A Dutch-owned ship implicated in the illegal export of toxic waste was in Maltese territorial waters four times in the period when it took on board dirty oil from a Maltese-registered tanker, Transport Malta has confirmed.
The case goes back to 2006 when the Probo Koala, owned by Dutch oil trading company Trafigura, was involved in an operation to clean low-grade oil by mixing it with caustic soda on board.
The operation produced a toxic by-product that the company tried to pass off as “harmless slops”. Dutch authorities stopped Trafigura from unloading the waste for treatment in Amsterdam and the Probo Koala eventually off-loaded its toxic sludge in Ivory Coast, which allegedly led to the death of 17 people and the injury of thousands of others in a widely publicised scandal.
Malta was implicated in the case because part of the waste was produced from the treatment of oil that had been transferred to the Probo Koala from two Maltese-registered ships, the MT Seapurha and the MT Seavinha.
The transhipment involving the MT Seapurha happened at Hurd’s Bank, to the east of Valletta, just outside Malta’s territorial waters on April 11, 2006.
Asked whether it was aware of the Probo Koala’s activities, Transport Malta confirmed the ship was in Maltese territorial waters, which extend to 12 miles, on April 10, 12, 13 and 15.
However, Transport Malta said the ship was in territorial waters to take on board supplies and personnel.
“No ship to ship activity was carried out within territorial waters. Transport Malta’s jurisdiction does not extend beyond territorial waters,” the authority said when asked whether caustic washing was acceptable to the Maltese authorities.
The dates indicated by Transport Malta confirm that the ship was already carrying toxic waste created by caustic washing when it entered territorial waters on April 12, 13 and 15.
The two Malta-flagged ships involved in the affair are no longer on the Maltese shipping register but Transport Malta would not say whether it had taken any action against the owners after the case came to light.
Labour MP Owen Bonnici has called on the government to clarify the Malta link in the Trafigura case since it risked damaging the country’s reputation.
In Parliament and subsequently in an article in The Times, he asked whether the government knew of the caustic washing that was happening on board the Probo Koala and whether any international authority had informed the government of what was going on.
Trafigura was fined €1 million by an Amsterdam court two weeks ago after it was found guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste.
Around 1,000 Ivorians had sued Trafigura for the alleged damage caused by the toxic waste. Although the company denied the allegations in 2007, it reached an out of court settlement to the tune of $160 million with the government of Ivory Coast and agreed to pay another $50 million in 2009 to Ivorians who said they had been poisoned by the waste.
The latest case was the first time the company had faced criminal proceedings over its actions.