U.S. ship hits Italian waters to destroy stock of Syrian chemical weapons

The U.S. ship MV Cape Ray entered Italian waters and docked at the Calabrian port Tuesday to pick up an estimated 1,300 tons of chemical weapons from Syria, with plans to destroy them.

The most dangerous of the chemical weapons are set to be moved from the Danish craft, the Ark Futura, to the U.S. ship, and then on to international waters for destruction, The Associated Press reported.

Among the chemical weapons are mustard gas and the products that are used to make sarin, AP said.

The Cape Ray has on board a field deployable hydrolysis system that will make the chemicals inert. Materials will also be transported to various toxic waste facilities in different countries for destruction and disposal, AP said.