Ship with asbestos “Moby Drea” must leave Split by tomorrow

A tugboat from Malta, which will tow the Moby Drea ship, has arrived in Split. It is an Italian ship that has been the subject of protests by Split residents for a month, considering that it is anchored in front of the Brodosplit shipyard with 250 tons of asbestos panels. It has until tomorrow to leave the city.

“According to unofficial information, the ship should sail from Split tomorrow during the day,” journalist Anita Markovina Radnić told Croatian Radio Television for news at noon.

“What will happen to it next is unknown. The Italian owner is not revealing where it will go. Whether it will go to a shipyard for further repairs is not known for now. The Citizens' initiative people are overjoyed, they say this is what they fought for, they will wave to it from Sustipan and wish it a safe voyage, but they say as far away from Croatian territorial waters as possible,” said Markovina Radnić.

On Wednesday, a thematic session of the city council will be held in Split to discuss Brodosplit and the future of shipbuilding.

“After all, it is a huge plot of land, 400 thousand square meters. There is a chance that in the future, as Mayor Tomislav Šuta advocates, shipbuilding will remain here, but in a smaller form. The shipyard is not too happy with the development of the whole situation; they say that a large project they were counting on to finally get back on their feet financially has failed. Nothing will come of that now, but they say that they will not give up on this type of work,” concluded Markovina Radnić.

Data from pre-bankruptcy proceedings show that Brodosplit's debt to the Ministry of the Sea for unpaid concession fees amounts to two million euros. They owe the City of Split 1.8 million euros for utility and water fees.

Technical conditions met, all that remains is to untie the ship

Brodosplit spokesperson Josip Jurišić and Ante Tešija from the Civic Initiative Healthy Split appeared as guests on Croatian Radio Television’s Studio 4 show.

“It is very important for us that the ship sails,” said Tešija, adding that discussions about whether money and jobs have been "lost" or not are less important now. He added that it is important that asbestos must not be unloaded in Croatia, because it is waste.

“The tugboat is in our waters. But the question of when the ship will sail is best answered by the owner. He is the one who obtained the permits for entry, and will also obtain them for departure. We are ready, we have secured the technical conditions, we literally just have to untie the ship,” emphasized Jurišić.

The ship's owner immediately suspended work

The ship Moby Drea, which is carrying asbestos panels, a total of 250 tons, was towed to the port of Brodosplit on the last day of July, for the removal of partition walls filled with asbestos panels, which are located in the passenger cabins. This alarmed citizens, who were also supported by Mayor Tomislav Šuta, so they gathered under the Civic Initiative Healthy Split and held several protests demanding that the ship leave the shipyard as soon as possible.

On August 11, the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure issued a decision on the ship's departure from the shipyard and Croatian territorial waters within seven days. It then partially accepted the request of the ship's owner, Med Fuel S.r.l., and extended the deadline for removing the ship by an additional 15 days, due to the complex logistical and technical preparations.

The Ministry banned any work to remove asbestos panels from the ship and ordered the Split Port Authority to monitor the implementation of the decision. The ship's owner immediately suspended all work, including the removal of asbestos-containing partitions, emphasizing that they were trying to comply with the law and safety standards.

Source: HRT