Probo Koala - mürgilaeva varasematest peatustest

Probo Koala varasem saatus hakkas mulle pärast tänast Kuku raadio Vox Populit huvi pakkuma, sest miskipärast tundusid nii saatejuhid kui helistajad mitte teadvat, kus Probo Koala oli varem käinud. Üks helistaja tõi isegi välja, et kas mitte poleks pidanud teised riigid midagi mürgilaevaga ette võtma.

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Esimese hooga leidsin huvitava Der Spiegel'i artikli, kust kirjeldatakse laeva teekonda alates 29. juunist. Info on isegi kenasti kaardile pandud, kust selgub, et Probo Koala jaoks pole praegune peatus Eestis sugugi esimene, sest viimati oli ta Paldiskis juuni alguses. Kajastamist leiab ka esimene laeva mürgise lastiga seotud intsident Amsterdamis:

It began on the afternoon of July 2. As the ship was unloaded in Amsterdam's petroleum port, a west wind carried its sharp stench into nearby residential neighborhoods, where residents notified the police. "This is the worst stench we have ever experienced here," said an employee of Amsterdam Port Services (APS), a waste disposal company. APS took a sample of the black substance from one of the ship's tanks. Though declared as "waste water" used to clean gasoline shipping tanks, chemical analysis told a different story. The hydrocarbons in the material contained high concentrations of a substance known as mercaptan -- a substance which is found in some crude oils and is produced by decaying vegetable matter, which is highly toxic -- and smelly -- in high concentrations. Authorities halted the unloading of the waste. The captain of the ship, which was Greek-owned and registered in Panama, angrily turned down a proposal by APS officials to dispose of the waste properly at special facilities in Rotterdam. The cost would have been about $250,000, plus another $250,000 in contractual penalties for the ship's likely delayed arrival at its next port of call in Estonia.

Lisaks tundub vähemalt ühe allika kohaselt - Deutsche Presse Agenture - olevat vähemalt üks ametnik Eestis, kes teadis Provo Koala saabumisest Paldiskisse varakult. Seega ei vasta väited nagu ilma teraste kodaniketa, kes Greenpeace'i laeva nägid poleks Eesti ametnikud asjast midagi teadnud, päris õige:

A ship held responsible for a toxic spill which killed three people in Ivory Coast entered a Latvian port on Friday en route for Estonia, causing environmental safety concerns there.

"The Probo Koala will be under very special treatment when it comes into (the Estonian port of) Paldiski," Allan Gromov of the Estonian Environment Ministry told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Loomulikult tekib kohe küsimus, et miks Lätis laeva kinni ei peetud, kuid tundub, et see lugu on haledam kui arvata võiks:

Latvian authorities have not reacted to the ship's presence. The National Environmental Protection Agency said it was aware of the visit, but maintains it is a case for the regional environmental authority.

It, in turn, maintains the ship is the responsibility of Marine Environment Board. A spokeswoman for this institution told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa, it had not been aware of the ship's visit.

Lõpetuseks väike tsitaat ühelt Ghana veebiküljelt, mille autori arusaam juhtunust on huvitav:

Probo Koala is employed by a Dutch group, although their waste was said to have emigrated from Estonia and traveled all the way to Abidjan.

Vot siis. Vähemalt üks tüüp Ghanas arvab, et aafriklasi mürgitavad eestlased ja ta ei häbene sellest teistele kirjutada.

Muide, kõik täiendavad viited Probo Koala't käsitlevatele artiklitele mingi uue või huvitava informatsiooniga on teretulnud kommentaarides.