MEXICO CITY, February 4 – RIA Novosti. The Brazilian Navy sank the former aircraft carrier Sao Paulo, which was banned from entering the country’s inland waters due to the risk of grounding, in the Atlantic.

The only aircraft carrier of the Brazilian Navy, São Paulo, was decommissioned and sold to Turkish company Sök in 2021 for US$1.9 million. The new owner towed the ship to Turkey, where it was to be dismantled in the summer of 2022, but when it arrived in the Mediterranean, local authorities withdrew its parking permit.

The aircraft carrier was taken back to Brazil, which they refused to accept, citing environmental and port security risks – there were already several holes in the hull and it was taking in water, there was a risk of uncontrolled flooding.

In January, the Brazilian Navy took over operations on the former aircraft carrier, which had been in the country’s territorial waters for several months.

According to the Navy, the ship was sunk at a depth of about 5,000 meters, 350 kilometers off the coast. The floodplain was chosen with consideration of navigation and safety for the environment, fisheries and ecosystems.

The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources has questioned the safety of sinking such a ship for local ecosystems, as its structure contains significant amounts of pollutants, including asbestos, chlorofluorocarbons, microplastic particles and heavy metals. The Institute noted that countries such as Italy, Norway, Denmark and Turkey have accredited shipyards for the “green processing” of ships in accordance with the rules of the UN International Maritime Organization and the Basel Convention.