Turkey was the first shipbreaking country to refuse a ship-for-scrap on the ground of the Basel Convention. The Sea Beirut arrived near the beaches of Aliaga containing asbestos. A Turkish court ordered the ship had to return to France.
Dunkirk port
The engine of the Sea Beirut broke down in 1999 off the port of Dunkirk.
The ship was then 27 years old and sailed under Liberian flag. Lane Holding
SA - a letterbox owner - abandoned the ship to the Dunkirk port authorities.
The real shipowner was never traced. According to European law, that makes
the Dunkirk port authorities responsible for the ship. The European
Waste Shipment Regulation (EWSR) is very clear: if the shipowner is
unknown '…the person having possession or legal control of the waste (the
holder) becomes the notifier.' It also says that this person is obliged
to '…notify all competent environmental authorities.'
Auction
The Dunkirk port authorities auctioned the ship to the German company MSK. MSK is a front for the Turkish shipbreaking company CEMSAN. Greenpeace investigations showed the port authorities very well knew the Sea Beirut contained asbestos when it was auctioned. They also knew its tanks were filled with fuel. But they didn't make the required notifications to the French environmental authorities.
Bound for scrap
A tugboat towed the Sea Beirut out of the Dunkirk harbour on April 2002. The cargo manifest clearly stated the destination was CEMSAN in Aliaga, Turkey. So the French port authorities knew the ship was actually an export with a view to scrap. But they didn't inform the Turkish authorities about the hazardous waste export. This is a clear violation of the Basel Convention and EU regulations.
Greenpeace action
When the Sea Beirut neared the coast of Aliaga Greenpeace
activists intercepted the ship on May 4th. They climbed on board and
hung a banner 'Stop Toxic Ship Trade' on the vessel's side. Greenpeace provided
evidence that the ship had asbestos on board. The Turkish Minister of Environment
took samples that revealed similar results. On the basis of the Turkish
law he refused
to accept the waste-ship. The vessel should return to 'the country of
origin'.
France responsible
Under the Basel Convention a State of Export is 'a Party from which a transboundary
movement of hazardous waste or other wastes is planned to be initiated or
initiated.' France, thus, becomes the State of Export and responsible for
this ship-for-scrap. But France refused to take back the toxic Sea Beirut.
On July 17th Greenpeace took legal action against the French
government. There is no court decision yet in one of these cases.
Basel Convention
In Turkey CEMSAN asked the court to suspend the ministerial send-back decision
of May 2002. In November the Turkish
Administrative court rejected the appeal of the shipbreaking company.
It ordered the Sea Beirut to be sent back to France before December 23rd.
As France persisted in its refusal Turkey informed the Basel Convention
Secretariat about the toxic waste export. The Sea Beirut is still anchored
before the coast of Aliaga.
Remarkable ships Pacific Princess ('Love Boat') is on the Greenpeace list. More remarkable ships...
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