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American Ship Loading Syrian Chemicals for Destruction at Sea American Ship Loaded with Toxic Syrian Chemicals
(about 5 hours later)
ROME — A specially equipped United States vessel, the Cape Ray, began loading toxic chemicals at an Italian port on Wednesday for destruction at sea in the latest phase of an operation to remove and destroy about 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons. ROME — A specially equipped United States vessel, the Cape Ray, loaded toxic chemicals at an Italian port on Wednesday for destruction at sea in the latest phase of an operation to remove and destroy about 1,300 tons of Syrian chemical weapons.
The police had sealed off the port of Gioia Tauro in southern Italy to create a security zone during the transfer of the cargo from a Dutch vessel, the Ark Futura, which took the last of Syria’s known supplies of chemical substances onboard nine days ago from the Syrian port of Latakia. The chemicals include mustard gas and raw materials for the nerve agent sarin.The police had sealed off the port of Gioia Tauro in southern Italy to create a security zone during the transfer of the cargo from a Dutch vessel, the Ark Futura, which took the last of Syria’s known supplies of chemical substances onboard nine days ago from the Syrian port of Latakia. The chemicals include mustard gas and raw materials for the nerve agent sarin.
Italian officials said the operation to transfer the chemical containers from one ship to the other began on Wednesday and could take most of a day. It was “an operation that ensures the security of the world and peace,” said Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti, who went to Gioia Tauro to follow the operation. “It’s the affirmation of a value.” The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, The Hague-based group that has been helping oversee the project, said in a statement that the “transloading took place without incident,” and that the neutralization of the material would take about 60 days.
While some environmental groups expressed concern about the potential risks of the transfer, the minister said he had seen no sign of protesters at the port on Wednesday. But news report said some opponents gathered late on Tuesday in nearby San Ferdinando to protest the arrival of what they called “the poison ship.” It was “an operation that ensures the security of the world and peace,” said Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti, who went to Gioia Tauro to follow the operation. “It’s the affirmation of a value.”
“This is not a routine operation, it’s a military operation and we are very worried,” Domenico Macri, a labor union official told Agence France-Presse television. “We have never carried out this type of operation in Gioia Tauro before. If there’s an accident, a container breaks or falls, the substances which would come out could do serious damage.” While some environmental groups expressed concern about the potential risks of the transfer, the minister said he had seen no sign of protesters at the port on Wednesday. News reports said some opponents had gathered late on Tuesday in nearby San Ferdinando to protest the arrival of what they called “the poison ship.”
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which has been overseeing the project, called the latest developments a major achievement for a country engulfed by civil war. Syria, under pressure from Russia, its main international patron, and from the United States, agreed to the removal of the toxins after chemical weapons killed hundreds of people in an attack on the outskirts of Damascus last August. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons called the latest developments a major achievement for a country engulfed by civil war. Syria, under pressure from Russia, its main international patron, and from the United States, agreed to the removal of the toxins after chemical weapons killed hundreds of people in an attack on the outskirts of Damascus last August.
The Syrian government and the rebels each blamed the other for the attack, but the Obama administration and its allies said President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had been responsible. An American threat of airstrikes was averted by the Russian-American deal to dispose of the chemical stockpile.The Syrian government and the rebels each blamed the other for the attack, but the Obama administration and its allies said President Bashar al-Assad’s forces had been responsible. An American threat of airstrikes was averted by the Russian-American deal to dispose of the chemical stockpile.
News reports from Gioia Tauro said the Ark Futura steamed into port there early Wednesday, a day after the Cape Ray — a gray-hulled, 648-foot cargo ship — docked in the same port. The Cape Ray has been equipped with two machines known as Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems, news reports said, to neutralize some of the chemical stockpile once the ship reaches international waters. News reports from Gioia Tauro said the Ark Futura steamed into port there early Wednesday, a day after the Cape Ray — a gray-hulled, 648-foot cargo ship — docked in the same port. The Cape Ray has been equipped with two machines known as Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems that render the dangerous chemicals harmless. That process will begin once the Cape Ray reaches international waters.
Destruction of some toxins has started in Finland and, apart from operations aboard the Cape Ray, facilities in the United States, Britain and Germany will also be used to destroy some of the stockpile.Destruction of some toxins has started in Finland and, apart from operations aboard the Cape Ray, facilities in the United States, Britain and Germany will also be used to destroy some of the stockpile.
Repeated delays in the removal of the chemicals meant that a June 30 deadline for their destruction was not met, since it will now take two to four months for the entire stockpile to be rendered harmless. Repeated delays in the removal of the chemicals meant that a June 30 deadline for their destruction was not met.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has stopped short of declaring Syria free of all chemical weapons. The organization, based in The Hague, said last week that verification work was incomplete and that the Syrian authorities had not yet fulfilled pledges to dismantle a dozen facilities used for making and mixing chemical munitions. The organization is also investigating suspected use of chlorine gas bombs in the conflict.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has stopped short of declaring Syria free of all chemical weapons. The organization, based in The Hague, said last week that verification work was incomplete and that the Syrian authorities had not yet fulfilled pledges to dismantle a dozen facilities used for making and mixing chemical munitions. The organization is also investigating suspected use of chlorine gas bombs in the conflict.