BBC NAPLES

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Ship with radio active cargo now six miles off the port after engine breakdown

The 'BBC Naples', carrying radioactive materials, had made an emergency call at the Hambantota International Port on April 20 at 9 p.m. Upon identifying the failure to declare the cargo, Sri Lankan authorities swiftly to respond to the ad hoc berthing operation and immediately requested that the vessel be removed from Sri Lankan waters. As per the mandate the Navy and Sri Lanka Ports Authority instructed the ship to leave Sri Lankan waters since the radioactive materials weren’t declared. They also followed instructions given by the International Atomic Energy Agency as well. The ship was en route from Rotterdam to China and entered port for urgent repairs following an engine breakdown due to rough seas. Agents for the vessel in Sri Lanka, Ms. Barwil Meridian Navigation, had not declared to the port authorities that there was dangerous cargo on board prior to the vessel entering the port. It was later found that they were carrying a cargo of Uranium Hexafluoride via investigations made by the Sri Lanka Navy and the Port Authority. The vessel was required to leave the port no sooner the facts were verified. The SLPA, Navy, and Customs officials had approved all the necessary documentation prior to berthing of the vessel, based on the declaration made by the agent. The Navy and Customs were present at all times to ensure that there wasn’t any cargo unloaded onto the Hambantota International Port premises. The 'BBC Naples' has violated Sri Lanka’s Atomic Energy Act No. 40 of 2014 which requires the declaration of materials. Section 50 sub-section 1 of the Act states that notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, no approval, authority or permission shall be granted for the export from or import into Sri Lanka of any controlled item, without the prior written approval of the Council. (2) (a). An approval shall be obtained on application made to the Council for the same, in such form and on the payment of such fee, as determined by the Council. Any person who imports into or exports from Sri Lanka any controlled item in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) shall commit an offence and on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable, in addition to any other penalty that may be imposed for committing an offence under any other law, to a fine not exceeding 500.000 rupees or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment. A letter was sent requesting for reasons as to why they didn’t declare the cargo at the time the approval was being given. They have admitted that it was a mistake, but that’s not an acceptable reason. The ship has been taken to the outer port and was anchored six nautical miles away from the Hambantota Port. The technical issue aboard the vessel was rectified as of April 22, and the ship thereafter left Sri Lankan waters.

Ship with radio active cargo expelled from Hambantota

On April 21, 2021, Sri Lankan authorities expelled the 'BBC Naples' which had entered its waters without declaring a shipment of radioactive materials destined for China. The ship was asked to leave the port of Hambantota after the discovery along with its shipment of uranium hexafluoride. The ship has not declared its cargo dangerous, and it was decided to order it to leave the waters immediately. The ship was coming from Rotterdam.