It is at the bottom of the water that the wanderings of the former French aircraft carrier Foch will end. The Brazilian authorities have decided to sink in the Atlantic this flagship of the French navy, which passed in 2000 under the Brazilian flag, which sailed for a long time at sea in search of a port of refuge, we learned from a military source.
“Faced with the risks involved in towing and due to the deterioration of the waterline […], the only solution is to abandon the hull by sinking it in a controlled manner”, explained late Wednesday in a joint press release the navy and the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, adding that given its condition, “spontaneous sinking” of the hull was inevitable in the long term.
A highly controversial decision, the old hull of 266 meters long being filled with asbestos, paints and other toxic waste, according to several organizations for the defense of the environment. Two weeks ago, the navy announced that it had taken the former aircraft carrier in tow in the Atlantic, 315 km from the Brazilian coast.
She said that given his state of degradation and the “high risk” he poses to the environment, she would not allow his return to a port or Brazilian territorial waters. Several NGOs then expressed their fear of seeing Brazil commit an “environmental crime”, the Robin Hood association describing the former aircraft carrier as “toxic package of 30,000 tons”.
Built in the late 1950s at the Saint-Nazaire shipyard in western France, the Foch served the French Navy for 37 years. It was bought in 2000 by Brazil, which renamed it São Paulo.