Albania: After protests, toxic dust to return to Europe

(19 August): Albanian authorities say they are investigating how 800 tonnes of suspected hazardous industrial waste was shipped from their port to Southeast Asia without a permit; the suspect cargo will now be sent back.


Meanwhile, an AP Moller-Maersk A/S ship carrying some of the suspect cargo unloaded the containers in Singapore over the weekend. It had initially sailed past the port before returning to dock in an unusual maneuver. About 40 containers, which environmental groups say contain toxic dust waste, are scheduled to be transferred to an MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA ship on Monday for return to Europe, according to MSC's cargo tracking website.

Maersk said it was working with Singapore authorities and MSC to bring the cargo back to Albania. Tracking data shows the containers are due to arrive at the Italian port of Gioia Tauro in late September.

Another 60 containers of suspected waste currently on board another Maersk container ship and due to arrive in Singapore at the end of the month will also be made their way back to Europe, Maersk said.

Authorities have been working to stop the shipment since the Basel Action Network, a U.S. nonprofit that tracks the toxics trade, notified Thailand earlier this month that the containers, which it said were filled with potentially harmful arc furnace dust, were en route to its port.

Bloomberg News could not independently verify what the ships are carrying. The companies exporting and receiving the containers have not been identified. MSC did not respond to requests for comment, while Singapore authorities said they were not yet able to comment. Maersk said none of the containers were declared as hazardous waste, otherwise the company would have refused to transport them.

Environmentalists are working to stem the flow of waste from developed countries into Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries – from dirty plastic to industrial and electronic waste, often contaminated with toxins. Under the United Nations Basel Convention, a global pact signed by many developed countries, countries must give their consent for it to enter their countries.

The journey of the suspicious containers has raised alarm in several countries since they were loaded in the Albanian port of Durres in July. Their final destination is Thailand, due to arrive at the end of this month. Thailand refused to accept the cargo after being alerted by environmental groups to the allegedly dangerous contents.

As the ships approached Cape Town, South African officials tracked the vessels and put in place a plan involving the navy, police, port authorities and the environment ministry to conduct a full inspection as the ships docked, a spokesman for the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment said. After consulting with Maersk, the company informed South Africa that the ships would not dock there and would continue on their way to Singapore.

The Albanian Ministry of Tourism and Environment did not issue a permit for the export of the allegedly hazardous waste, said spokesman Erjon Uka. Albanian law enforcement authorities, together with the European Union's Anti-Fraud Office, are conducting an investigation into “the circumstances and all logistical links that made this alleged transport from Europe to Southeast Asia possible,” he said.

The waste probably comes from international companies operating near a metallurgical complex in Elbasan near Durres, he said.

The blast furnace dust to be treated is a hazardous waste product that is usually generated during the recycling of steel scrap and contains toxic metal oxides such as cadmium and chromium that are harmful to health and the environment.

“International conventions and the national legislation in line with them provide for a number of obligations for producers and transporters of such waste,” said Uka. “The implementation of these obligations is also the subject of ongoing investigations.”