News

Call for ban on toxic ships for scrap on EU-building which is being cleaned of asbestos

Brussels, 19th June 2003: A team of Greenpeace climbed the EU building, 'Berlaymont', and calls the European Union to adopt a mandatory legislation to make sure the shipping industry cleans its ships of hazardous materials before exporting them to Asia for scrap. Several banners reading "Clean toxic ships now" were attached to the Berlaymont while others were placed in front of it. This building has been cleaned of asbestos some time ago.

"We're transforming this building to call for mandatory regulations to oblige ship owners to clean their ships before sending them to be scrapped in Asia," said Greenpeace campaigner, Martin Besieux. "While Europe cleans buildings like this of asbestos to protect its own citizens, it allows European ship owners to send the same toxic substance in their ships to Asia. When the ships are scrapped, the asbestos pollutes the environment and is a health risk to unprotected workers who remove it from the vessels with their bare hands. Can Europe continue to uphold such double standards?" he asked.

Today's action is the culmination of a three week tour of Europe by Greenpeace and a delegation of people involved in shipbreaking in Asia, to call for an urgent solution to the environmental and health problems associated with the industry.The shipping sector is still reluctant to assume the full liability for the decontamination of their ships before they are exported. This means shipbreaking countries are being polluted with known hazardous substances such as dioxins, asbestos and PCBs. There have been eight accidents involving contaminated ships at the Alang yard in India alone over the past two and a half months, in which 20 people have died.

"The shipowners and shipping federations we've met during our European visit have refused to take any responsibility or individual efforts to clean their ships. So we've now come to Brussels, the heart of European politics, to call for this much needed initiative to help stop us being polluted by European hazardous waste. If nothing changes we will continue to be exposed to deadly toxics for many years to come," said Mr. Salim, a shipbreaker from Bangladesh.

Attempts to strengthen legislation in individual shipbreaking countries - India, Bangladesh and China - have been undermined by shipowners because they simply send their toxic vessels to another country that does not have such regulations.

"Current regulations are simply not enough to protect the environment and workers in Asia. The shipping industry can still avoid liability for the hazardous materials on board their vessels by sending their ships to the country with the weakest legislation. Asian countries need international rules on exporting toxic ships for scrap to ensure there's a level playing field across the entire maritime sector. As a significant exporter of toxic ships, we're looking to Europe to lead the way," said Rampati Kumar from Greenpeace in India.

The need for mandatory regulations against toxic ships is all the more urgent because the recent adaptation of European legislation on the rapid phase out of single hull oil tankers means that significantly more ships will need to be scrapped over the next decade. If these are not decontaminated, Asian shipbreakers will be exposed to an increased quantity of hazardous materials.

Greenpeace is urging Europe to take the leadership for clean shipbreaking during the next session of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that will be held in London on July 14-18.