Greenpeace activists, on their ship the 'My Arctic Sunrise', prevent the tanker 'Probo Koala' from leaving port in the harbour of Paldiski, Estonia, on September 25. - Reuters

Estonia may today release the ship chartered by Dutch oil company Trafigura Beheer which the Côte d'Ivoire government says discharged toxic waste that killed eight people in the West African country.

The Panamanian-registered Probo Koala was seized on September 27 in the Estonian port of Paldiski after the Côte d'Ivoire requested that it be detained. Reuters quoted a port source as saying that the ship will leave today.

"The prosecutor's office will have the final say on the release of the ship, and it will not leave before an agreement is also reached on processing the toxic liquid on board the ship," said a spokeswoman from the Estonian prosecutor's office.

Seeking damages

The spokesman said that the Côte d'Ivoire wanted to claim 200 million euros in damages.

Trafigura said it had recruited a local firm to dispose of the waste after it decided that doing so in Amsterdam was too expensive.

The Ivorian government had reported that more than 90,000 people in the Ivory Coast have suffered vomiting, stomach pains and other symptoms caused by toxic fumes from waste from the ship which was docked in the main port of Abidjan in late August.

The incident has stretched the country's health services and forced its Cabinet to resign.

Trafigura claimed that the waste dumped in the Côte d' Ivoire, a mixture of gasolene, spent caustic soda and water, was a normal by-product of cleaning tanks used to transport fuel.

Independent experts say the sludge contained hydrogen sulphide, a chemical which can be deadly in high concentrations.

Ten people, including two French Trafigura executives have been charged and imprisoned under the Côte d' Ivoire's toxic waste laws. They are being held in Abidjan.

European environment commissioner Stavros Dimas, has inspected the impounded vessel in Estonia and condemned the incident in the Côte d' Ivoire, vowing to increase policing of European laws designed to stop such incidents.

Dutch prosecutors are investigating whether the owners knew the substance it carried was dangerous.