NewsWhore
06-06-2008, 03:00 PM
Felipe Ditren at the Ministry of Environment is denying reports that he was who authorized the entrance of a Panamanian boat carrying toxic materials into Dominican waters. The ship, which is currently docked in Barahona, has been ordered to be towed from Dominican waters. The Deputy Environmental Minister didn't buy the excuse and has blamed Ditren for the ship's presence. He added that Ditren made a mistake in the interpretation of the law and said that an investigation into the case would take place. Ditren however claims that the "sludge" on the ship is not toxic and explained that it is just a mix of water and diesel fuel. Ditren also claims that the ship, registered as MST-Trinidad, was in the country for maintenance and was never scheduled to dump any of the sludge. The ship has been given until today to leave the DR and Barahona Environmental prosecutor Bolivar D'Oleo said the ship was expected to leave at 6am. The vessel needed to tow the ship out was not available and it is expected to arrive sometime today. Law 64-00 prohibits the importation of toxic material to the DR and also prohibits the use of the DR as a transit point for those hazardous materials.
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More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#13)