The cruiser “Sao Paulo” was reputedly six decades old when Brazil deliberately and carefully sunk it off the coast of Brazil.
The “planned and controlled sinking occurred late in the afternoon” on Friday, “about 5,000 metres [16,000 feet] off the Brazilian coast in the Atlantic Ocean,” according to the report.
Despite the fact that defence officials declared they would burn the ship in the “safest spot,” environmentalists criticised the decision, alleging the cruiser held tonnes of asbestos, heavy metals, and other dangerous substances that could seep into the ocean and poison the marine food chain.
Notably, in the 1960s, the Sao Paulo participated in France’s first nuclear tests in the Pacific, and from the 1970s to the 1990s, it was stationed in Africa, the Middle East, and the former Yugoslavia.
Brazilian purchased the 266-meter (873-foot) aircraft carrier in 2000 for USD 12 million. The ship’s demise was accelerated in 2005 when a fire started there.
