Tirana: A ship suspected of carrying a large amount of hazardous waste docked Friday at Albania’s main port, where prosecutors have ordered that its contents be tested.
The Turkish-flagged Moliva XA443A was kept at an anchorage about 1.5 kilometres from the port of Durres, 33 kilometres west of the capital, until authorities found a spot out of the port to store the containers, officials from the Port and Prosecutor’s Office said.
The containers are expected to be sent to an agency in Porto Romano, 6 kilometres away.
Ten days ago, prosecutors ordered the containers to be seized and stored “at an environmentally and physically safe place” for monitoring.
The prosecutor’s office has asked different
institutions to conduct lab tests of the material in the containers.
Media coverage showed the containers being unloaded from the ship and headed to the quarantine area.
“The case is under investigation from the Durres prosecutor’s office and the Ministry of Tourism and Environment is cooperating for anything
that the justice institution asks for,” ministry spokesperson Erjon Uka told The Associated Press.