Brazil’s Ship Graveyard is an Environmental Disaster, Environmental Activists Warn

In Brazil, there is a ship graveyard where abandoned cargo ships stay, and environmental activists are warning that it is an environmental disaster.

In mid-November this year, a huge abandoned cargo ship broke free from its moorings and floated into Latin America’s longest over-water bridge. Brazil’s navy said the 200-meter-long (660-ft.) Sao Luiz was built in 1994 and was anchored for over six years in the bay while it awaited legal proceedings.

“The Sao Luiz is still in the Port of Rio today, with 50 tonnes of fuel oil in it,” Sergio Ricardo, co-founder of socio-environmental group Movimento Baia Viva (Living Bay Movement) told Reuters.

Ricardo also pointed to high levels of corrosion and said that the ship is unsafe and could cause an environmental disaster. Unfortunately, this is not the only ship that has been left in Brazil’s ship graveyard. Dozens of ships are left in the polluted bay, which was once home to mangroves and thriving marine ecosystems.

Reuters reported that pollution worsened by the graveyard of ships is threatening local sea horses, green turtles, and Guiana dolphins. A survey earlier this year by the Rio de Janeiro State University found that only 34 Guiana dolphins remain in the bay, compared to the around 800 in the 90s.

We need to make sure that these ships are cleaned up so that marine life can flourish once again!

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