CALABRIA, Italy, April 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. is preparing to destroy Syria's chemical weapons as they outfit the MV Cape Ray with equipment to safely neutralize the weapons at sea.
The MV Cape Ray is usually used to haul supplies for the U.S. military but since the agreement was made for the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons, it has been retrofitted to neutralize the dangerous chemicals safely.
The weapons will be destroyed through hydrolysis, which will alter the chemicals so thoroughly as to make them no longer dangerous. Tanks and lab equipment have been installed on the ship for the destruction of the weapons by some of the U.S. military's top chemical weapons experts.
The crew is waiting to pack and load the 530 tons of chemical weapons in a port near Calabria, Italy. Syria's deadline to ship out the weapons is April 27. Once the weapons are loaded, the Cape Ray will move to international waters and begin the 60-day process of destroying the weapons.
[WSJ Live]
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