Prosecutors Seize Potentially Toxic Cargo from Cargo Ship Off Albania

A shipment of approximately 100 containers has made a roundtrip from Albania to Southeast Asia and is now back to its origin as the NGO Basel Action Network alleges the boxes contain a banned toxic substance. On Monday, October 28, prosecutors in Durres, Albania moved to impound the cargo for testing as part of an investigation into possible violations of international shipping regulations by local companies.

The containers made the last leg of their long journey arriving back in Albania aboard a Turkish-owned general cargo ship Moliva (12,000 dwt) that anchored offshore overnight. They departed in July transshipped and ultimately loaded on two containerships operating under charter to Maersk. 

The NGO reports it was informed by a whistleblower that the containers contained an estimated 2,100 tons of electric arc furnace dust which is classified as a toxic waste and strictly regulated under the Basel Convention. It is a dust removed from filters in steel production plants and as such if the reports are accurate would contain high levels of metals and chemicals believed to be carcinogenic. 

Prosecutors responded to public demonstrations and calls from the NGO to impound the cargo as evidence in the investigation into the shipment. They have ordered that the containers be offloaded and placed into a secure storage facility and not opened. The group is demanding that they be opened publicly and that they be permitted to take a sample of the material for independent testing.

Basel Action Network along with another environmental NGO called EARTH last month went to the facility in Thailand where the containers were being shipped. They report soil samples at the facility showed high levels of toxic materials such as arsenic, lead, and nickel. They are using this shipment to call attention to the regulations while demanding that Albania and other countries tighten their routines to restrict the export of toxic materials and that ports and businesses are aware of the restrictions. 

The controversy began when the group demanded that a suspected 160 containers aboard the two vessels had to be intercepted. The ships were due to reach Singapore in mid-August and the containers were booked for delivery to Thailand.

Maersk responded by saying it was in contact with the governments and local authorities while noting the boxes were being carried for another carrier that had originated the shipment and that they had been cleared by customs authorities. The authorities in Thailand said they would refuse the containers when they arrived responding that they had never given authorization to the company in Albana and the recipient in Thailand for the shipment. Maersk later reported it was handing the suspect containers over to the authorities and that arrangements were being made for their return to Albania.