Maersk Vessels with Hazardous Waste Missing After Failing to Dock in Cape Town

In a concerning maritime mystery, the large Maersk container ship Maersk Campton, along with its sister vessel, Maersk Candor, has vanished after apparently trying to avoid docking in Cape Town, South Africa. Both vessels are believed to be carrying a staggering 816 metric tonnes of potentially hazardous waste, raising alarm among international watchdog groups and environmental organizations.

The disappearance of Maersk Campton was first noticed when its AIS GPS beacon—essential for tracking maritime vessels—was shut off on 31 July, thwarting the South African Government's efforts to monitor the ship's movements. According to the International Maritime Organisation's SOLAS Convention, these beacons should never be deactivated while at sea, unless there is an impending threat to the safety of the ship.

Jim Puckett, Executive Director of the Basel Action Network (BAN), stressed that the only plausible reason for such an evasion could be an attempt to sidestep arrest or inspection due to the possibility of the vessel being implicated in illegal hazardous waste trafficking. BAN, alongside South African environmental group groundWork (Friends of the Earth South Africa) and EARTH in Thailand, called for immediate action from Maersk and government authorities to thwart the potentially unlawful disposal of dangerous waste.

This event brings to light the broader issue of hazardous waste transport and disposal, often a contentious global trade fraught with legal and environmental implications. The Basel Convention, an international treaty designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, particularly from developed to less-developed countries, mandates that exporting, transit, and importing countries must all provide consent for such shipments.

With 100 containers of toxic steel furnace dust—waste collected from pollution control filters—on board, the risk of environmental contamination is exceptionally high. The waste, initially from Albania and headed to Thailand, circumvented regulatory oversight, leaving both end-point countries and South African transit authorities in the dark.

The situation intensifies as the whereabouts of both Maersk Campton and Maersk Candor remain unknown. The ships could potentially alter their destination or even attempt to disperse the waste unlawfully, given their capacity to obscure their GPS signals. This has led to a call for the ships' immediate seizure and analysis of their cargo. Should the contents validate the suspicions of hazardous materials, it is demanded that the waste be repatriated to Albania at the exporter's expense.

Authorities in Thailand, like the director of the national environmental group EARTH, Penchom Saetang, adamantly proclaimed that Thailand will not become a receptacle for global hazardous waste. These recent events underscore the challenges faced in policing the international waste trade and the necessity for robust international collaboration and vigilance to protect human health and the environment.

As of the latest updates, the Maersk Campton had been located in the Riau Archipelago, with an expected arrival in Singapore on 18 August, as per marine traffic information systems. Meanwhile, the Maersk Candor's latest location was logged over a week ago, with an arrival in Singapore scheduled for 24 August. International authorities are keenly watching these movements as the search and call for accountability continues.