Croatian government orders local shipyard to halt asbestos removal on ferry following protests

The Government of Croatia has ordered local shipyard Brodosplit to refrain from proceeding with its restoration of an ageing passenger vessel that had been brought to its facilities late last month.

The government issued the order after residents living near Brodosplit's facilities in Split petitioned for the 1975-built Ro-Pax ferry Moby Drea to be removed due to concerns about the asbestos-laden metal partition panels still on board.

The original plan called for a contractor designated by Brodosplit to remove the onboard asbestos, which was estimated to be around 350 tonnes, before having the ferry brought to Piraeus in Greece for the final stages of the refit.

Moby Drea's arrival in Split in July had been approved by port authorities. However, residents began their protest actions shortly afterwards, including picketing outside Brodosplit's facilities in addition to submitting the formal petition to the country's government.

In a social media statement, Brodosplit assured that the asbestos was fully encased in the partition panels and that it would exercise the necessary safety precautions in handling and disposing of the hazardous material.

The Croatian Government, through the Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, has nonetheless ordered that Moby Drea be towed out of Croatia's territorial waters by early September.