Ivory Coast: Oil company offers toxic waste compensation

A Dutch-based oil trading company has agreed to pay the Ivory Coast government nearly €1.5m to settle a dispute over toxic waste that the company had been accused of illegally dumping in the port city of Abidjan, the Ivory Coast government said.

Trafigura Beheer BV always denied any wrong-doing in the incident, which led to the deaths of at least 10 people, saying it had properly contracted with a local company to dispose of the waste.

Trafigura said the waste it offloaded from the ship the Probo Koala in August 2006 was not toxic, but a UN report found it contained chemicals that were lethal in high concentrations.

“It’s a good agreement that will allow the state to compensate the victims,” IvoryCoast President Laurent Gbagbo said after the signing ceremony late yesterday.

In a statement, Trafigura said three of its executives, Claude Dauphin, Jean-Pierre Valentini and Nzi Kablan, who have been jailed in Abidjan since September 18, 2006, would be released as part of the deal.

“Neither the company nor the IvoryCoast government accepts liability for the events of last August involving the Probo Koala,” Trafigura said in a statement.

“However, Trafigura takes its role as a global citizen very seriously and to that end is financially supporting the government for the future health of its citizens.”

The Dutch government is still investigating whether the ship should have been allowed to leave Amsterdam after the ship sought to unload its tank washings there and authorities found the cargo appeared unusually noxious.