Albania Probes Illegal Transportation of 800 Tonnes of Suspected Hazardous Waste

Albania is investigating the unauthorized shipment of 800 tonnes of suspected hazardous industrial waste from its port to Southeast Asia, prompting the cargo’s return, Bloomberg reports.

Meanwhile, an A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S vessel transporting some of the suspect cargo offloaded the containers in Singapore over the weekend, having initially sailed past the port before doubling back to dock in an unusual move. Some 40 containers that environmental groups allege carry toxic dust waste are set to be transferred Monday onto an MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA vessel that will ferry them back to Europe, according to MSC’s marine cargo tracking website.

Maersk said it’s working with Singaporean authorities and MSC to return the cargo to Albania. For now, the containers are set to arrive at Italy’s Gioia Tauro port in late September, according to the tracking data.

Another 60 containers of suspected waste which is currently on board another Maersk container ship — due in Singapore later this month — will also head back to Europe, Maersk said.

Officials have been working to stop the shipment since Basel Action Network, a US-based nonprofit that tracks toxic trade, informed Thailand earlier this month that the containers it believes are filled with potentially harmful electric arc furnace dust were heading to its port.

Maersk said none of the containers were declared to contain hazardous waste, otherwise it would have declined to carry them.

Environmentalists have been working to thwart the influx of trash from developed countries to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries — from dirty plastic to industrial and electronic waste that are often laced with toxins. Under the United Nations Basel Convention, a global pact signed by many developed economies, countries need to give consent for waste headed their way.

The journey of the suspect containers has set off alarms in multiple countries since they were loaded at the Albanian port of Durres in July, with a final destination of Thailand scheduled for later this month. Thailand refused to accept the shipment after being alerted of its alleged hazardous contents by environmental groups.

As the ships neared Cape Town, South African officials tracked the vessels and put a plan in place that included the navy, police, port authorities and the environment department to conduct a full inspection when the ships docked, said a spokesman for the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. After communication with Maersk, the company told South Africa the ships weren’t scheduled to dock there and would continue on their way to Singapore.

Albania’s Ministry of Tourism and Environment hadn’t given authorization for the export of the alleged hazardous waste, according to spokesman Erjon Uka. Albanian law enforcement are carrying out investigations with the European Union Anti-Fraud Office on “the circumstances and all the logistical links that have carried out this suspected transport from Europe to Southeast Asia,” he said.

The waste is suspected to come from international companies operating near a metallurgical complex in Elbasan, near Durres, he said.

The shipment, consisting of furnace dust, is classified as hazardous waste due to its toxic metal oxide content. This dust, a common byproduct of scrap steel recycling, contains cadmium and chromium, both dangerous for health and the environment.