A string of companies ranging from Amstelveen-based oil trader Trafigura to the ‘obscure’ local waste processing firm Tommy are to blame for the environmental disaster involving the Probo Koala ship, according to an investigation by an Ivory Coast judge, reports today’s Trouw.

The judge said that the Dutch, Estonian and Nigerian governments are also guilty for not preventing the ship from leaving their territorial waters, Trouw reported.
The judge has recommended a civil damages case be held in the Netherlands on behalf of those affected by the dumping of toxic waste in his country last summer. The death toll from the disaster is now 15, the report says.
The probe was commissioned by Ivory Coast prime minister Charles Konan-Banny but its presentation has been postponed several times over the last few days. Last week Ivory Coast’s president Ghagbo agreed to accept €152m from Trafigura for dropping any legal claims against the company, Trouw said.