Uma nova Guerra Assimétrica na Segunda Década do Século XXI: a poluição ambiental

Abstract

Who doesn't recall the sinking of the ocean liner Titanic, which collided with an iceberg in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean while bound for New York on its first voyage after construction? Who doesn't also remember the tragedy of the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker that collided with submerged rock in Alaska in 1989, leaving a legacy of pollution in an area with limited resources for containment? What both tragedies have in common is that they unlocked opportunities to revise international regulations to prevent similar tragedies from happening or to mitigate potential damage. In the case of the Titanic, the Safety Of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention was studied and later approved, which among other aspects, obliged all vessels to have sufficient life-saving equipment for the entire crew. And, in the case of the Exxon Valdez, obliged all oil tankers to be built with double hulls. These disasters left important legacies for navigation safety, pollution prevention, and safeguarding human life at sea.
Unfortunately, Brazil suffered pollution of its maritime coast in dimensions never previously recorded. Using freedom of navigation of the seas, the transgressor, while producing pollution intentionally or unintentionally, did not report the fact to the Coastal State and went unscathed. In this case, the extent of the disaster was huge. Many polluters however, knowing the difficulty of detecting leaks as well as the positioning of their vessel, pollute the seas without warning, with many not being detected. It is necessary to accompany (monitor and control) the navigation of a vessel in the oceans to prevent this crime from happening again, something which already occurs with air transport that is monitored and controlled all the time. This only can be achieved with changes in international norms that deal with freedom of navigation on the seas.