Washington: US container ship Cape Ray began neutralizing chemical materials on Monday that were once part of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's weapons arsenal, the Pentagon said.
The ship, in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, began processing about 600 metric tonnes of chemical weapons and raw materials that could be used in them, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters.
The U.S. government has said the materials include mustard gas and components for the nerve agent sarin.
The materials were transferred to the Cape Ray earlier in July from a vessel that brought them out of Syria. Assad agreed last year to turn over his chemical weapons stockpile as part of a disarmament deal.
Warren said it is expected that the ship will need 60 days to process the materials.
The Cape Ray is equipped with a hydrolysis system that uses substances like water, sodium hydroxide and sodium hypochlorite to make chemical warfare agents safe enough to be disposed of at commercial sites.
Warren said the processed material would be transferred to Finland and Germany.
Washington and Moscow supported the agreement under which Assad surrendered Syria's chemical weapons after it was accused of using them against civilians.
The ship, in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, began processing about 600 metric tonnes of chemical weapons and raw materials that could be used in them, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters.
The U.S. government has said the materials include mustard gas and components for the nerve agent sarin.
Warren said it is expected that the ship will need 60 days to process the materials.
Advertisement
Warren said the processed material would be transferred to Finland and Germany.
Advertisement
© Thomson Reuters 2014
COMMENTS
Advertisement
US Army Kills Senior ISIS Official In Syria Syrian Man Arrested After Shooting Near US Embassy In Lebanon Capital Israeli Air Attack Hits Syria, Many Killed: Report "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down 1,100 Flights Cancelled In US As Microsoft Outage Disrupts Operations Elon Musk Congratulates PM Modi On Becoming Most Followed Leader On X With Shadow Cabinet, Naveen Patnaik Makes His Intentions Clear Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.