Controversy mounts in Turkey over an asbestos contaminated ship. The Mexican chemical tanker, the Otapan, is causing debate in Turkey. The ship contains asbestos and Dutch authorities apparently understated the amount of asbestos onboard and did not look into whether the Turkish shipyard would have the capacity to dismantle the Otapan in a safe manner. Deputy Minister Van Geel of the Netherlands maintains that the Turkish shipyard is capable of dismantling the vessel in an environmentally sound way. “In hindsight, that should have been handled better, but it’s not the essential issue. We want the ship to be broken up in a responsible manner, and that’s possible in Turkey. In that regard, it makes no difference whether it’s 1000 kilogrammes or 5400. There’s no country in the world which is so closely involved in the responsible destruction of contaminated ships as the Netherlands,” said Van Geel.