After investigations, Greenpeace found records of deficiencies that could have contributed to the events that ended with the sinking of the Seikongen

Greenpeace condemns waste landing from salmon ship

The unloading and transferring process of the 100 tonnes of dead salmon kept for months in the holds of the ship Seinkongen, which had sunk off the coast of Chiloé, was described by Greenpeace as an "undercover operation" and with standards of environmental security far from being guaranteed.

The toxic material unloading operations began in the early hours on Sunday morning, when ships transferred tonnes of waste to San José plant in the Calbuco district.

Alerted by the situation, villagers and local organizations tried to block the access doors, from where other trucks began to transport the toxic waste to the salmon waste plant Fiordo Austral, some 45 kilometres away. According to the environmental organization, several detainees are reported for these protests in Calbuco and the intervention of Special Forces.

"We are facing a maneuver that has been attempted at midnight, right in the middle of the 18th festivities to try to do so as secretly as possible. It is evident that there is willingness to try to solve this environmental crisis with the least possible communication impacts. Neither Camanchaca salmon company nor the authorities has listened to the communities and local authorities that have rejected the maneuver. The most serious thing is that all this maneuver is being done without taking into account the judicial remedies that have been filed to prevent the procedure. The government does not seem to have learned Quintero’s lesson and is more committed to solving problems for companies than to guaranteeing people's health," said Estefanía González, a coordinator of the Greenpeace oceans area.

Inside the vessel there were 214 tons of rotten salmon, which includes chemicals and gases. To that the 67 thousand liters of petroleum are added. Photo: Courtesy of radio.uchile.cl

The 100 tonnes of salmon, after being unloaded in Calbuco, will be sent to a processing plant in the area, where they will be transformed into a large mass of salmon mud. The idea is that this sludge is as non-toxic as possible when it reaches its final destination: the Ecoprial plant for industrial waste in Osorno.

The place, however, has an extensive record of sanctions for non-compliance with environmental standards. "How can the community be sure of a procedure where the final recipient of the waste is far from being a reliable site and where even the Superintendency of the Environment has presented repairs to its operations?" wondered Gonzalez.

According to Greenpeace, the unloading procedure has been plagued by irregularities. For example, it indicates that the authorities have not provided the technical background or the statements supporting the decision to do this risky maneuver at sea, that information has not been provided regarding the ships that carried out the operation, what certifications they had, and less environmental safety measures that were taken to carry it out.

"According to our satellite images, there was no presence of naval vessels supervising this discharge at sea. The truth is that at this moment nobody can guarantee that the operation did not have environmental consequences, which could be visible not immediately, but in the future," warned the NGO coordinator.

Due to the above, Greenpeace made an urgent call to the government: "At this moment in the area, fewer Special Forces officials and more environmental inspectors are needed. Do not continue to enlarge the sacrifice areas in the country."

Related articles:

- Camanchaca denies knowing causes of wellboat Seikongen singing
- Sernapesca denounces Camanchaca for failing to withdraw salmon mortality
- SERNAPESCA oversees withdrawal of 200 tonnes of dead salmon from casualty wellboat

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