Several Executive’s organs controverted, last Tuesday (22) the news on the supposed fresh water traffic in Amazonia. This theme has been discussed in public hearing of Committee on Amazon, National Integration and Regional Development.

According to a published complaint at the law journal called Consulex, cargo ships would be illegally filling their cargo holds with water from Amazon River for, posteriorly, its commercialization in Europe and Middle East’s arid regions. Each ship would be provided with around 250 million liters of water taken, especially, from Amazon River mouth.

The complaint, however, has been contested by Navy, Federal Police and Environment Ministry representative who informed that, until now, there has not been any formal complaint on hydro-piracy at Amazon Region.
 

Ballasting
The rear admiral of Navy Operation Command from Defense Ministry, Antonio Fernando Monteiro Dias, believes that ship ballasting, regularly authorized and controlled, has been confounded with hydro-piracy.
According to him, ship ballasting, which consists of placing or withdrawal of tank ship water, is destined exclusively to assurance exercises, stability and security of vessel circulation. “These operations cannot be confounded with water theft.”

He explains that, to make maneuvers, ships that unload at the Amazon Region have needed, many times, to get some water to keep the maneuver and, consequently, guarantee navigation security. “If they do not do it, we can have an accident in Amazon Region. This has occurred internationally."

According to the Navy’s representative, there has not been any veracity finding of hydro-piracy complaints. “We are ready to serve society, but this information must be reliable, in order not to create alarming information that is not true.”

Transport Cost
Articulation and Communication coordinator of National Water Agency (ANA), Antonio Félix Domingues, has used economical arguments to support that hydro-piracy complaints are nothing but a myth. "We do not have the least evidence nor fundament on this complaint, because just one simple reason: economically, it is not possible to anyone to take some water from Amazon River mouth, and conduct it, for example, to the Middle East because this freight and water treatment cost is of three, four, five times more than this water desalination cost in Israel or Saudi Arabia. There are a lot of people who live from this speculation. This is a hydro-myth.”

Antônio Domingues reminded that, although there is still today water trading in the world, especially in Turkey and Israel, South Africa and Lesotho, Malaysia and Singapore, even “if we give water for free, nobody will come to get water form Amazon River, because of the involved costs.”

ANA representative still affirmed that, a ship able to carry 250 million of water liters, would not have any technical conditions of getting into Amazon River mouth. The Navy as well as ANA had reminded that ships circulating around Amazonia are submitted at frequent inspections, including avoiding ship ballasting from Amazon River water salinization or pollution.

Formal Compliant
Yet, the published complaint author at Consulex magazine, a lawyer called Ilma Barcelos, questioned public organs surveillance. Ilma, who has been connected to Committee on the Environment of OAB, Espírito Santo, said she is going to formalize the complaint. “I already had an absolute certainty that these issues would be denied because no one is going to assume that is incompetent at any organ. I keep affirming that there is a great omission on the authorities’ part to check responsibly on that fresh water traffic issue. I intend to make now a formal complaint, and want to ask for the information about this surveillance performance.”

According to Ilma Barcelos, water supply at ships is made more than necessary for the crew’s consumption and for its ballasting.

Type of crime
Federal Police executive director, Luiz Pontel de Souza, reminded that hydro-piracy is not typified at the Penal Code. “Federal Police has worked on concrete facts and, even it had found any case, the punishment for this misdoing would be hampered by a lack of penal typification.”

Author of the request for the public hearing, Deputy Lupércio Ramos has also charged defense and security organs for the surveillance system enlargement in Amazonia. “The Country needs to start discussing water using rights. We should be alert in relation to Amazonia, because we have there an extraordinary patrimony.”

Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Márcia Regina Monteiro Ferreira