In fondo al mar(under the sea) is a data-driven journalism project mapping out shipping accidents suspected of being involved in illegal waste dumping activities, that have been first revealed by judiciary and parliamentary inquiries.
The original project data stems from a research conducted at the archive of the Lloyd's Register of Shipping in London and it has been cross-referenced with information obtained from newspaper article, investigations of environmental organizations and specialist sites sites.
Maps, timelines and other forms of info-visualization are meant to allow users to navigate this complex dataset and see for themselves some of the anomalies that emerge from the data. But the goal is also to lay the foundations for future research on this case in order to ascertain what has happened and the possible health risks.
They have been called "poison ships", "toxic ships", "disposable ships". They are dozens of commercial vessels, which misteriously sank during the last decades in the Mediterranean sea. The Aso foundered in 1979, off the city of Locri in Calabria, in Southern Italy; the Rigel deliberately sunken off Reggio Calabria in 1987, the Marco Polo foundered in the Canal of Sicily in 1993, as well as tens of less known shipping incidents which took place in more recent years.
The suspicion is that some of these ships have been deliberately sunk by a network of mafia groups and scruple-less entrepreneurs to cheaply dispose of tons of toxic, chemical and radioactive waste, avoiding the huge costs involved in correct disposal and make huge profits.
For almost thirty years, attempts have been made to move from suspicions to the ascertaining the truth and the punishment of those responsible. This investigation is obstacled by the difficlty of analysing the ships that often find themelves several thousand feet under the sea. What can be studied at the moment is instead the archival evidence and the worrying patterns that emerge from the data, including the anomalous frequency of incidents with some years with many more incidents than normal, and the recurring locations of the incidents.
Traces of radioactivity above average were detected on containers and materials attributable to some of the accidents, and the presence of cesium and thorium isotopes was found in algae and fish in the vicinity and there have been worries about possible consequences for public health.
The project invites experts and citizens to submit new information about suspicious naval incidents and provide additional information on cases already listed on the website.
To provide additional information write to
mail@infondoalmar.info
in fondo al mar is an independent project made by David Boardman and Paolo Gerbaudo.
We thank the journalists of "il manifesto" Andrea Palladino and Alessandra Fava, and freelance journalist Emanuele Comi, for their contribution to the research conducted for this website. This updated version of the project draws on the research conducted by Enrico Murtula.
in fondo almar aims at gathering all the information available on the case of suspected toxic ships and to make it available to the public. Please get in contact in you have further information, or if you found errors or inaccuracies in the information we provide.
The data published by in fondo al mar originate from different archival sources:
in fondo al mar databases are accessible in a number of formats. You are free to download and use the source data.