MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South America News

"Pacific Swan" clears Cape Horn

British flag "Pacific Swan" and its deadly cargo of nuclear vitrified waste cleared last weekend Cape Horn and is now steaming full ahead to Japan. According to the Chilean Navy last Friday at 12:45 hours the British vessel officially penetrated Chile's EEZ and at 13:15 hours the high seas auxiliary Chilean Navy tug "Leucotón" took over the tracking from the Argentine Navy corvette "Rosales". Argentina and Chile decided a joint naval and air monitoring operation in the South Atlantic and Cape Horn when "Pacific Swan's" course became public a few weeks ago. The specially built British vessel is transporting 76 tons of radioactive waste, of French origin, in steel and lead drums for a nuclear processing plant in Yokohama. "Leucotón" tracking at a kilometer's distance reported that the "Pacific Swan" actually sailed at 47 nautical miles from Cape Horn along the Drake Sea and by Sunday evening was out of Chilean jurisdiction. At the time "Pacific Swan" was making a steady 14 knots, with an eight miles visibility and 25 knots winds. In Santiago a spokesman for the Navy recalling a similar situation several years ago with the British "Pacific Pintail", also en route to Japan with radioactive waste, said security conditions were totally different. "Pacific Swan has been specifically built for the job, following Maritime International Organization accepted rulings for hazardous freight, and weather conditions were totally different", said Captain Hugo Barra. However the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its official disturbance and annoyance to France, Britain and Japan over the passage by Cape Horn of radioactive waste in the "Pacific Swan".

130.000 sheep for Arabia

A Cyprus flagged cage vessel is loading in Montevideo harbor with 130.000 sheep that should be sailing for Saudi Arabia this Friday. The operation, the fourth consecutive in the last four years includes mostly lambs with tail, 80% and the rest wethers. Several hundred tons of fodder are also being loaded for the 25 days long trip to Jeddah in the Red Sea. Montevideo agents declined talking about prices but it's believed the twenty kilos a