- Brazil plans to abandon its biggest warship, the "São Paulo," out at sea.
- The ship was en-route to a Turkish scrapyard to be taken apart, but was denied entry.
Brazil is planning to abandon its biggest warship in international waters after failing to get it scrapped, and, as Ciara Nugent reported for Time, it could become one of the biggest pieces of garbage in the ocean.
The São Paulo, a 60-year-old aircraft carrier, has been floating abandoned in the South Atlantic Ocean for five months.
Weighing 34,000 tons and reaching a length of 870 feet, it's the largest Brazilian warship in existence. Brazil sold the ship to a Turkish scrapyard to be dismantled, per Time, and it started sailing to Turkey in August, but it was not allowed to dock in the country. Turkish authorities said the ship had asbestos, a toxic material commonly found in ships made in the 20th century.
The ship then turned around and returned to Brazil, but in September, it was prevented from docking on the coast of Pernambuco state, per Time. It was left to circle aimlessly along the Brazilian coast for five months.
On January 20, the Brazilian navy finally moved the ship into international waters.
—Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) January 23, 2023
The Brazilian navy said in a statement on January 20 that it prevented the ship from docking because its hull had been severely damaged, posing a risk to other boats in Brazilian waters.
The Brazilian military now wants to abandon the ship at sea, according to Time. The navy's next move may be to sink it with explosives, military sources told Folha de São Paulo, a Brazilian newspaper.
But sinking the ship would be "gross negligence," Jim Puckett, the executive of the anti-waste non-profit Basel Action Network, told Time.
"We're talking about a ship containing both hazardous materials and valuable materials — it's supposed to be brought into the territory of Brazil and managed in an environmentally sound way," Puckett told Time. "You can't just sink it."
The navy's plan to abandon and sink the ship was also criticized by the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, which is worried about the environmental impact the asbestos could have if it's released into the ocean.
Asbestos fibers may cause serious diseases like lung cancer and asbestosis, the scarring of the lungs, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.
According to Folha de São Paulo, the country's environment minister, Marina Silva, also expressed concerns about asbestos to the Brazilian defence minister, José Múcio Monteiro. However, the navy will have the final say on how to handle the ship.
Decommissioned ships are often sent to shipyards to be broken down. The Alang-Sosiya Shipyard on India's western coast is one such place where big boats are scrapped. Cruise ships are also taken apart and sold for parts in Turkey's Aliaga shipyard.
There are other ships that have been left to rot on the high seas. However, a warship of this length — close to two-thirds of the height of the Empire State Building — might well become one of the biggest singular pieces of garbage in the ocean.
However, it still pales in size to the Pacific trash vortex, a gargantuan collection of plastic waste and marine debris in the waters off the US's west coast.
It's unclear where exactly the São Paulo will be left, and when — if ever — the Brazilian navy plans to sink it.
Representatives for the Brazilian navy did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.