{"id":108674,"date":"2023-01-20T16:16:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T15:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/?p=108674"},"modified":"2023-02-15T11:40:50","modified_gmt":"2023-02-15T10:40:50","slug":"lex-porte-avions-foch-en-route-vers-linconnu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/lex-porte-avions-foch-en-route-vers-linconnu\/","title":{"rendered":"The ex-aircraft carrier Foch<\/em> on her way towards the unknown"},"content":{"rendered":"

After she was banned by T\u00fcrkiye on August 26, 2022 and after she was banned by Brazil in October 2022, the NAeL\u00a0Sao Paulo<\/em>, ex-Foch<\/em>, remained for three months off the port of Suape, State of Pernambuco, in the limit of the Brazilian territorial waters; a court injunction prohibits her to leave for the international waters.<\/p>\n

On January 19, 2023, the end-of-life aircraft carrier under tow of the Dutch-flagged\u00a0ALP Guard<\/em>\u00a0escaped, heading east, at a speed of 3\/4 knots. She was briefly followed by the Brazilian Navy patrol boat\u00a0NPA Macau P71<\/em>. The patrol boat then sailed back to the port of Suape. The convoy is about to leave the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone.<\/p>\n

In the wake of an incredible financial, technical and political imbroglio, the NAeL Sao Paulo<\/em>, 266 meters long, 30,000 tons of steel including several hundred tons of toxic paints, asbestos, hydrocarbon residues and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), has been banned for six months and does not find any port of refuge to be inspected and dismantled.
\nThis is a first in the history of scrapping of military or civilian ships.<\/p>\n

The fate of the NAeL\u00a0Sao Paulo<\/em>\u00a0is in the hands of the Brazilian government, of the Marshall Islands-based MSK Maritime Services which won the auction bid in March 2021 on behalf of the Turkish yard S\u00f6k Denizcilik, and of the Dutch company ALP Maritime Services BV, owner of the tug\u00a0ALP Guard<\/em>. The\u00a0ALP Guard<\/em>\u00a0took over from the\u00a0ALP Centre<\/em>\u00a0on December 3, 2022.<\/p>\n

MSK threatens to abandon the hull in the high seas.<\/p>\n

In its January 19, 2023 press release, Ibama (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renov\u00e1veis) says that asbestos and paints do not present any risk as long as the NAel\u00a0Sao Paulo<\/em>\u00a0remains afloat. Ibama also says the only solution is to tow her to a EU-approved yard. The closest one to Brazil is located in Brownsville, Texas. Brazil’s main practice is to send its ships for scrapping in the Indian subcontinent. The aircraft carrier\u00a0Minas Gerais<\/em>\u00a0was scrapped in Alang in 2004.<\/p>\n

Latin America lacks shipbreaking yards. A dry-dock is available in Suape to carry out these works that are essential for the protection of the environment and helpful for metal recycling.<\/p>\n

The aircraft carrier NAeL\u00a0Sao Paulo<\/em>, ex-Foch<\/em>\u00a0built in Saint-Nazaire in 1957-1960, sistership of the\u00a0Clemenceau<\/em>, is in a blind spot. Unless an express solution can be found in the coming days or weeks by Brazil or eventually the European diplomacy, the aircraft carrier’s shipbreaking yard could be indeed the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n

To be continued<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Convoy\u00a0ALP Guard<\/em>\u00a0\/ NAeL\u00a0Sao Paulo<\/em>, January 20, 2023, 2 p.m. utc
\nClick to zoom<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Other press releases on the ex-Foch<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ex-Foch<\/em>, twin of the Clemenceau<\/em>, on her way to the scrapyard in T\u00fcrkiye<\/a>, August 25, 2022
\nWhat is the future for the Sao Paulo<\/em>, ex-Foch<\/em>?<\/a>, September 2, 2022
\nThe aircraft carrier Sao Paulo<\/em> is banned in Brazil!,<\/a> October 7, 2022
\nUpdate \u2013 Aircraft carrier Sao Paulo<\/em>, ex-Foch<\/em>,<\/a> January 21, 2023
\nScuttling of the Sao Paulo<\/em> : pollution has a future,<\/a> February 4, 2023<\/p>\n

See also Fuego!, September 6, 2018 about the scuttling of the former corvette Alfonso Ceirquer<\/em> off Madeira, Portugal<\/a> (with video)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After she was banned by T\u00fcrkiye on August 26, 2022 and after she was banned by Brazil in October 2022, the NAeL\u00a0Sao Paulo, ex-Foch, remained for three months off the port of Suape, State of Pernambuco, in the limit of the Brazilian territorial waters; a court injunction prohibits her to leave for the international waters. On January 19, 2023, the end-of-life aircraft carrier under tow of the Dutch-flagged\u00a0ALP Guard\u00a0escaped, heading east, at a speed of 3\/4 knots. She was briefly followed by the Brazilian Navy patrol boat\u00a0NPA Macau P71. The patrol boat then sailed back to the port of Suape. The convoy is about to leave the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-108674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-demolition-des-navires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108674\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/robindesbois.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}