US Ship 'Cape Ray' Neutralizes Syrian Sarin
All 581 metric tonnes of a precursor chemical for sarin gas that were removed from the Syrian Arab Republic and trans-loaded onto the U.S. Maritime Vessel Cape Ray in early July, have been destroyed with neutralisation technology aboard the ship while sailing in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, informs the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The precursor chemicals - methylphosphonyl difluoride, or DF - were neutralised with two Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems (FDHS) that were installed on the Cape Ray for the purpose of destroying the most dangerous chemicals in Syria’s stockpile. The FDHS units mix the chemicals with fresh water and reagents and then heat the mixture, which reduces the toxicity of the chemicals by at least 99.9 percent.
Syrian Chemical Weapon Neutralization: Final Stage
One of the final phases in the dismantling of Syrian chemical arsenal has been completed at the Italian southern port of Gioia Tauro, according to multiple media reports. It took about 12 hours to tranship the 78 containers holding some 560 metric tons of chemicals that had been loaded aboard the Danish cargo ship Ark Futura at the Syrian port of Latakia to USNS Cape Ray. The Cape Ray is specially equipped with two field-deployable hydrolysis systems capable of neutralizing the chemical agents, and is heading for international waters to complete the mission. Pictured: transfer of a container from MV Ark Futura, to USNS Cape Ray at the Medcenter Container Terminal.
M/V Cape Ray: Last Stop for Syrian Chemical Weapons
As I write, the M/V Cape Ray, a 648-foot roll-on/roll-off Ready Reserve Force ship is steaming under orders towards Gioia Tauro, Italy, to load hundreds of tons of Syrian Government chemical weapon agents and precursor chemicals, before neutralizing them at sea. With innovative safe-destruction technology welded to its decks, the Cape Ray is the United States’ key contribution to the joint Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) / United Nations international effort to eliminate the Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons…
