Customs and industrial works officials are on alert for a cargo ship, carrying 100 containers loaded with about 816 tonnes of arc furnace dust, a hazardous form of industrial waste, which was reportedly heading for Thailand.
According to Jullapong Thaveesri, director-general of Industrial Works Department, Thailand has neither received any request for permission to import the dust into the country nor has an import permit been issued for the hazardous industrial waste.
He did disclose that, in 2022, the Thai government sent a note to the Albanian government, informing it that Thailand had banned the import of such waste.
Even though there is a report that the container ship, belonging to Maersk Campton, has already changed direction to an alternative destination, Jullapong said Thai officials remain vigilant and are monitoring the vessel’s progress closely.
Three non-profit NGOs, namely the Basel Action Network of the United States, Friends of the Earth of South Africa and EARTH Thailand, have been updating the Industrial Works Department on the movements of freighter.
Kriengkrai Chaisiriwongsuk, director of the Ports Authority of Thailand, said that the vessel is currently heading towards Singapore, but officials at Laem Chabang deep-sea port have been instructed to step up surveillance, to ensure that the cargo ship is not allowed to dock.
