Mystery Ship Worries African Enviros

by Amadou Sakho

Since October 1999, the 170-meter vessel has been bobbing in the waters seven kilometers from Dakar near the Isle of Goree. Its hull appears to be sprouting seaweed and its cockpit is rusting into oblivion.

All the boat's identifying marks have been whitewashed and it hoists no flag, making its nationality difficult to identify.

On a rail, near the cockpit, is a large red sign which reads: "No smoking, dangerous cargo."

Three crew members reportedly still live on the ship -- a situation heavily criticized by environmentalists.

Haidar El Ali, a marine environmentalist and director of Oceanium, a diving school in Dakar, has been on board the ship a dozen times.

He says the captain, a Russian named Sergei Bondarev, refuses to speak to him. This only confirms Ali's worst fears.

"It is a floating garbage can. It is a chemical tanker made to transport sulfuric acid. It has 30 vaults, but no one knows what is in them," says Ali.

The Union of Senegalese Environmentalists (RES), a group formed in 1999, has also expressed alarm over the ship's mysterious cargo and has questioned why it has lingered for so long in the waters off Dakar.

"It's normal for 10 percent of ship's liquid cargo to remain in the hold after delivery. Some liquid always remains. So since there's also a 25 by 12 meter crack in the boat, it's definitely leaking pollution," explains Ousmane Sow Huchard, the chairperson of RES.

Such accusations are dismissed out of hand by Port of Dakar security officials. "The ship is in waters outside the port's boundaries, but we still go out there every day for a routine check. It is not dangerous because there is only sea water inside," a manager in charge of port security says.

To calm public fears, the Merchant Marine director's office organized a guided tour of the boat this month.

"The ship is in our waters because its owner, Dakar Nave, wants it to be repaired here. That's why it was towed here from Praia in the Cape Verde islands," a spokesperson from the office said.

He added that the Port Captaincy has sent a team out to inspect the boat, which has not yet received authorization to come into port.

"We are aware of the danger the ship may present to maritime safety," says Abdoul Amid Diop, director of the Senegalese Merchant Marine.

Bondarev, the ship's captain, has denied that the ship or its cargo poses a threat to Senegal. "The idea was to bring the boat here to be repaired and begin using it again," he said. "We've seen some holes, but the boat is huge and floats like a bar of soap. I can assure you that we are carrying nothing that might be dangerous."

The captain explained that the ship used to carry phosphoric acid to India.

"We have nothing to hide. If there were a problem, the men would not be sleeping here. Furthermore, the port authorities come and check on us everyday. To calm everyone's fears, a Romanian government representative is coming here to talk with the Senegalese authorities," he added.

Bondarev laments that there is no company in all of Africa capable of processing stainless steel. But in spite of his reassurances, marine environmentalists fear the worst.

"The ship could sink at any time, all the more so since its draft is already 12 meters below the water level. And if it sinks, everything inside will spill into the ocean. It will be a catastrophe we will not be able to control in the slightest," warns Haidar El Ali.

Given the dilapidated state of the boat, the Port of Dakar management is preparing for the eventuality of it sinking.

In fact, they have taken steps to have it sunk.

Merchant Marine authorities have already summoned the ship's owner and brought in two Romanian diving experts. However, their report has been kept under lock and key.

"We cannot understand why this boat has been in our waters for so long. Why haven't the port authorities published the report on the plan to sink the boat 700 meters to the bottom of the ocean? We plan to alert and inform our fellow environmentalists all over the world about this," warned Ousmane Sow Huchard of the RES.

To force the boat out of Senegal's coastal waters, Haidar has launched a public and political awareness campaign.

He says, "About three weeks ago I spoke with Col. Mbarick, an advisor to the president, but I'm still waiting to see what he does. I also wrote to the French minister for the environment to warn them of the danger."

Haidar says he plans to organize a demonstration of about 50 canoes around the ship, which is called the "Orient Flower."