Sinking warships will not help nature
- Created on Tuesday, 21 February 2012 22:12
Portugal’s ‘League for the Protection of Nature’ (LPN) today criticized the project of sinking four warships off the coast of Portimão, arguing that the project will harm the environment and that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been carried out.
In a statement, the National Directorate of LPN reports that a letter has been sent to the environment minister, Assunção Cristas, and the minister of defence, Aguiar Branco, which contends that the project violates national and European legislation on waste disposal.
Last Monday, two of the four naval warships arrived in harbour, having been assigned to the project to create artificial reefs for recreational diving.
In the coming weeks, the oceanographic ship Almeida Carvalho and the frigate Hermenegildo Capelo will be decontaminated and then sunk well offshore in a private scheme that includes the Portimão Camara and the Portuguese Navy.
The president of LPN, Alexandra Cunha, criticized the project, arguing that the ships "are waste and should be treated as such", and should be "recycled and not placed on the seabed."
Recognizing that in these cases the law does not require the implementation of an EIA, the LPN asked the ministers to explain the background to the project and the terms of the license.
The "ships are five thousand tons of iron dumped in the sea, this is waste just like any other." The LPN questioned why the company and the municipality does not use any of the twelve existing shipwrecks along the Algarve coast from Sagres to Guadiana for recreational diving.
According to Greenpeace, the sinking of ships to create an area for recreational diving violates several policies, and national and international environmental protection conventions, including the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and Water Framework Directive.
"When you opt to sink ships, whatever the purpose, you can not disregard waste management practices set up to prevent marine pollution and the preservation of marine species and habitats," reads LPN’s statement.
