The U.S. containership MV Cape Ray has called at Rota, Spain, for a port visit and fuel replenishment while en route to aid in removal of Syrian chemical materials, according to Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren.
MV Cape Ray, outfitted with two portable hydrolysis systems, left Portsmouth Naval shipyard to destroy Syrian chemical weapons on January 27.
“When Syria has completed removal of its chemical materials, MV Cape Ray will depart Rota and proceed to the transloading port in Italy, where she will take the chemicals on board,” Warren added.
The removal operation started in the beginning of January, with the first materials transported to the port of Latakia, from where they were loaded onto Danish and Norwegian commercial vessels bound for the Gioia Tauro port.
The second shipment of chemical weapons was loaded onto ships from Denmark and Norway at the end of January at Latakia, Syria. Only 11% of Syrian chemical weapons has been shipped out so far, hence, the objective of removing all weapons from the country until February 5 was missed, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) told CNN.
MV Cape Ray’s crew will neutralize the chemicals at sea in international waters using proven hydrolysis technology.
As explained by US Embassy officials, all waste from the hydrolysis process aboard MV Cape Ray will be safely and properly stored on board until it is disposed of at commercial facilities, which will be selected by the OPCW.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, February 14, 2014; Image: Wikimedia