Danish ship transfers Syria chem arsenal to US cleanup vessel off Italian coast

A Danish ship carrying hundreds of tons of the most hazardous Syrian chemical arsenal started handing them over to the US vessel which has special equipment to neutralize a dangerous stockpile at sea.

Ark Futura, a roll-on/roll-off freighter, started offloading the first containers to the MV Cape Ray, a US cargo vessel at the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro, said police and officials from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Denmark's ship arrived at the port earlier Wednesday.

Local officials say the transfer will take about 20 hours. However, according to US Department of Defense, the transfer of the chemicals will take two or three days.

All 78 containers will be taken off the Danish ship by crane and transferred on the vast platform of the MV Cape Ray, reported AFP.

[link to rt.com]