinking and had not been cleared to dock in a Brazilian port.
Despite requests from Environment Minister Marina Silva not to sink the aircraft carrier, the Navy said it had no choice but to sink it in waters some 5,000 meters (2,700 fathoms) 350 kilometers (217.48 miles) offshore within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). ) Brazil.
According to the Navy, the location is far from environmental protection areas and free from undersea communications cables.
“Given the deteriorating floating conditions and the out-of-control sinking of the ship, there was no other choice but to scrap the ship’s hull and sink it in the planned manner,” he said, as quoted by Reuters, Thursday (2/2/2023).
The Navy had planned to sink the carrier Wednesday at sea but public prosecutors are seeking to stop the ship from sinking in Brazilian waters citing the environmental threats it poses, including tons of asbestos used for the ship’s onboard panels.
A federal judge Wednesday afternoon rejected the public prosecutor’s request for such an order, arguing that the Navy had weighed the environmental impact of other factors.
The Clemenceau class carriers served the French Navy from 1963 to 2000 as Fochs, capable of carrying 40 aircraft.
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