(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The U.S. Vessel Cape Ray has completed destruction of its entire consignment of 600 metric tonnes of chemicals from Syria, Director-General of the Organisation for Prevention of Chemical Weapons, Ahmet Uzumcu, said in a statement Tuesday.
"This ends a crucial stage in the complex international maritime operation to remove and destroy Syria's chemical weapons stockpile," he said.
Uzumcu congratulated and thanked the United States, the crew aboard the Cape Ray, and OPCW inspectors and demilitarisation experts for "this remarkable achievement." He noted that the Cape Ray's consignment included the most dangerous chemicals in Syria's arsenal: 581 metric tonnes of binary precursor for sarin gas, and 19.8 metric tonnes of ready-to-use sulfur mustard.
The operation was successfully completed weeks ahead of the 60-day schedule the U.S.had estimated would be needed, and OPCW inspectors aboard the ship verified that no chemicals of any kind escaped into the sea or otherwise impacted the environment. The Cape Ray will now transport the effluent to Finland and Germany, where it will be offloaded for disposal at land-based facilities, added the statement.
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