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| U.S. Vessel to Tote Poison Gas From Syria to Sea | U.S. Vessel to Tote Poison Gas From Syria to Sea |
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| 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. | 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. |
| The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a group based in The Hague 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. | The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a group based in The Hague 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. |
| It is “an operation that ensures the security of the world and peace,” said Italy’s environment minister, Gian Luca Galletti, who followed the operation to Gioia Tauro. “It’s the affirmation of a value.” | |
| While some environmentalists expressed concern about the potential risks of the transfer, the minister said he did not see protesters at the port on Wednesday. News reports said some opponents 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 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 toxic substances 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 that render the dangerous chemicals harmless. That process will begin once the Cape Ray 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. |
| Repeated delays in the removal of the chemicals meant that a June 30 deadline for their destruction was not met. | 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 chemical weapons. The organization 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. | The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has stopped short of declaring Syria free of chemical weapons. The organization 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. |