Nigerians bust second ship carrying old fridges, TV sets, batteries

A SECOND ship allegedly carrying "toxic" cargo - old fridges, TV sets and batteries - has been arrested in Lagos, reports the local Vanguard newspaper.

The cargo movement allegedly contravenes provisions of the 1992 Basel Convention, an international treaty designed to ban waste cargo movements from developed countries to developing countries.



The United States signed the treaty but did not ratify it.



The Panamanian-flagged 5,580-ton Gumel, a dry cargo ship, was docking at the Tin-Can Island terminal when officials of Nigeria`s National Environmental Standards Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) arrested the vessel.



Of official interest are six FEUs and two TEUs, bringing used fridges, used television sets, compressor pots and used batteries, which allegedly affect atmospheric ozone negatively.



"CFCs are no longer in use in Europe and what they do is that some of them connive with Nigerians to send them here," said NESREA post chief Miranda Amachree told Vanguard.



She said they had intelligence that the vessel was coming from Antwerp as a result of an agreement to enforce a ban against imports emitting chloro fluoro carbons (CFC). Nigeria is a signatory to the Basil Convention that seeks to eliminate the use of CFCs because of their effect on the ozone layer.



Ms Amachree said the Nigerian Navy would have stopped the vessel from coming into the country since it had the Automated Information System, AIS, but that they did not have the information at the time.



A source in the new Nigerian capital of Abuja told Vanguard that 41 containers came from Antwerp, but officials only intercepted 33 and that eight got away.



In April, Nigeria impounded a containership called the Nashville, of unclear ownership and origin that was laden with 70 used lead batteries and broken televisions.