On 19 August 2006 the ship Probo Koala unloaded a waste shipment at Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). This waste was disposed of at open air sites around Abidjan. The ship was chartered by the London office of Trafigura, a Dutch international petroleum trader. The Probo Koala had attempted to discharge this waste at the port of Amsterdam, but the port service would not accept the waste without an additional handling charge because of the waste’s alleged toxicity. The ship left the port of Amsterdam without discharging its waste. After the waste from the ship was discharged in Abidjan, people living near the discharge sites began to suffer from a range of illnesses (nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, breathlessness, headaches, skin damage, and swollen stomachs). Sixteen people have died, allegedly from exposure to this waste, and more than 100,000 have sought medical attention.
Trafigura sent two of its executives to Abidjan in August 2006 to investigate what happened. These executives and a representative from a Trafigura subsidiary, Puma Energy, were arrested by Ivorian authorities and imprisoned. On 12 February 2007 the Government of Côte d’Ivoire signed a settlement agreement with Trafigura in which the company agreed to pay $198 million to the Ivorian government for a compensation fund, the construction of a waste treatment plant and to assist in the recovery operations. However, the company stressed this payment was not "damages" and that it did not admit liability. Côte d’Ivoire agreed to drop any prosecutions or claims, now or in the future, against Trafigura. After this settlement agreement was made, the Trafigura executives and the Puma Energy representative were released from prison.
In November 2006, the High Court of Justice in London agreed to hear a group action by about 30,000 claimants from Côte d’Ivoire against Trafigura over the alleged dumping of toxic waste from the Probo Koala. Applicants allege that the waste had high levels of caustic soda, as well as a sulphur compound and hydrogen sulphide making it hazardous waste as defined by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes. Trafigura denies the waste was toxic and claims the waste was standard waste from onboard operations of ships (“slops” as defined by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships). Trafigura is alleged to have shipped the untreated chemical waste to Côte d’Ivoire with knowledge that there were no facilities to treat this waste. Trafigura has denied responsibility, stating that they had entrusted the waste to an Ivorian disposal company, Tommy, which was established a few weeks before the ship’s arrival. Trafigura claims it had no grounds for suspecting that Tommy would improperly dispose of the waste. Trafigura denies the number of applicants/victims and avers that only 69 people suffered significant injury. On 23 March 2009, the court granted the plaintiffs a temporary injunction barring Trafigura from contacting any of the claimants in the case. This injunction came after counsel for the claimants presented evidence that the company had been contacting individual claimants urging them to change their sworn statements. In September 2009, the parties to the UK lawsuit reached a settlement agreement in which Trafigura agreed to pay each of the 30,000 claimants a certain amount, approximately $1500. In October 2009 an individual, Claude Gohourou, came forward claiming to represent the victims through his organization - National Coordination of Toxic Waste Victims of Côte d’Ivoire. Mr Gohourou succeeded in freezing the bank account in which the settlement funds were being held. The claimants' lawyers dispute the authenticity of this organization and Mr Gohourou's authority to distribute the funds to the claimants. On 22 January 2010, the Court of Appeals in Abidjan ruled in favour of Mr Gohourou and his organization and ordered the settlement funds be transferred to him. The claimants' lawyers have indicated that they intend to appeal this decision.
In February 2008, Dutch prosecutors served notice that they intend to file criminal charges against Trafigura, among others, for its alleged part in the disposal of waste in Côte d’Ivoire. In June 2008 an Amsterdam court began hearing evidence in this case.
In July 2008, three French victims of the Probo Koala incident filed a complaint against Trafigura before an examining magistrate in Paris alleging corruption, involuntary homicide and physical harm leading to death.
- Fear over Ivory Coast ruling on Trafigura waste pay-out, BBC News, 22 Jan 2010
- Trader Trafigura settles Ivorian waste case, Loucoumane Coulibaly & Reed Stevenson, Reuters, 20 Sep 2009
- Oil company accused of 'nobbling' witnesses in African toxic waste case, Frances Gibb, Times [UK], 24 Mar 2009
- Ivory Coast turns to UK in class action over toxic waste, Times [UK], 4 Jun 2008
- Update: Trafigura To Pay Ivory Coast EUR7.6M Over Toxic Waste, Lananh Nguyen, Dow Jones Newswires, 17 Apr 2008
- Dutch plan to charge Trafigura over toxic ship, Reuters, 19 Feb 2008
- Côte d'Ivoire toxic waste probe goes to France, afrol News [Lesotho], 26 Jul 2007
- Toxic waste deal won't halt case, BBC News, 15 Feb 2007
- Déchets toxiques : Trafigura dédommage la Cote d’Ivoire mais nie toute responsabilité, Véronique Smée, Novethic [France], 14 Feb 2007
- UK action over 'toxic waste' case, BBC News, 2 Feb 2007
- Neglect and Fraud Blamed for Toxic Dumping in Ivory Coast, Lydia Polgreen, New York Times, 24 Nov 2006
- Global Sludge Ends in Tragedy for Ivory Coast, Lydia Polgreen & Marlise Simons, New York Times, 2 Oct 2006
- Trafigura : Probo Koala updates
- Leigh Day [counsel for plaintiffs]: International Claims - Ivory Coast
- Leigh Day: Victims of toxic waste in despair at court ruling, 22 Jan 2010
- Sherpa: [PDF] Probo Koala: A catastrophe emblématique, justice exemplaire, 9 Jul 2008
- [FR] Commission internationale d’enquête sur les déchets toxiques dans le District d’Abidjan [établie par le Gouvernement de Côte d’Ivoire] : [DOC] Rapport de la commission internationale d'enquete sur les dechets toxiques deverses dans le district d'Abidjan, 19 Feb 2007
- Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l’Homme (FIDH): Affaire des déchets toxiques : une transaction au détriment de la justice et de la réparation pour les victimes, 16 Feb 2007
- Greenpeace International: Toxic Waste in Abidjan : Greenpeace Evaluation, 15 Sep 2006
