London Based Law Firm to Represent Ivory Coast Victims in Toxic Waste Case
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According to a press release posted on the WEB site of a London-based solicitor, “High Court proceedings have been issued on behalf of people in the Ivory Coast who have suffered widespread death and injury as a result of exposure to toxic chemicals unloaded from the Probo Koala, a tanker, on August 18th 2006.” The vessel was chartered by Trafigura, a London-based commodities trading firm. The proceedings allege the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan which led to the death of ten Ivory Coast residents, and injured as many as 100,000 local people.
The case specifically involves the August port call of the tanker “Probo Koala” in Abidjan. While in Abidjan, the tanker’s charterers contracted with a local firm to dispose of tank cleaning slops. The slops eventually were alleged to have been discharged in open-air sites and into the waterways of Abidjan, resulting in scores of deaths and injuries to local residents. London solicitors Leigh Day & Co. have been asked to represent the local people there.
Martyn Day, of Leigh Day & Co said, in a prepared statement posted on their WEB site,
“This has been a disaster on a monumental scale. We hold Trafigura fully to account for all the deaths and injuries that have resulted from the dumping of their waste. Although the events took place thousands of miles away it is right that this British company is made to account for its actions by the British Courts and made to pay British levels of damages for what happened. A British company should act in Abidjan in exactly the same way as they would act in Abergavenny.”
For its part, Trafigura has said that it is saddened by the deaths and illnesses in the Ivory Coast, but also has denies any part in the disposal or dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. A press release posted on their WEB site on 13 November stated, “The Probo Koala did not carry a cargo of toxic waste to dump in West Africa. It carried a commercial cargo of 36,000 cubic metres of gasoline from Estonia to Nigeria. In addition, the vessel had 528 cbm of waste slops (being spent caustic soda, gasoline residues and water) in separate slop tanks which were intended to be discharged at a suitable port.”
Trafigura’s press release went on to explain that the Probo Koala did not discharge the slop material in Nigeria because of concerns that the companies could not safely discharge the slops from the vessel. Instead, Trafigura’s shipping agent arranged for a government-certified company to take the slops from the vessel and then safely dispose of the material. Reportedly, the ship left Abidjan with all normal clearances from the port authorities two days later. What happened after that with regard to the slop material, according to Trafigura, is a matter for the Ivory Coast authorities to sort out.
Trafigura also announced that they had “issued proceedings for libel against solicitors Leigh Day & Co in respect of a press release and website publication in which Trafigura is wrongly accused of causing death and injury to the population of Abidjan in the Ivory Coast and widespread environmental damage.” In the wake of the incident, Trafigura also reportedly dispatched two representatives ??" described by Trafigura as a Trafigura director and senior executive - to Abidjan on September 14th to try to assist the Ivorian authorities, but these individuals were arrested on September 18. A London-based Trafigura spokeswoman told MarEx today that they are extremely concerned over the welfare of their personnel, both of whom remain in an Ivory coast prison.
Trafigura is an independent commodities trading firm, in business since 1993. According to Trafigura, they have their head office in Amsterdam, with offices in 35 other countries. Reportedly, Trafigura has set up its own independent inquiry into the incident.