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Hope to see you on the forums soon!There appears to be a lot of concern over the asbestos within her. Even Bangladesh will have nothing to do with Asbestos.From Piet Sinke's daily column of March 25th, 2006:
Norway Sold - Again
A story in today's online edition of the Star newspaper reports that the Norway, former flagship of Norwegian Cruise
Line, has been sold to a Bangladeshi businessman for $12 million dollars. If true, this will be the second time the ship
has been sold within the past three months.
Back in January, the ship's owner, NCL-parent Star Cruises announced the ship had been sold and was headed for a
scrap yard in Chittagong. That plan took an unexpected turn when Star learned that it might be subject to significant
environmental-related fines if the ship was broken up because she still contained more than 3,000 tons of asbestos.
Environmental groups have for a long time been targeting the ship breaking activities in India and Pakistan claiming
that the largely manual process of scrapping a ship releases hazardous materials into the environment. Most recently,
they joined local groups to seek a court order in an attempt to block the scrapping of the former French aircraft carrier
Clemenceau.
Sources have indicated that fines related to the large amount of asbestos on board could range as high as $10 million.
Those of you that have been following this saga from the beginning may remember that sceptics claimed Star's
announcement that it was moving the ship from Germany to Asia last year to become part of a resort was nothing
more than a way for the company to dodge European environmental laws. While the sale announced today has all the earmarkings of a sale for scrap, it is not clear how the new owner will
overcome the asbestos-related issues. Following the uproar in January, the Bangladesh Environment and Forest
Minister issued an order preventing the ship from entering Bangladesh territory.
It is possible, although unlikely, that the new owner will attempt to convert the ship into a hotel or resort facility. At
this point however, there is no indication that this is part of the plan.