TIRANA, Albania — A ship believed to be transporting a significant amount of hazardous waste arrived at Albania’s premier port on Friday, prompting prosecutors to order an examination of its cargo.

The Turkish-flagged vessel, Moliva XA443A, was maintained at an anchorage roughly 1.5 kilometers from Durres port, which is located 33 kilometers west of Tirana. This was until the authorities identified a suitable area outside the port for the secure storage of the containers, as stated by officials from both the port and prosecutor’s office.

The containers are anticipated to be relocated to a facility in Porto Romano, situated 6 kilometers away. Around ten days prior, prosecutors mandated that the containers be confiscated and kept in a location deemed “environmentally and physically safe” for monitoring purposes.

The prosecutor’s office has reached out to various organizations to perform laboratory analyses on the materials inside the containers. The Basel Action Network (BAN), an environmental non-profit based in Seattle, raised the alarm in August after being tipped off by a whistleblower. They suspect that the ship is carrying approximately 2,100 tons of toxic dust derived from steel industry pollution control filters.

According to BAN, the containers departed Durres on July 4 aboard two Maersk-chartered vessels bound for Thailand. The organization notified multiple transit nations and collaborated with EARTH, a Thai environmental group, to raise awareness concerning the shipment.

Thailand subsequently declined to accept the cargo and requested that Singaporean authorities intervene. Following this, the vessels made a stop at a Turkish port before the containers were transferred to the Turkish-flagged ship, which briefly docked in Gioia Tauro, Italy, before arriving in Albania. Reports indicated that customs documentation labeled the cargo as iron oxide.

In August, opposition figures in Albania charged the government with involvement in the illegal trafficking of hazardous materials. Prime Minister Edi Rama defended the government in Parliament in September, affirming that the shipment’s documentation was validated and that iron oxide is not classified as toxic waste under European standards utilized by Albania’s environmental and customs regulations.

BAN has urged authorities to conduct a public unveiling and sampling of the containers to maintain transparency throughout the process. There are concerns that the cargo may consist of toxic dust from steel production filters sourced from an Albanian company, as well as being illegally imported from Kosovo and Germany.

BAN emphasized that while Albania aspires to join the European Union and is keen on aligning its hazardous waste regulations with EU standards, it should implement a prohibition on the export of hazardous, household, electronic, and plastic wastes to developing nations.

Currently, there has been no immediate response from Albania’s Ministry of Tourism and Environment regarding the situation.