Port authority announces removal of Professor Besnard vessel from Port of Santos

The vessel Professor Besnard, known for its numerous trips to Antarctica, will be dismantled and moved to another location, opening room for the Valongo Park, soon to be implemented in the Port of Santos. The vessel represents an environmental risk and is no longer suitable for navigation. The São Paulo State Court of Justice determined the ship’s removal following a request filed by the Port Authority of Santos (APS). The city of Ilhabela, which owns the ship, must pay this service’s costs.

“The removal of the ship is an important step toward the completion of the revitalization project and future public use of the area situated between warehouses 1 and 7 in the Port of Santos,” said port authority president Anderson Pomini, who recalled that the ship has not been used since 2008, having completed its mission after 40 years of service and 150 trips to Antarctica.

The Brazilian Navy’s division responsible for overseeing maritime regulations attested, based on a report by naval technologist Ismaelso Zanetti Júnior, that the ship is not seaworthy and, thus, it may be towed away to Ilhabela and sunk artificially to give way for coral reefs.

The Court made the risks of the sinking clear: “The sinking of a contaminated structure is out of the question under penalty of effective risk to the natural environment.” He also informed that the University of São Paulo made sure to preserve the ship’s memory by removing “all the material of historical interest from the vessel to its museum, so practically only the carcass remains…”

Now, APS will inform Ilhabela of the costs of dismantling and will initiate the vessel’s immediate removal, complying with all environmental safety criteria.

Fonte: APS

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