Ship carrying dangerous liquid arrived at Gadani Shipyard despite warning from Interpol
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A ship carrying a dangerous liquid has arrived at the Gadani shipbreaking yard despite an explicit warning by Interpol.
According to the details, the ship containing 1,500 tonnes of mercury mixed with oil reached the Gadani shipbreaking yard even though Interpol had issued a warning about it and had asked the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to bar the ship from entering Pakistan.
The ship was denied entry to Bangladesh and India owing to the hazardous liquid inside it that poses a serious threat to the environment and has irreversible toxic effects on health. ------------------------------
The name of the ship was changed from the ‘FS Ordient’ to ‘Cherish’ in Mumbai, after which it reached Karachi on 21 April. It has been anchored at the Gadani shipbreaking yard, and work to dismantle it is underway.
A news report revealed that “The owners of the ship had succeeded to bring it to Gadani after obtaining permission from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) without getting the required approval from the concerned departments”.
The report further claimed that after the warning letter from Interpol, the Ministry of Environment and three other federal ministries had exchanged letters on the matter.
The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), the EPA Balochistan, and Customs had been responsible for stopping the entry of the ship into the country. ------------------------------
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According to the report, the news about the arrival of Cherish was shared on an official Facebook page, but when officials were asked to confirm the news, they stopped the work on the shipbreaking yard while the plot where the ship was anchored was sealed by EPA Balochistan.
The concerned officials have refused to answer why the ship with the dangerous contents was allowed to anchor at the yard despite Interpol’s warning.
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