Two days later, off Corsica, the Clemenceau was taken over by the ITC tug Sumatras for the voyage to ship breakers at Alang in India, via the Suez Canal. The convoy was escorted by French Navy frigate Aconit.

During the passage through the Mediterranean, Clemenceau was boarded by activists from Greenpeace protesting that asbestos, PCB's and other toxic chemicals remained onboard the carrier. The vessel was disarmed and decommissioned in 1997 and the French Government stated that the large majority of the toxic materials had been removed prior to sailing from France, with only a small quantity of 45 tons remaining.

The 26,000 ton warship was purchased from the French Government by the Ship Decommissioning Industry Corporation but it was agreed that transfer of ownership would not become effective until shortly before arrival in India.

After a delay in obtaining permission for the convoy to transit the Suez Canal, the Egyptian government finally accepted that the vessel was still French Government property and consequently did not fall under the terms of the Basel Convention, prohibiting the export of hazardous and toxic materials to other countries. The convoy finally left Suez on 24 January.

Discussions took place between France and India at the highest political level to try to reach an agreement on delivery of the Clemenceau to the Indian ship breakers. In the meantime the tug kept the carrier underway at sea in a safe location well outside any territorial waters.

The matter was concluded when, without waiting for a further ruling from India's Supreme Court, the French President ordered the Clemenceau to return to France. ITC was contracted for the return towage and Sumatras was instructed to rendezvous with the ITC tug Sable Cape off Mombasa.

Sable Cape, a tug with a 1,500 ton fuel capacity, completed the entire tow with Clemenceau non-stop via the Cape of Good Hope to Brest. In the eyes of ITC's management and staff the long round trip confirmed that Clemenceau is still a very sound vessel with excellent sea keeping qualities and an easy ship to tow.