TRAFIGURA Employees Released by Ivory Coast Authorities after Settlement of PROBO KOALA Incident

In a February 13 press release, Trafigura has said that they welcomed the release of three executives. All three men, who claim their innocence, have been detained in the Ivory Coast since September 2006 because of toxic chemicals unloaded from the Probo Koala, a tanker, on August 18th 2006.” The vessel was chartered by Trafigura and was alleged that the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan eventually led to the deaths 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. Later, London solicitors Leigh Day & Co. were asked to represent the local people there.

In the wake of the incident, Trafigura reportedly dispatched representatives, described by Trafigura as a director and senior executives to Abidjan on September 14th to try to assist the Ivorian authorities. Instead, these individuals were arrested on September 18 and placed in an Ivory Coast prison, where they remained until their release earlier this week.

Yesterday’s Trafigura press release went on to say, “Neither the company nor the Ivory Coast government accepts liability for the events of last August involving the Probo Koala. However, Trafigura takes its role as a global citizen very seriously and to that end is financially supporting the government for the future health of its citizens.”

At the heart of the settlement and critical to the release of the men is an agreement by Trafigura to pay the government of Ivory Coast the sum of approximately $200 million, according to a Washington-based Trafigura spokesman. Projects to be funded by this settlement will likely include funding of an independent environmental audit in Abidjan, including the role and performance of those parties involved; a full assessment of the continuing impact on the local community and financial support towards the construction of a new domestic waste disposal plant and a new hospital.

"We welcome the impending release of all three men and look forward to them being reunited with their families and their colleagues," said Eric de Turckheim, a Trafigura director. He went on to say "Both the Ivorian government and Trafigura can now move forward together to act in the best interests of the people of Abidjan."

Trafigura will continue doing business in the Ivory Coast, said Mr. de Turckheim. Following his release from custody in Abidjan, Trafigura director Claude Dauphin said, “My colleagues and I are relieved and overjoyed to be in the arms of our families again after five months in jail as innocent men. We went to the Ivory Coast on a mission to help the people of Abidjan, and to find ourselves arrested and in jail as a result has been a terrible ordeal for ourselves and our families. If any good can come of this, my colleagues and I now look forward to Trafigura and the Ivorian government working together for a better future for the people of Abidjan. I hope everyone will understand that we now wish to spend time recovering in private with our families."

For its part, Trafigura has said that it is saddened by the deaths and illnesses in the Ivory Coast, but has denied all along 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.

The case has spawned civil law suits in the United Kingdom, and the Ivory Coast incident was mentioned last week in the European Union’s sweeping new proposal to criminalize environmental offenses across the breadth of the 27-nation EU bloc.

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. After the incident, Trafigura also set up its own independent inquiry.Along with the Ivorian government and the international shipping and political communities, Trafigura is now awaiting the findings of Lord Fraser’s independent report into the events of last August in Abidjan.