Former French warship Clemenceau tansits Egypt's Suez Canal

Port Said, Jan 24 (AP):The decommissioned French aircraft carrier Clemenceau has passed through the Suez Canal after more than a week of delays over allegations it was carrying hazardous toxic waste.

The ship that passed through the Suez late yesterday night, had entered the Port Said mouth of the Canal before dawn and arrived about midday in the Great Bitter Lake, about two-thirds of the way down the Canal, where it waited for several hours for a convoy of ships to pass, said a senior official of the Suez Canal Authority, who insisted on speaking on condition of anonymity.

The ship passed through the southern exit of the Canal, shortly before midnight yesterday.

The ship, which is being towed to an Indian scrapyard, was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month when two Greenpeace activists boarded it in the Mediterranean, claiming it contained hundreds of tons of toxic waste, including 500 tons of asbestos, that France intends to dump in India. The activists later left the vessel.

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