The tug Gauntlet that was pulling the stranded ship Horizon Trader was last located in Mauritius waters. Horizon Trader owned by US shipping company Matson Inc was sold for primitive shipbreaking at Alang. The original memorandum of agreement for the sale of the ship stipulated that the buyer would responsibly recycle the vessel in the US.
The Basel Action Network (BAN, an international toxic waste watchdog), the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai and the Coast Guard have not been able to track Horizon Trader tugged by MISS Gaunt.
The tug vessel Gauntlet, which is apparently laden with Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) and radioactive substances, had now been located at latitude 18.94535 and longitude 70.9733 off the coast of Maharashtra.
The blackout was falsely claimed to dump toxic waste into Indian waters putting the country’s maritime security and environment at risk.
“As soon as the tug leaves the vessel it appears there is no way of keeping track of the Trader,” said New Delhi-based activist Gopal Krishna of Toxic Watch Alliance. The two have since been separated and remain untraceable for Indian authorities looking for them south of Mumbai.
Source: The Hindu
