IMOWatch

Ships to be demolished as of 3/1/2012

2012-01-03T19:45:00.000-08:00

Global Star [MN] IMO 8800767 Tanker built 1989 - 8,192 dwt [eta Feb]
Buxmaster [LR] IMO 8513807 Cintainer vessel built 1986 - 23,465 dwt
Myra [BS] IMO 7718175 Cargo vessel built 1979 - 17,154 dwt
Rishikesh [IN] IMO 8321084 Cargo vessel built 1986 - 47,315 dwt

Ships demolished in Alang as of 31/12/2011

MARDEN [PA] IMO 8128937 Ro-lo built 1982 - 6,182 dwt
MINOTAUR [BS] IMO 7383360 Tanker built 1977 - 31,489 dwt
Eckhardt [BZ] IMO 7387017 Tanker built 1975 - 9,267 dwt
Atra 1 [PA] IMO 8802337 Cargo vessel built 1987 - 8,730 dwt
Bene Niki [PA] IMO 7411545 LPG tanker built 1978 - 55,173 dwt
Mu San [KRN] IMO 7920596 Cargo vessel built 1981 - 17,618 dwt
Noble Success [PA] IMO 8214865 Cargo vessel built 1982 - 11,283 dwt
Ekram M [TG] IMO 7916105 Cargo vessel built 1980 - 27,476 dwt
Ballina [BS] IMO 8300602 Tanker built 1984 - 124,750 dwt
Falcon Eye I [PA] IMO 7721407 Cargo vessel built 1984 - 12,600 dwt

Ships demolished 19/12/2011

Seaways Valour [IN] IMO 8801345 Cargo vessel built 1990 - 14,100 dwt

Ships demolished as of 16/12/2011

Ohminesan [JP] IMO 9124720 Vlcc tanker built 1996 - 267,721 dwt
Orion Trader [JP] IMO 9156266 Vlcc tanker built 1998 - 267,736 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 15/12/2011

White Sea [SG] IMO 8020206 Crude oil tanker built 1991 - 96,043 dwt
MSC Damla [PA] IMO 7820966 Container vessel built 1980 - 36,392 dwt
Michalis K [PA] IMO 7804390 Cargo ship built 1979 - 16,897 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 13/12/2011

Grand Vision [LR] IMO 9005247 Container vessel built 1991 - 44,013 dwt
Hereford Express [PH] IMO 8202202 Livestock carrier built 1982 - 6,187 dwt
Mig Concord [MD] IMO 7533135 Cargo vessel built 1977 - 27,554 dwt
Tugur [RU] IMO 7524354 Cargo vessel built 1975 - 6,070 dwt
Adventure [TZ] IMO 7359486 Passenger vessel built 1976 - 15,504 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 12/11/2011

Atlantic Liberty [PA] IMO 9106156 Vlcc tanker built 1995 - 281,559 dwt
MSC Mahima [LR] IMO 8308707 Container vessel built 1985 - 53,726 dwt
Kota Abadi [HK] IMO 8310906 Container vessel built 1984 - 21,888 dwt
Ziemia Sunalska [LR] IMO 8207757 Bulker built 1984 - 26,706 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 8/12/11

Forest Hill [MH] IMO 8102543 Cargo vessel built 1982 - 5,600 dwt
Good Luck [CY] IMO 8208000 Bulk Carrier built 1984 - 173,028 dwt
Australia [LR] IMO 9031272 Bulk carrier built 1993 - 172,972 dwt
Flora S [CY] IMO 7718187 Bulk carrier built 1980 - 17,349 dwt
TIRUMALAI [IN] IMO 8512413 Chemical tanker built 1991 - 33,055 dwt
Kalitihi Sea [VC] IMO 8511574 Bulk carrier built 1986 - 25,680 dwt

Ships demolitions as of 6/12/2011

Sami Canbaz [MD] IMO 8828939 Bulk carrier built 1983 - 19,239 dwt
Msc Magali [PA] IMO 7819357 Container vessel built 1980 - 38,485 dwt
Msc Damla [PA] IMO 7820966 Container vessel built 1980 - 36,392 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 5/11/2011

Arwex [DM] IMO 7642534 Cargo vessel built 1975 - 14,550 dwt
Jin Yuan Men [VC] IMO 7609207 Cargo vessel built 1978 - 22,329 dwt
R Shipper [MH] IMO 7909621 Roro built 1979 - 8,765 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 3/12/2011

Paragon [CY] IMO 7639927 Bulk carrier built 1977 - 29,095 dwt
Success Power [PA] IMO 8004521 Bulk carrier built 1982 - 55,912 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 1/12/2011
BONNIE SMITHWICK [BS] IMO 9050084 Ore/Oil Carrier built 1993 - 83,155 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 28/11/2011

Amderma [RU] IMO 8119144 Roro built 1982 - 23,000 dwt
Areti I [PA] IMO 7710771 Cargo vessel built 1979 - 15,884 dwt
General Trader [MD] IMO 8123884 Cargo vessel built 1982 - 7,805 dwt
Ruhunupura [PA] IMO 8120959 Cargo vessel built 1982 - 5,967 dwt
Sami Canbaz [MD] IMO 8828939 Cargo vessel built 1983 - 19,239 dwt
Success Power [PA] IMO 8004521 Bulk carrier built 1982 - 55,615 dwt

Ship demolitions as of 27/11/2011

Ems Traveller [AG] IMO 8324608 Cargo vessel built 1984 - 17,400 dwt
Liquid Crystal [PA] IMO 8905177 Tanker built 1989 - 7,623 dwt

Gujarat, Japan in tie up to upgrade Alang shipyard

Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japan to upgrade infrastructure at Asia’s largest ship dismantling yard at Alang in Bhavnagar, a top official said.

Sea France Cezanne in Alang?

2011-12-05T03:46:00.000-08:00

Sources have revealed that Sea France Cezanne has just been beached for demolition in Alang. It will not sail back to Europe. Le Clemenceau was also a French ship which was recalled by France after massive protest.

Marine Atlantic and the ship breaking yards

2011-12-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

He's got a state-of-the-art, environmentally first rate business and he had a plan to create 40 jobs in Cape Breton. But the decommissioned ferries Wayne Elliot wanted to buy and recycle were sold for millions more than he could even offer by the Canadian Crown corporation Marine Atlantic. They've since ended up at the ship-breaking beach at Alang India, a place notorious for injuries and industrial degradation that is supposed to be hands-off for all countries that have signed a deal called the Basel Convention including ours. So what happened?

Listen: (Pop-up)

Part Two of The Current

Marine Atlantic and the ship breaking yards of India - Gopal Krishna

The ship breaking yards of Alang, India are emblematic of a post industrial world. A blackened beach strewn with the rusting steel of ships that once proudly sailed from the world's harbours. Tearing the ships apart for scrap has made the beach look like a war zone, but the real bomb may yet detonate: the environmental damage from all the stuff that's spilled from those ships. And in this toxic graveyard are the remains of two Canadian ferries - The Joseph and Clara Smallwood and The Caribou. Both were once owned by Marine Atlantic, a crown corporation that operates ferries between Newfoundland and Cape Breton.

Canada is a signatory to the Basel Convention, an international agreement preventing the transport of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries. And yet here sit the Canadian ferries. Part of the explanation is that the ships were sold first to a company in the Caribbean and another in the Marshall Islands. Then, they were sold to a company in Alang.

Gopal Krishna is the founder of Toxic Watch Alliance in New Delhi, India.

Marine Atlantic and the voyage to the breaking yards of India - Wayne Elliott

The president and CEO of Marine Atlantic, Wayne Follett, was unavailable for an interview today. So was the Federal Transport Minister. However a few days ago there was a naming celebration in Sydney Nova Scotia for one of the new Marine Atlantic ferries. It replaces one of the ferries now at Alang. Reporters in Sydney caught up with Steven Fletcher, Minister of State for Transport. We aired a clip.

Steven Fletcher, Minister of State for Transport is answering No to the question of whether the government bears any responsibility for the ships ending up in Alang. Megan Leslie disagrees. She's a Halifax MP and NDP's Opposition Environment Critic. We heard from her.

Wayne Elliott is the founder and director of business development for Marine Recycling Corporation of Port Colborne, Ontario. His company is the first ship-breaking yard to achieve the international standard for environmental management.

Marine Atlantic and the ship breaking yards of India - Tony Puthucerril

Tony Puthucerril is a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar from India working on his doctorate in environmental law at Dalhousie University. He is author of the book: From Shipbreaking to Sustainable Ship Recycling. He was in Halifax.

Related Links:

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/11/29/marine-atlantic-and-the-ship-breaking-yards-of-india/

After asbestos, Canada dumps two dead hazardous ships on Alang beach

2011-11-23T11:26:00.000-08:00

Two Canadian ships formerly known as the MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood and the MV Caribou was disposed of on Alang beach, Bhavnagar, Guajrat, India.

They were brought from North Sydney to Indian waters violating Basel Convention and the order of the Supreme Court of India.

Green Tribunal Issues Notices in the M V Rak Case

2011-11-22T06:05:00.001-08:00

National Green Tribunal has issued notices to Union of India, Maharashtra Government, Maharashtra Maritime Board, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, M/s Delta Shipping Marine Services, Qatar and Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL) to file affidavits in the matter of sinking of Panama flagged Cargo Ship MV Rak Carrier carrying on board 60,000 tonnes of coal for AEL.

The ship was headed to Gujarat from Indonesia. It sunk near Mumbai coast. Following this notice damages will have to ascertained amidst violation of national and international laws and filed in the coming days before the Tribunal in the Case No.24/2011.

The Directorate General of Shipping, at about 0800 hours, received information from Mumbai Port on 4th August, 2011 that MV Rak Carrier type Bulk Carrier, Flag Panama, built in 1984, manned with 30 crew (Indonesian, Jordanian, Romanian) on board was observed to be adrift 20 miles off from Prongs Reef Light House located at the entrance of Mumbai Harbour, since 4th August, 2011 early hours of morning.

This vessel was on her voyage from Lubuk Tutung (Indonesia) to Dahej (Gujarat) having cargo of 60054 MT cargo of Coal on board reported ingress of water. This vessel is owned and managed by M/s. Delta Shipping Marine Services, Qatar and classed with Lloyds Register of Shipping. The exact quantity of fuel oil and diesel oil remained to be verified.

The Directorate in the capacity of Maritime Assistance Service had requested the Indian Coast Guard to render immediate assistance to this vessel in distress. The report received from the Coast Guard and ETV on 4th August, 2011 at around 1330 hours indicated that ¾ length of the vessel (Overall length about 225 meters) had already been submerged.

The flag administration had also been notified of this shipping casualty. The Directorate, under the provisions of Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 section 356 J & K had issued statutory notice to the ship owner, ship manager and the local ship agent. Directorate General of Shipping had already ordered statutory enquiry into this incident, and had said that it would request the flag state to investigate under the prevailing International law.

These cases of vessels like MV Rak must not be seen in isolation. It needs to be looked at as part of acts of omission and commission by shipping companies in the Indian waters who wish to escape liability in various disguises in order to safeguard nation's ecological security.

The matter came for hearing before the Tribunal's Chairperson's Bench of Hon'ble Shri Justice L.S Panta Chairperson and Hon'ble Shri Vijai Sharma, Expert Member at Van Vigyan Bhawan, Sector-V, R K Puram, New Delhi.

Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
Mb: 9818089660
E-mail: krishna1715@gmail.com
Web:http://toxicswatch.blogspot.com

Swiss Hazardous Ships Bought for Dumping on South Asian Beaches?

2011-11-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

MSC Dumps HAZARDOUS SHIPS ON ALANG BEACH YET IT GETS AWARD FOR PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT
Two ships namely Ballina with IMO No. 8300602 and Navajo Spirit with : IMO No. 8613803 owned by SBM Offshore N.V. company of Switzerland. Its 2010 Annual Report revealed that the carrying values of two tankers (Navajo Spirit and Ballina) was reduced to market value. The same was reiterated in company's Press Release dated March 4, 2011. Sources have informed that both these end-of-life tankers which are laden with hazardous materials has been bough over by a company called GMS. It is apprehended that the vessel is likely to reach any of the three South Asian beaches of Gadani, Chittagong and Alang in near future.

It may be noted that Switzerland is a landlocked country. But shipping companies like the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the second-largest container shipping line in the world is headquartered here. MSC has been dumping its end-of-life vessels for several years. Sources have revealed that since 2009 more than 30 ships owned by MSC have been beached in Alang including as MSC Jessica or MSC Chitra. MSC, a Geneva based company operates 441 vessels on 306 ports in the 6 continents. It has a MSC India wind as well.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) finds it strange that Gianluigi Aponte, Italian businessman, founder and chairman of MSC who dumps his dead and hazardous vessels in the ecologically fragile coastal ecosystem of Alang beach endangering migrant casual workers and the local community has been awarded for "his spectacular annual event celebrates outstanding contributions to safe, efficient and environmentally friendly shipping" at the 23rd Seatrade Awards Ceremony in London on March 4, 2011.

Aponte is estimated to have a fortune of 3.5 billion swiss francs. He is one of the richest persons in Switzerland. He has received the prize for "Neapolitan Excellence in the World" from Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister.

Will Aponte and Seatrade explain how does dumping of following MSC owned cargo ships on Alang beach at least since January 1. 2009 qualify as "safe, efficient and environmentally friendly shipping":

MSC Edna
MSC Giulia
MSC Emilia S
MSC Deila
MSC Eliana
MSC Jessica
MSC Katherine Ann
MSC Manu
MSC Mee May
MSC Rosa M
MSC Stefania
MSC Anastasia
MSC Clorinda
MSC Cristiana
MSC Denisse
MSC Lauren
MSC Laurence
MSC Michele
MSC Veronique
MSC Federica
MSC Gabriella
MSC Ilaria
MSC Immacolata
MSC Lucia
MSC Serena
MSC Selin
MSC Idil
MSC Sena
MSC Pilar
MSC Sariska
MSC Chitra
MSC Shaula
MSC Sudan
MSC Paola

In 2006 MSC had its cruise ship Monterey with IMO No. 5240904 was dismantled on Alang beach.

Ship breaking spoiling environment in Gadani

2011-10-26T01:10:00.000-07:00

Ship breaking with out safety measures at Gadani is hazardous to health and spoiling environment

Nasir Mansoor,Deputy General Secretary of National Trade Union Federation (NTUF) and Bashir Ahmed Mehmoodani, President Ship Breaking Democratic Workers Union, Gadani have drew the attention of governmental environmental agency and other concern departments towards the deteriorating and alarming environmental situation which plying havocs with the lives of thousands of workers at Gadani Ship breaking yards.

The ships and oil tankers which were anchored by the owners at Gadani beach for dismantling never heed to the demands of workers representatives to observe the safety measure for the protection of workers and environment and ecology of the area. The anti environment activities have been going on with out any consideration which become harm full for the health of workers and also for the population lives near by.

The trade union leaders stated that recently an "Oil Tanker" named "WENJIANG" has been dismantling at yard number 54 owned by M/S Seth A. Gafoor. The oil tanker is leaked and oil is spreading on the beach and nearly one kilometer of the radius has been covered with the dirty oil.

More than 500 workers are working on breaking the ship (oil tanker) and they all complained of severe skin allergies and acute respiratory problem due to widespread oil smell in the environ.

Nasir Mansoor and Bashir Mehmoodani demanded observance of international environmental protection standards and workers safety measures in ship breaking sector in Gadani. They also demanded to stop the dismantling the oil tanker "Wenjiang" which omitted the hazardous oil in the sea water and to held inquiry on the issue in detail.

Nasir Mansoor
03003587211
www.ntufpak.org

UN MEET FOR BAN ON HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPORT TO POOR COUNTRIES

2011-10-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

TWA Welcomes Breakthrough in Cartagena, Colombia on UN Hazardous Waste Treaty

INDIA SUPPORTS BAN AMENDMENT TO TREATY ON HAZARDOUS WASTE

UN MEET FOR BAN ON HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPORT TO POOR COUNTRIES

New Delhi October 22, 2011 – Incessant diplomatic efforts resulted in the world witnessing a turning point at the 10th Conference of the Parties of the UN’s Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, as 178 countries which are Parties to it agreed to allow an early entry into force of law of the Basel Ban Amendment that prohibits all exports of hazardous wastes, including electronic wastes and old obsolete ships from rich to poor countries like India.

This happened as a result of an initiative by Indonesia and Switzerland with the support of environmental groups. Now if 17 more Parties from those countries that were Parties during COP3 ratify the Ban Amendment, it will enter into force.
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) urges Government of India to take the lead in ratifying it and persuading other relevant countries to do so prior to the next Conference of Parties. So far 71 countries have ratified the amendment. Prior to COP10, TWA had written to Ministries of Environment, Commerce and Steel to support Ban Amendment. In a letter to Ms. Mira Mehrishi, Additional Secretary, Hazardous Substances Management Division, Ministry of Environment and Forests, it had demanded that India should ratify the Ban Amendment to ban hazardous waste trade

China, the European Union, and developing countries strongly supported the Ban Amendment. Traditional opponents of the amendment like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and India changed their stance for the entry into force of the 1995 treaty. The USA has also opposed but is not a Party of the Convention. Ahead of the upcoming hearing in the Supreme Court, Government of India’s support for Ban Amendment is a step in the right direction.

Basel Convention has regained its original mandate to regulate shipbreaking not the International Maritime Organisation’s Hong Kong Convention given the fact that rate of disposal of end of life ships on Alang beach, Gujarat, Chittagong beach, Bangladesh and Gadani, Pakistan has gathered momentum unmindful of the death of migrant, casual and vulnerable workers and the ongoing contamination of South Asian beaches.

It is hoped that it will pave the way for eliminating all hazardous waste through adoption of substitutes of hazardous materials, Green Design, Clean Production based on Life Cycle Assessment.

The Basel Ban Amendment was originally adopted in 1995 as a proposed amendment to the Basel Convention but has recently been stalled due to uncertainty as to how to interpret the Convention. Now following a diplomatic working group known as the Country Led Initiative, it has been decided that the Ban Amendment will go into force when 68 of the 90 countries that were Parties to the Convention in 1995, ratify the agreement. Currently, 51 of these have ratified the amendment, leaving just 17 more needed. At present there are 178 Parties to the Convention.

“Finally, the blockade has been lifted and the Basel Ban that has been held hostage now for many years is liberated,” said Jim Puckett, Executive Director of the Basel Action Network who was present in Cartagena. “The Ban Amendment ensures that developing countries are not convenient dumping grounds for toxic factory waste, obsolete ships containing asbestos, or old computers coming from affluent countries. It enforces the Basel Convention obligation that all countries manage their own hazardous waste.”

It is important that Parties disagreed that the International Maritime Organization’s Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling, provided an equivalent level of control to that of the Basel Convention. The Hong Kong Convention has no motive of minimizing the movement of hazardous ships to poor countries. The Basel Convention ought to act proactively to prevent the dumping of end-of-life ships on the beaches of poor countries like India.

As of now 33 of the 41 developed countries to which the hazardous waste export ban applies have implemented it nationally. Commenting on the Indonesian-Swiss country-led initiative to improve the effectiveness of the Basel Convention, USA had argued ‘whether it is appropriate for a Convention body to seek to define terms such as “second hand goods” and “used goods” and its reference to “specific arrangements that can be applied to used and end of life goods” while expressing its support to combat illegal traffic in wastes, and had suggested that term "vulnerable countries” be replaced with “certain countries”.

COP-10’s decision will exert diplomatic pressure on countries such as USA that never ratified the treaty. They will have to accept the ban as an integral part of the Convention after its entry in to force.

Earlier, Waste without Frontiers: Global trends in generation and transboundary movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes (http://www.basel.int/pub/ww-frontiers26Jan2010.pdf), a 36 page study by Basel Convention Secretariat provided a glimpse of the global trends on the generation and transboundary movements of hazardous and other wastes produced under the Convention in its first 21 years of existence. TWA hopes that waste will stop following the path of least resistance due to this treaty.

Dr. Frank Pearl, the Colombian Environment Minister, the host reminded that the next generation will at some point come knocking at our door. Responding to it, we have heard the knock, we have opened the door, we have looked into the faces and eyes of our future progeny and we have answered their plea. The Draft Cartagena Declaration on hazardous wastes and other wastes is attached.

TWA appreciates the work of BAN and other environmental organizations which worked towards this end.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, TWA, Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com,
Web: toxicswatch.blogpsot.com
Jim Puckett in Cartagena: Phone: +57 3155483958, E-mail: jpuckett@ban.org
For background Documents on COP10 Basel Meeting: Visit: ban.org (Meetings, COP10 Section), basel.int

UNEP attempts to create a regime for free trade in waste, condemnable

2011-10-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Press Release

CBI Should Probe Hazardous Wastes Trade: Supreme Court Monitoring Committee

UNEP attempts to create a regime for free trade in waste, condemnable

10th Meeting of UN’s Basel Convention to Concludes today

Supreme Court to hear Hazardous Waste Case on November 15

New Delhi/21/10/2011: Global hazardous waste trade treaty’s 10th conference of parties (COP 10) dwelt on a path forward on the Ban Amendment to UN’s Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal but under tremendous influence of hazardous waste traders it emerged that it wants to “turn wastes into valuable resources” in order to make it a “non new good” contrary to Supreme Court’s order.

On October 18, 2011, India called for further discussions of the legal interpretation of Article 17(5) in a contact group instead of calling for voting on the issue to ensure that Ban Amendment comes into force. EU’s support for the Ban Amendment appeared suspect as it continued to support International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s treaty on Ship Recycling/Shipbreaking (Hong Kong Convention) that does not ban imports of hazardous wastes laden end-of-life vessels and India-EU Free Trade Agreement on October 19. Both Indian environmental groups and Indian shipbreaking industry oppose IMO's treaty as anti-worker and anti-environment but Government of India seems to be representing someone else in this regard.

The Supreme Court’s bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice H L Gokhale passed an October 11, 2011 saying, “...many of the directions given and contained in the judgment delivered on 14th October, 2003, reported in (2005)10 SCC 510, along with the recommendations of the Monitoring Committee which had been constituted by this Court by virtue of the said judgment, are yet to be complied with, we direct the respondent, Union of India/Government of India to consider the report of the Monitoring Committee prepared by Dr. D.B. Boralkar and Dr. Claude Alvares, the directions contained at page 541 of the aforesaid judgment and a copy of the submissions filed on behalf of the writ petitioner on 21st September, 2011, and to prepare a note as to what steps have been taken to implement the directions and, if the same have not been implemented, as to why the same have not been implemented. While considering the aforesaid report and judgment, the Government of India shall also consider the other judgment in the same matter reported in (2005) 13 SCC 186. Let this matter be adjourned till 15th November, 2011...” The order is attached. The Basel Convention which has been adopted by the Supreme Court of India seeks national legislation, national reporting and enforcement to mitigate illegal trafficking of hazardous wastes.

The report of Boralkar and Alvares, the members of the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on Hazardous Wastes has recommended investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to get to the bottom of the ongoing trade in hazardous wastes. The report and pictures are available here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6179856/SCMC%20BC%20March%203%202007.pdf
It is noteworthy that Interpol has a Pollution & Environment Crime Working group, India also needs one. World Customs Organisation enforces six multilateral environmental treaties with its help.

It has been reported that Article X-15 of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement negotiations about ‘non-new goods’ (an euphemism for waste), which is expected to be concluded by the end of this year. Government of India has been ignoring Parliament of India in these matters. In a complete contrast on March 5, 2009, the European Parliament voted on 140 tabled amendments to the draft report on the FTA between India and the European Union (EU). Has Parliament in our country been given any such opportunity for instance, to take a considered view on hazardous waste trade? Meanwhile, the 1083 page India-Japan Free Trade Agreement legitimizes waste trade for good. Like Germany and UK, Japan too has been a consistent opponent of the Basel Convention.

The status of Ban Amendment to Basel Convention is the same as Kyoto Protocol is to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Basel Convention is a global environmental treaty dealing with hazardous and other wastes. It has 178 members and aims to protect human health and the environment against the adverse effects of the generation, management, transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous and other wastes.

In the matter of trade obligations and commitments of generators of hazardous wastes is quite clear. It is a sad day for global environmental movement that at time when exporters, importers and waste processers have ganged up against human health and environment in collusion with UNEP, there is a disturbing silence from the NGOs of the richer countries in particular and donor driven NGOs of the poorer countries.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) strongly disapproves of Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director at the Basel COP 10 meeting attempts to legitimize “moves forward in establishing a regime for countries who wish to trade in waste”, thereby dividing the world into those love trade in hazardous waste and those who do not and to create a “balance” between them.

Senior Advisory Group of Experts to the Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention Secretariat met from 18 to 19 January 2011 to subvert the definition of waste and turn it into non-waste in the name of exploring the economic potential of the extracting resources from waste. After the meet, the Basel Convention Secretariat and Ms. Katharina Kummer Peiry, Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention circulated a non-paper titled “SHIFTING PARADIGMS: FROM WASTE TO RESOURCES”. This appears to be a scandalous act that tantamount to an unpardonable environmental sin by Basel Convention Secretariat and United Nations Environment Programme under Executive Director, Achim Steiner. It was under the influence of hazardous waste traders that COP10 attempted to dedicate itself to the controversial theme of ‘recovery, of wastes’ in order to promote fake green business and dirty, degrading and dangerous job opportunities, while paying lip service to human health, livelihood, and the environment. The non-paper is attached.

Basel Convention Secretariat under Ms. Peiry and UNEP under Steiner’s leadership seems to have adopted regressive Lawrence Summers principle under the influence of countries like USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Korea and Japan in general and U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses, International Chamber of Commerce, US Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries and Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the international trade federation representing the world’s recycling industry. These entities were opposed to principles of Basel Convention at least since 1992 when the treaty was adopted unlike India. Since Kamal Nath’s tenure as Union Environment Minister, later as Union Commerce Minister and now with Anand Sharma, as Union Commerce Minister there is been noticeable reversal in India’s position against public health and environment. Notably, in February 2002, the Supreme Court had fined the Ministry of Environment & Forests Rs.10, 000 for not having complied with its orders regarding the disappearance of hazardous waste oil from major ports in the country. Prior to that the court had ordered on May 5, 1997, "no authorisation or permission (for hazardous waste) would be given to any authority ... which has already been banned by the Union government or by any order made by any court or any other authority...(In addition to this) no import would be made or permitted … under the Basel Convention."

In such a backdrop, TWA welcomes the step of Parliament of Republic of Malta, a Southern European country which has approved the ratification of the amendment to the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-Frontier Movements of Hazardous Waste on October 19, 2011. The amendment is aimed at prohibiting exports of hazardous waste to developing countries. TWA hopes that Parliament of India too will prevail on Government of India to ratify the Ban Amendment to prohibit hazardous waste trade that is being promoted by its Commerce Ministry under the undue influence of traders.

The Third meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP3) to the Convention in Geneva in September 1995 an Ban Amendment was adopted. This bans the export of hazardous wastes for final disposal and recycling from rich countries to poorer countries. This amendment was to enter into force following ratification by 62 parties as per Article 17 (5) of the Convention. The Ban Amendment has not entered into force despite the fact that 70 parties have ratified it because Basel Convention Secretariat appears to have surrendered under the influence of powerful hazardous waste traders. The parent treaty, the Basel Convention that adopted in 1989 entered into force on 5 May 1992 has been ratified by 175 countries.

It is quite sad that after acknowledging that “Trade in hazardous wastes has grown significantly between developing countries, a trend unforeseen when the Convention was adopted more than two decades ago”, UNEP and the Basel Convention Secretariat incorrectly state, “such trade is not addressed by the Ban Amendment, which was adopted in 1995 and has 70 Parties.” Both these agencies have failed in not putting the issue of a long-standing dispute over how to calculate the requisite number of ratifications needed which has defied resolution by consensus to vote. It is an act of dereliction of duty.

In a year prior to the 20th anniversary of the Rio Conference on Environment and Development and the 40th anniversary of the 1972 Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, UNEP appears subservient to hazardous waste traders. The 5 -day UN meeting from 17 to 21 October 2011 in the city of Cartagena, Colombia concludes today. TWA had written to Ministry of Environment and Forests, Commerce and Steel Ministers to adopt its original position of 1992 articulated in Piriapolis, Uruguay in December 1992, by A. Bhattacharja, Head of the Indian delegation saying, "You industrial countries have been asking us to do many things for the global good -- to stop cutting down our forests, to stop using your CFCs. Now we are asking you to do something for the global good: keep your own waste." It is hoped that both Supreme Court and Parliament will act in time to set matters right before it is too late and ask the rich countries and their waste traders to keep their own waste, our own waste is too much to handle.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, Convener, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660, Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com, www.basel.int

Routine Deaths in Chittagong, Ships Owners Have Field Day

2011-10-17T04:39:00.000-07:00

Note: South Asian beaches in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Gadani, Pakistan and Alang, India have seceded from their respective countries and have become the properties of rich ship owning companies and countries of US, Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and China. These countries and their transnational shipping companies are in the process of writing the obituary of UN treaty, Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal at its Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP 10) during October 17-21 in CARTAGENA, Colombia. The theme of COP 10 “recovery of wastes” is anti-environment and human health.

Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance

span style="font-weight:bold;">4 dead, 40 taken ill in gas leaks

Oct 16th, 2011

Dhaka, Oct 16 (bdnews24.com) – Four people were dead and at least 40 taken ill in two separate incidents of gas leakage in the country.

In one incident, four workers died after inhaling poisonous gas in Chittagong when a docked ship was being gas-freed on Sunday evening in Giri Subedar Ship Breaking Yard.

Those dead were identified as Mir Kashem, 22, Nesar Uddin, 25, Younus, 23, and Gias Uddin, 25.

The yard in Bara Awlia area of the port city is owned by Lokman Hakim.

Two people were also reported to have fallen sick due to the gas and admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, said medical police post sub-inspector Mohammad Zahirul Islam.

Shipyard general manager Mohammad Sekandar told bdnews24.com, "In the evening, many were taken ill making a ship gas-free."

But he denied any knowledge about four people dying in the incident.

Earlier in the day, at least 40 people, including 12 firemen, fell sick after a pipe of the chlorine unit of a chemical factory at Keraniganj leaked.

The pipe of the chlorine unit of Global Heavy Chemical Company Limited leaked around 9am on Sunday, South Keraniganj police chief Sakhawat Hossain told bdnews24.com.

"The situation is under control now," he added.

Fire brigade control room officer Nilufar Yasmin told bdnews24.com that the information fire fighters repaired the leak after around half an hour.

But many people including the fire fighters fell sick before the pipe was repaired.

They have been admitted to Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital and Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

The police officer said owner of the chemical factory Sabur Khan could not be immediately reached for comment.

bdnews24.com/corr/kt/jk/ost/mc/mrh/nir/2240h

Gulf Jash renamed Hua Feng

2011-10-05T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sources have revealed that Gulf Jash (formerly Probo Koala) has been renamed Hua Feng on August 5, 2011 after being rejected by Bangladesh in June, 2011 under the former name Gulf Jash. The vessel steered back to Shanghai, was renamed Hua Feng. It is currently in Weda Bay near Buli, Indonesia as of 3 October, 2011. The vessel has been in Weda Bay since 4 September, 2011.

Dumping of Asbestos laden Dead Chinese Ship in Indian Waters on Alang Beach

2011-09-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

To

Smt Meera Mehrishi
Additional Secretary
Hazardous Substances Management Division
Union Ministry of Environment & Forests
Government of India
New Delhi

Date 30/9/2011

Subject-Dumping of Asbestos laden Dead Chinese Ship in Indian Waters on Alang Beach
and related issues

Madam,

This is to draw your attention towards a toxic Chinese ship, Asia Union (ex MV Humber, MV Cast Otter) with IMO Number: 8015673 with some 79 deficiencies since 2010 at different ports, it is feared to be on its way to a ship-breaking yard on Alang beach for dismantling in violation of the Supreme Court’s order, UN’s Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal and Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 under Environment Protection Act, 1986. This ship was built in 1982. It is a bulk carrier with LDT: 14,436. At present the ship has the flag of Panama. Its length is 235 m.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), a research and advocacy group has learnt from sources that Global Marketing System (GMS), a US company that negotiates sales of vessels, brokered the deal for purchasing the Chinese ship in India.

I submit that TWA has been pursuing the ship breaking case in the Supreme Court. The matter was listed for hearing on 28th and 29th September, 2011.

It may be noted that in an Office Memorandum No.29-3/2009-HSMD, Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, (HSM Division) dated 9th May, 2011 relating to implementation of Supreme Court directions in respect of ship breaking activities, it has been admitted that the issue regarding the submission of fake certificates by the ship owners/agents remains unresolved. TWA has drawn the attention of the authorities in this regard. The document is attached.

It is germane to recollect that TWA has provided documentary evidence of fake documents to the Environment Ministry which was referred to the Ministry of Steel. It wrote a letter to Shri S. Machendranathan, Chairman, Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on shipbreaking (constituted by Supreme Court’s 14th October, 2003 order) drawing his attention to non-compliance with the Court’s order and the issue of the hazardous and dead European vessel on 1st June, 2011.

It has come to light from the Office Memorandum dated May 2011 that Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)’s Standing Monitoring Committee (SMC) on Shipbreaking has suggested that since Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Customs were not able to verify the authenticity/genuineness of ship’s registry/flag in the fast in respect of some ships referred to them, this task in respect of each ship may be referred to the Directorate General Shipping, Ministry of Shipping ought to undertake such verification henceforth. The GMB officials informed MoEF that “the suggestion of the committee isacceptable to them subject to such verification by DG Shipping is done within a period of 2 working days. If no information is received from the DG Shipping within 2 working days, it will be presumed that the certificate submitted is authentic and genuine.” TWA disapproves of such presumption of genuineness of fabricated documents. It demands that documents of some 120 dead ships currently on Alang Beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat must be investigated.

The Committee observed that “at present there is no single point access to the yards and therefore, hazardous waste is being illegally dumped at various places. It was suggested to have a single point access to the yards in order stop such illegal dumping activity.”

It has come to light from the report of the site visit of the committee that they visited the existing Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage & Disposal Facility (TSDF) site and it was observed that the existing cell is almost full. TWA has confirmed it from the sources in the ship breaking industry that the TSDF is full. The report of the site visit by SMC is attached.

Before it was filled up Gujarat Enviro Protection and Infrastructure Ltd (GEPIL), Alang Unit has been operating and maintaining Common Hazardous waste TSDF on behalf of GMB, since October’ 2005.The site was constructed and developed by GMB. GEPIL was awarded this TSDF for Operation and Maintenance through competitive Bidding Process in September’ 2005. Its total Notified Area is 7 hectares. The site is situated at Alang Ship breaking yard. It is designed to collect, transport, Receipt, Store, treat and dispose off wide range of hazardous waste. GEPIL (Alang Unit) is also associated with Sweeping, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of Municipal wastes generated during the ship breaking activities. GEPIL (Unit Alang) has been providing its services to more than 80 industries of region. The facility receives wastes from Ship breaking and Ship recycling industrial sectors. In its myopia GMB has suggested that “they may raise the height of the embankment of the cell and compress the existing material to enhance its capacity within designed parameters. This work needs to be taken up on urgent basis to ensure that this facility is available to shipbreakers at the existing site at least for another one year.”

I submit that the creation of such facilities for hazardous wastes that originated in developed countries cannot be approved. The million dollar question is that even if this is done what happens after one year and the year thereafter. Will Bhavnagar become a Hazardous Waste TSDF capital for the ship owning companies and countries in order to appear vibrant to the developed world?

Given the emergency situation that has emerged for the GMB, the SMC informed to the stakeholders that without the TSDF facility the shipbreaking activities should not be allowed by the GPCB as per the Supreme Court directions. It is evident to TWA that the shipbreaking activity that is currently in operation is happening in the absence of TSDF, thus, in clear violation of the Court’s directions.

I submit that SMC has recommended that “ship breaking yard shall not commence breaking of the ship till such time proper decontamination certificate is issued by GPCB after thorough inspection.” This recommendation does not take cognizance of Hon'ble Court's order that reads, "(16) At the international level, India should participate in international meetings on ship-breaking at the level of the International Maritime Organisation and the Basel Convention's Technical Working Group with a clear mandate for the decontamination of ships of their hazardous sub-stances such as asbestos, waste oil, gas and PCBs, prior to export to India for breaking." One of the fourteen Terms of Reference on which the High Powered Committee was to give its report and recommendations "Decontamination of ships before they are exported to India for breaking.” The apex court's order endorsed Basel Convention.

SMC has suggested that monitoring of asbestos in ambient air at shipbreaking yards on Alang beach “shall be commissioned by GMB for carrying out the same by a reputed institute like NIOH, as a one time study.” TWA has been demanding that asbestos cannot be handled safely or in a controlled manner. Therefore, International Labour Organisation’s resolution of June 2006 and World Health Organisation’s resolution of 2005 seek elimination of future use of asbestos. Indian workers in general and migrant workers of Alang should not be made to handle asbestos under any situation.

I wish to demand that Gujarat Pollution Board (GPCB) should be asked to make its study for sea water and sediment analysis public so that the extent of pollution at Alang beach can be comprehended.

It is also demanded that the funds collected by GMB and Steel Ministry’s Ferrous Scrap Committee (FSC) must be used for remediation and decontamination of Alang beach and for workers and villagers’ environmental and occupational health rights.
In view of the above facts, no new dead vessel should be allowed at least until the situation is remedied.

It is noteworthy that this is a 29 year-old dead ship that is likely to enter Indian maritime boundary after Bangladesh refused its entry. The ship was anchored off the coast of the southern port of Chittagong, Bangladesh on September 19, 2011.

This end of life ship is laden hazardous substances including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyl, toxic paints and chemical residues that have a wide range of adverse effects on humans, wildlife and the environment. If dismantled, the ship would expose workers and the environment to hazards.

This is to alert the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, port authorities, DG Shipping, IMC on Shipbreaking, Gujarat Maritime Board, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and the coast guards about the hazardous ship and to urge you not to allow it enter this hazardous wastes laden Chinese ship for dumping in Indian waters in the name of dismantling.

I submit that since 1983 when ship breaking activity started on Alang beach in Gujarat, India till date, it is a journey from bad to worse. Workers on the Alang beach live in a "slave like condition".

I submit that if embargo by ship owners and ship breakers on media and external researchers is removed, the world will witness that here is a place where slavery is practiced with impunity. These migrant workers from North and East India are blatantly discriminated against by officials and ship breakers. The Alang beach has become one of the most polluted places in the world.

I wish to inform you that between January 2011 and September 2011, 27 workers died in industrial accidents. No government agency has acted to ensure and secure justice for these workers. Ship owning countries are dumping their end-of-life vessels. Such transfer of harm to South Asian beaches of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

It is an illustration of the colossal failure of all concerned government agencies is most evident from the fact that while accident rate in ship breaking is the worst among all the industrial sectors still there is no hospital in Alang. This has been recorded in the report of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights. The UN Special Rapporteur and Stefano Sensi, Human Rights Officer, UN Human Rights Council visited a number of shipbreaking yards accompanied by TWA among others. TWA is an applicant in the Supreme Court of India and has campaigned against end of life vessels like Le Clemenceau, MV RIKY (Kong Fredrick IX), SS Blue Lady (SS France, SS Norway), Platinum II (MV Oceanic, SS Independence) and many others.

It was during the Platinum II scandal that Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, the Special Rapporteur visited India. He said, “In order to ascertain the environmental impact of the shipbreaking industry, I recommend that an independent study be carried out to assess the actual and potential adverse effects that may be caused by the discharge of hazardous material into the natural environment, as well as the level of risk”. This has not been done so far.

I submit that the Special Rapporteur has noted that he was “shocked by the extremely poor conditions in which most workers live in Alang and Mumbai”. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers live in makeshift facilities lacking basic sanitation facilities, electricity and even safe drinking water. “I call on Governmental authorities to provide appropriate plots of lands, and facilitate the construction of adequate housing facilities for those who work in the yards. Adequate sanitation and drinking water facilities should also be put in place”. Special Rapporteur's report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

I wish to inform you that TWA, environmental and labour groups have termed the Convention on Ship Recycling/breaking adopted by International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as anti-worker, anti-environment and anti-local community. The Convention does nothing to stop dead ships like the Chinese ship in question.

It is surprising as to why the ship was never detained despite being detected with many deficiencies by Port authorities at different ports.

It has been revealed in recent times that Alang has become a fake document factory and authorities in Gujarat have stated in writing that they do not have the competence to detect fake documents. As a result dead ships like MV Asia Union are faking pre-cleaning certificates and other clearance certificates.

This is to urge you to deny entry of this Chinese ship and other such ships on environmental health grounds.

Thanking You
Yours Faithfully
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
Tel:91-11-65663958, Fax: 91-11-26517814, Mb: 9818089660
Email:krishna2777@gmail.com, Web: imowatch.blogspot.com

Cc/
Union Minister of Shipping
Union Minister of Environment & Forests
Secretary, Union Ministry of Defence
Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs
Secretary, Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Union Minister of Steel
Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests
Secretary, Ministry of Shipping
Secretary, Ministry of Labour
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests (HSMD)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel
Dr Saroj, Director, Ministry of Environment & Forests
Members of Standing Monitoring Committee on Ship breaking
Dr Claude Alvares, Member, Supreme Court's Monitoring Committee (SCMC) on
Hazardous Wastes

Global & Indian Trade Unions Unable to Help Migrant Workers of Alang Beach

2011-09-16T05:28:00.000-07:00

Since 1983 when ship breaking activity started on Alang beach in Gujarat, India till date, its a journey from bad to worse. Workers on the Alang beach live in a "slave like condition".

If embargo by ship owners and ship breakers on media and external researchers is removed, the world will witness that here is a place where slavery is practiced with impunity. These migrant workers from North and East India are blatantly discriminated against by Gujarati and Maharashtrian politicians, officials and ship breakers. They suffer from the racist attitude of the local population as well.

All the trade unions who do some work for migrant workers involved in the ship breaking activity in India on the ground are under tremendous influence of ship breakers and shipowners. Some ship breakers have revealed that the trade union is tolerated because they help negotiate wages.

Whichever trade union talks on behalf of migrant workers must reveal as to what they have done to safe guard the occupational and environmental health of workers.

They must be asked as to what is their position on the ongoing contamination of Alang beach. For how long will the beach and its fragile coastal environment be turned into a grave yard of workers.

Between January 2011 and September 2011, 27 workers died in industrial accidents. The trade union or whoever claims to be working for the migrant workers of Alang beach must reveal as to what they have done to secure justice for these workers.

Ship owning countries are dumping their end-of-life vessels. Trade unions engaged with industrial activity on Alang beach must state what is their position on transfer of harm to South Asian beaches of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Trade unions working in Alang have failed to ensure even clean drinking water. Their colossal failure is most evident from the fact that while accident rate in ship breaking is the worst among all the industrial sector still there is no hospital in Alang. This has been recorded in the report of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights. The UN Special Rapporteur and Stefano Sensi, Human Rights Officer, UN Human Rights Council visited a number of shipbreaking yards accompanied by ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) among others. TWA is an applicant in the Supreme Court of India and has campaigned against end of life vessels like Le Clemenceau, MV RIKY (Kong Fredrick IX), SS Blue Lady (SS France, SS Norway), Platinum II (MV Oceanic, SS Independence) and many others.

It was during the Platinum II scandal that Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, the Special Rapporteur visited India. He said, “In order to ascertain the environmental impact of the shipbreaking industry, I recommend that an independent study be carried out to assess the actual and potential adverse effects that may be caused by the discharge of hazardous material into the natural environment, as well as the level of risk”.

The Special Rapporteur has noted that he was “shocked by the extremely poor conditions in which most workers live in Alang and Mumbai”. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers live in makeshift facilities lacking basic sanitation facilities, electricity and even safe drinking water. “I call on Governmental authorities to provide appropriate plots of lands, and facilitate the construction of adequate housing facilities for those who work in the yards. Adequate sanitation and drinking water facilities should also be put in place”. Special Rapporteur's report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

Will global trade unions and their Indian affiliates explain what have they done to stop the abuse of migrant workers? What is their position on the enviro-occupational health of migrant workers and the IMO's Convention on Ship Recycling/breaking which is anti-worker, anti-environment and anti-local community?

It is high time all civil rights, labour rights and environmental rights groups joined hands to intervene in a meaningful way beyond donor driven routine seminars and conferences for visible change on the ground because there cannot be 'national' environmentalism or labor rights movement. It must be holistic in spirit to combat the cannibalistic propensity of the ship owning companies which is making governmental and UN regulatory agencies subservient to lust for naked profit at any human and ecological cost unmindful of inter-generational inequity it perpetuates.

Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
Web: imowatch.blogspot.com
Mb: 09818089660
E-mail; krishna2777@gmail.com

Custom seizes Greece flagged ship at Alang for undervaluation

2011-09-16T05:24:00.000-07:00

Bhavnagar, Sep 16 (PTI) Customs sleuths today seized a Greece flagged ship coming from Singapore to the ship breaking yard at Alang here for dismantling, allegedly for
misdeclaration of value.

"A made in China ship -- Syros -- bearing the flag of Greece, which had come from Singapore to Alang has been seized under the Customs Act for misdeclaration of value. The vessel was purchased by Bansal International Ltd here," a customs official told PTI.

"The price of the vessel has been undervalued in the bill of entry to evade customs duty," he said. The vessel of around 12,232 DWT was docked recently on plot no. 1 of the Alang ship breaking yard, the largest ship breaking yard in Asia.

"Customs sleuths have contended that declaration of over USD 500 per DWT as price of the vessel by the buyer was undervalued," official sources said.

Deaths on Alang Beach till September 2011

2011-09-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

So far this year on Alang beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, 27 workers have died due to the criminal callousness of ship owning countries, companies, ship breakers, Gujarat Maritime Board, Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Steel, Ministry of Environment & Forests, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Basel Convention Secretariat and International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

When there are some many countries, companies and agencies to be blamed, how will these workers get justice?

What is the condition of one of world's most polluted place, Alang Beach?

ToxicsWatch Alliance holds hypocrisy of countries and companies from developed world like Japan and European Union and USA along with the collusion of Indian political class responsible for the death of these workers.

Deaths in Alang are caused by corporate terrorism of shipping companies which bigger and more powerful than Government of India, Parliament of India and UN agencies.

Mumbai’s Coastal Ecology Faces Oil Spill Disaster Like Gujarat’s Alang Beach

2011-08-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

Press Note

Mumbai’s Coastal Ecology Faces Oil Spill Disaster Like Gujarat’s Alang Beach

New Delhi: The leakage of oil from Panama flagged ship MV Rak once again reveals that repeated reminders of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) to the Inter-ministerial Committees did not have any effect on Ministry of Shipping and Ministry of Home Affairs that remains quite weak in regulating transboundary movement of ships in Indian waters. The responsibility of Coast Guard lies beyond port limits but Director-General, ICG has the overall responsibility for appropriate response to oil spill incidents. This has created a situation where Government of India remains unprepared to deal with oil pollution.

The ship owner, of MV Rak, the ship manager and the local ship agent have been issued notices under sections 356 J & K of Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 that gives the “Power to give notice to owner, etc of polluting ships” and “Power to take measures for preventing or containing oil pollution” respectively. The Directorate General of Shipping is making efforts to contact the owner and insurer of the ship.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), an applicant in the hazardous wastes case in the Supreme Court has been demanding that ships should not be allowed in Indian waters without the name of Port of Registry, Name and address of ship owner, IMO registered owner identification number and IMO company identification Number unless this is done no seller will be traceable. (Refer to Appendix 4 of Hongkong Convention, page no. 39).TWA has written to Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider measures that
can be taken by the Government to tackle corruption and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture in this regard. (the letters are given below)

The Director-General, ICG is the chairman of the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency

Plan (NOS-DCP) which was promulgated in the year 1996 and approved by the Committee of Secretaries to Government of India designating Coast Guard as the Central Coordination Authority. The NOSDCP was promulgated to all agencies after consent of related ministries during1996. It was updated in 2008. It is reliably learnt that ICG does not have the capability to detect, monitor and neutralise HNS type of marine pollution. While coastal security is duty of the Indian Navy, marine pollution is ICG’s responsibility. National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan was intended to delineate entire national preparedness and response system including both public and private resources for responding to oil spill emergency and provide the basic frame work and guidelines for a national response to oil spills at sea.

After the promulgation of NOS-DCP, ICG responded to 68 oil spill incidents in Indian waters and claimed recovery charges worth Rs.8.13 Crores towards cleanup cost till 2008.

Indian Coast Guard Act of 1978, and the Merchant Shipping Act of 1958 (amended in 1990 for oil pollution, and later amended in 2003 for Hazardous & Noxious Substances [HNS] pollution), the Indian Coast Guard mandated as the focal point for countering marine pollution regulate oil spill incidents.

It is relevant to note that the Sixteenth National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS-DCP) and Preparedness meeting was held at Hotel Presidency, Kochi on 19 Apr 2011. Vice Admiral Anil Chopra AVSM, Director General Indian Coast Guard who chaired the meeting recalled the “oil response operations undertaken to MV MSC Chitra oil spill incident …in the cleanup operations to bring back the Coastline of Maharashtra close to the pre spill state. The Chairman NOSDCP also highlighted on the oil spill incidents that occurred in Indian water since the last NOSDCP, such as, oil spill from MV Tiger spring at Kolkata, the ONGC pipeline leakage, the minor spill by MV Ratna Urvi at Haldia and the oil spill from MV Mirach which sank off Kanyakumari in April 2011.” These incidents reveal that unless Zero Tolerance Policy is adopted against irresponsible and dubious ships our coastal ecology will continue to face irreparable assaults.

Oil spill is covered under Hazardous & Noxious Substances (HNS) Protocol of 2010 to the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 1996. It was adopted on April 30, 2010. India is yet to ratify the Protocol. HNS are defined by reference to lists of substances included in various IMO Conventions and Codes. These include oils; other liquid substances defined as noxious or dangerous; liquefied gases; liquid substances with a flashpoint not exceeding 60°C; dangerous, hazardous and harmful materials and substances carried in packaged form; and solid bulk materials defined as possessing chemical hazards. The Convention also covers residues left by the previous carriage of HNS, other than those carried in packaged form.

Under the 2010 Protocol, if damage is caused by bulk HNS, compensation would first be sought from the shipowner, up to a maximum limit of 100 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR). 1 SDR is an equivalent of Rs 71.417900 as of August 5, 2011. Where damage is caused by packaged HNS, or by both bulk HNS and packaged HNS, the maximum liability for the shipowner is 115 million SDR. Once this limit is reached, compensation would be paid from a second tier, the HNS Fund, up to a maximum of 250 million SDR (including compensation paid under the first tier). According to IMO norms, Marine pollution due to oil spills are categorised as follows:Tier 1: Below 700 tonnes of oil, Tier 2: Between 700 to 10,000 tonnes and Tier 3: 10,000 to 100,000 tonnes. India does not have the capacity to counter this spills over 100,000 tonnes. Once the extent of oil spill is determined due MV Rak, it would be clear as to what Tier it belongs to. NOS-DCP requires amendment to include HNS protocol of the IMO.

There is a compelling logic for Ministry of Shipping to legislate that all ships visiting Indian ports must have a comprehensive oil-cum-HNS pollution insurance with a reputed company so that clean-up operations are not paid for by the Indian taxpayer and ship owners who commit environmental crimes are made liable. India has a coastline of 7500 km. It has 11major, 20 intermediate and 144 minor ports. Replies given by Shipping Minister in the Parliament has revealed that most of our ports are vulnerable to assaults by vested interests and conniving ship owning companies who indulge in dubious activities to escape liability. Indian response to oil spills and the US response to oil spill in Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010 present a contrast.

Earlier, Ministry of Defence was the nodal agency for coordination in the matter of Oil Spill, now the Ministry of Home Affairs is the nodal agency. Repeated failure to detect and obviate ship related accidents and entry of obsolete ships on fake documents in Indian waters provides a rationale for the Ministry of Defence to be reassigned the responsibility.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com, Web: imowatch.blogspot.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gopal Krishna
Date: Sun, Aug 7, 2011 at 8:01 PM
Subject: Fwd: Ban on Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters
To: rsc-tt@sansad.nic.in
Cc: pkarunakaranmp@gmail.com, s.a.pasha@sansad.nic.in, nagendraks@sansad.nic.in, jagdishk@sansad.nic.in, swarabji.b@sansad.nic.in

To

Shri Sitaram Yechury
Chairman
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism & Culture
New Delhi

Through RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

Subject-Ban on Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters

Sir,

This is to draw your attention to my letter to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Security in the matter of the entry of unmanned 21-year-old and 2,000-tonnne vessel MT Pavit with flag of Panama entered Indian waters in an apparent collaboration with the UK and US Defence agencies. (the letter is given below)

I also wish to draw your attention towards the sinking of MV Rak Carrier that was built in 1984 with IMO NO 8106745. This vessel that reportedly drifted about 20 Miles Off Mumbai on 4th August, 2011 also has a Panama flag.

I submit that it is apprehended that the 225 meters long Cargo Ship MV Rak Carrier carrying on board 60,000 tonnes of coal for Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL) was near India's Mumbai coast on the afternoon of 4th August, 2011 to claim insurance money for its cargo of 60054 MT cargo of coal on board unmindful of its ecological consequences and the hazardous nature for the ship itself. The real owner of the company which owns the ship is not known. It has been reported that it is owned by M/s. Delta Shipping Marine Services, a Qatar based company. There is a need to pierce the corporate veil behind this company to find out the real motives of such ship owners.

I submit that your committee may consider undertaking a inquiry into the dubious goings on in the shipping sector and the failure of Shipping Ministry in general and DG Shipping in particular.

I submit that the current presumption of genuineness of fabricated documents must be rejected urgently. I suggest that the documents of more than 100 ships that have entered or have been sunk must be investigated and their ownership be traced. This could be the first step in securing our environmental and maritime security which has been compromised by hazardous wastes traders and other vested interests.

I will be happy to share all the documents based on which I have made the above submissions.

Thanking You

Yours Faithfully
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
Mb: 09818089660, 07739308480
E-mail:krishna2777@gmail.com
Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com, imowatch.blogspot.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gopal Krishna
Date: Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 11:11 AM
Subject: Ban on Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters
To: cabinetsy@nic.in
Cc: manmohan@sansad.nic.in, pkm@sansad.nic.in, hm@nic.in, anto.antony@sansad.nic.in, anto.antony@ymail.com

To

Dr Manmohan Singh
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)
Government of India
New Delhi

Through Cabinet Secretary, Government of India

Subject-Ban on Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters

Sir,

This is to draw your immediate attention the entry of unmanned 21-year-old and 2,000-tonnne vessel MT Pavit with flag of Panama entered Indian waters in an apparent collaboration with the UK and US Defence agencies. Is it a coincidence that MV Rak Carrier that was built in 1984 with IMO NO 8106745 and has reportedly drifted about 20 Miles Off Mumbai on 4th August, 2011 also has a Panama flag?

The papers relied upon to prepare this letter are attached.

I wish to inform you that the vessel MT Pavit was built in Japan in 1990. It has flags of Comoros, located off the eastern coast of Africa and Panama southernmost country of Central America. It was last dry docked in August 2010.

I submit that M.V. “Global Purity” with a Panama flag reportedly had a collision on 23/3/2010 at Mumbai port. M.V. “MSC Chitra” which reportedly had a collision on too had flag of Panama at Mumbai port on 7/8/2010. The Panama flag merits probe.

I wish to draw your attention towards our Ministry of Defence's statement issued on July 31, 2011 stating, “Coast Guard MRCC (Mb) received information from MRCC Falmouth on 29 Jun 11 regarding drifting of MT PAVIT 110 nm from Ras al Madrakah Oman coast due to engine failure and ingress of water in engine room. Subsequently MT Jag Pushpa flagged India was diverted by UK MRCC to render assistance. MT Jag Pushpa rescued all 13 crew and brought to Sikka (a port in Gujarat). On 31 Jul 11 at about 1200 hrs Coast Guard Region Headquarters (West) received telephonic information from Juhu police regarding grounding of MT Pavit off Versova beach opposite Ruia park / Chandan cinema” in Mumbai. It reveals that the vessel has been drifting since June 29, 2011. The statement informed that “Coast Guard ship Amrit Kaur and helicopter ex 842 Sqn (CG) were deployed for preliminary assessment. The vessel was assessed to have been grounded at Juhu beach without any apparent damage. The vessel is double bottom and is having 10 mt Fuel oil and 10 mt Gas oil. (30 metric ton according to DG Shipping). Owner of vessel intimated vessel was reported sunk immediately on abandoning on 30 Jun / 01 Jul 11. The company is in the process of engaging salvor for removal of vessel from beach.”

The question is: when did it leave Sikka port and when it left the port was it with the crew or without crew? Who issued the port clearance at Sikka port. How it came to Sikka and how it left the port? The statement of the owner has been found to be untruthful by the officials too.The traceability of owner is a question, on behalf of ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), I have raised the issue repeatedly with concerned authorities but no action has been taken.

In another statement dated 31st July, 2011, Directorate General Shipping stated, “Today afternoon, this Directorate was informed that this vessel was seen drifting off the 7 bunglows beach area. Immediately, the coast guard and Navy were alerted and more information being gathered. The vessel's name is MT Pavit (IMO No. 9016636), 999 tons GT, Flag Panama type product tanker, classed with RINA and built 1990 ran aground off Versova Beach in position 19 07.11N / 072 45.9E. The Owners of the vessel are reported to be M/s Pavit Shipping Lines, Dubai, and Managers are Ms Prime Tankers LLC, Dubai. MT PAVIT was reportedly abandoned off Oman Coast on the 29th of June. 13 crew members, all Indians were on board who were rescued by a ship of Great Eastern shipping and a US naval warship on 29th June 2011 and brought to Kandla port. The vessel is reported to be without cargo. However, she is reported to have a total of about 30 MT of fuel/diesel/Lube oil. ETV Smit Lumba has already moved towards the MT Pavit to render emergency towing operations. This Directorate would carry out the statuatory inquiry to this incident.”

The question is: When the ship was abandoned “off Oman Coast on the 29th of June” then how did it come to Sikka? Whether the ownership of the ship was verified at the port. What was the purpose of the ship to come to Kandla, which is not a port for oil cargo. Before leaving Kandla, what cargo did it discharge and what cargo was loaded on it for the voyage. When it left Kandla did, the vessel get port clearance? When did the vessel become unmanned?.

I submit that so far Indian Ministry of Defence or Directorate General Shipping has not been able to disclose that UK’s Ministry of Defence rescued MT Pavit vessel as per its report dated 1st July, 2011. The question that remains undisclosed is: who is the owner of the real owner of this abandoned ship. (Statement from UK’s Ministry of Defence is attached). How did it reach Indian waters after its rescue by one of the ships of UK’s Royal Navy ship named HMS St Albans? This merits high level probe.

In a related statement dated 2nd August, 2011 from DG Shipping says, “A review meeting by the Directorate General of Shipping in the capacity Maritime Assistance Service (MAS) was held with the key Coastal State Authorities namely Indian Coast Guard, Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the charterers, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), including the managers representative (Prime Tankers, Dubai), Local Correspondent of P & I Club and salvage companies showing expression of interest” wherein “The owners and manager i.e Prime Tankers has sent their representative to participate in the review meeting today. The Directorate has directed the owner / manager Prime Tankers to confirm their action plan to remove /salvage the grounded vessel immediately. The owners / managers were advised to seek the salvage services either from managers of the ETV or make their own arrangements at their cost, risk, and consequences. In the event of no response from the owner / manager, the Directorate General of Shipping can invoke Section 356 K of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and take up salvage operations with cost being recovered from the owner / manager. The local P & I club correspondent stated that the vessel is not having valid P & I cover against third party liabilities.”

It further states, “The District Administration has also been requested to issue notice to the owner, manager and underwriters etc. under Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 as this vessel is become public nuisance. The investigation by the Police Authorities under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code is in progress. The Flag Administration of the ship Panama and the Coastal Authority of Oman are being notified that the vessel has not sunk as reported earlier and therefore, they would be requested to conduct investigation under the relevant International Law and share vital information and findings in respect of safety of navigation and other related issues with the Indian Administration. The Indian Maritime Administration, District Authority including MMB and Indian Coast Guard are concerned about the safety of the ship and any damage to the Marine environment. In view of this, continuous monitoring is in progress and efforts are on for earliest removal of the ship.”

I submit that the ship must be sent back to the country of its origin at the cost of the owner to set an example for such culprits in future.

It has been reported that it is inexplicable as to how the Navy, responsible for security beyond 12 nautical miles; the Coast Guard, which patrols the zone between 5 and 12 nautical miles; and the newly created maritime police failed to detect the entry of this foreign vessel in Indian waters and it entered undetected by the three-tier security ring. Now it appears clear that the vessel was brought to Indian waters in close collaboration between the UK Ministry of US Defence Administration.

In a similar fashion, Singapore-flagged MV Wisdom (IMO Number: 8417558) had got stuck on Juhu beach, Mumabi in June, 2011. The vessel was successfully tugged away from Juhu beach on July 2 and resumed its journey to Alang beach, Gujarat where it reached on 19th July, 2011. There is need to examine its history and liability too. This vessel underwent 14 name changes in her life and no one knows how many owners. Is it not a reason to suspect its antecedents?

I submit that the corporate veil of M/s. Delta Shipping Marine Services, Qatar, owner of MV Rak Carrier, M/s Pavit Shipping Lines, Dubai, owner of MT Pavit, owner of MV Wisdom which was purchased by a consortium of Indian ship breakers in Singapore must be pierced to set matters right.

I submit that ships are routinely abandoned by unscrupulous ship owners when they have reached end-of-life or have become sea worthy or when they are dubious in order to hide the identity of the ship owning companies and to save them from its potential liability. Interpol's Environmental Crime and Pollution Crime Units may also be approached in this regard.

It is germane to pay attention to the minutes of a meeting of Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC), “Security concerns” about obsolete foreign ships entering Indian waters were expressed. The minutes dated on 8th July, 2011reads: “The representative of Coast Guard brought to the notice of IMC that various foreign made communication equipment like emergency beacons brought on board of the ships and taken to breaking yards are not properly deactivated before dismantling the ships. The Coast Guard expressed concern from security angle as there were a few incidents of false alarms emanating from such equipments. The Chairman, IMC directed the Customs representative and SRIA to take note of the concerns of the Coast Guard and ensure that all such equipments are properly deactivated.” Earlier, a 2004 report of the Directorate of Naval Intelligence filed in the Supreme Court recorded that "some ships arriving at the breaking yards...may be involved in nefarious activities". The report had warned, "Apparently, a large number of cash buyers are Pakistani nationals based in London and the UAE. Due to large profit margins, the Dawood group appears to have invested heavily in cash buyers thus having a stake in most deals". It noted that this "can lead to clandestine collection of data, survey of seabed and coastal area, weather and meteorological data and for dropping and picking agents". The report had recommended that Ministry of Defence must give clearance to all such ships but this has not been complied with.

Among others G.K. Panda of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Mumbai, Cmdr Palvinder Singh, Joint Director (Security), Ministry of Defence (Navy), Cmdt H. Nautiyal, JD (FE), Indian Coast Guards Headquarters, New Delhi and S.S. Gadkar of DG Shipping, Mumbai were present at the meeting. The 13th meeting of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on ship breaking was held under Chairmanship of Shri S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser, Ministry of Steel & Chairman, IMC on Ship Breaking at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The minutes read: “Regarding the concerns raised on false flag certification, the DG, Shipping representative suggested to all concerned to check up the database available with the website, ‘equasis.org.’ and to approach the DG, Shipping if details are not available therein, for exceptional reporting cases. It was also clarified by GMB that the requisite information would also be sent to MOD.”

It is noteworthy that “Equasis only shows ships in service.” The fact that M V Pavit is not revealed on this website too shows that the vessel was decommissioned, was end-of-life or abandoned to escape liability environmental liability. Essentially, such vessels are hazardous wastes which are transferred by industrialized and ship owning countries and their companies to developing countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in blatant violation of Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal with impunity. It is also applicable to to hazardous wastes and other wastes generated on board ships . US is not a party to this Convention and EU and UK are undermining this hard earned UN law by supporting IMO’s Hongkong Convention on ship recycling/dismantling which is unlikely to come into force. EU and UK by downplaying their own legislations in order to facilitate transfer of hazardous wastes laden end-of-life vessels and are indulging in linguistic corruption in the Free Trade Agreements under negotiation to this end.

“Any transboundary movement (TBM) that takes place without the pertinent notifications to all the States concerned or the consent pursuant to the Convention, or when such consent is obtained through falsification, misrepresentation or fraud, it is considered illegal traffic under the Basel Convention . Illegal traffic also occurs when the transboundary movement does not conform in a material way with the documents or when it results in the dumping of hazardous wastes or other wastes in violation of the Convention and of general principles of international law. The fact that Parties (to the Convnetion) consider that illegal traffic is a crime says a lot about how serious the international community is to ensure that the TBM and ESM (environmentally sound management) requirements of the Convention are respected.”

TWA demands that no ship whether for dismantling or for shipping or in disguise of accidental snapping of towing cable of vessels be allowed in Indian waters without the name of Port of Registry, Name and address of ship owner, IMO registered owner identification number and IMO company identification Number unless this is done no seller will be traceable. (Refer to Appendix 4 of Hongkong Convention, page no. 39). As an applicant in the Supreme Court in a related matter of hazardous wastes/shipbreaking, TWA has repeatedly written to the IMC and other concerned agencies regarding the same.

TWA demands that all the details regarding the probe in the matter of MV Wisdom be put on website and the information regarding inquiry with deadlines in the matter M V Pavit be put on website for transparency because it is apprehended that there are some senior government officials who have mastered the art of collusion with transnational ship owning companies to allow obsolete vessels in the Indian waters. TWA had disclosed an Office Memorandum No.29-3/2009-HSMD, Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, (HSM Division) dated 9th May, 2011 relating to implementation of Supreme Court directions in respect of ship breaking activities, wherein it has been admitted that the issue regarding the submission of fake certificates by the ship owners/agents remains unresolved. (Site Report attached)

It has come to light from the Office Memorandum dated May 2011 that Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)’s Standing Monitoring Committee (SMC) on Shipbreaking has suggested that since Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Customs were not able to verify the authenticity/genuineness of ship’s registry/flag in the fast in respect of some ships referred to them, this task in respect of each ship may be referred to the Directorate General Shipping, Ministry of Shipping ought to undertake such verification henceforth. The GMB officials informed MoEF that “the suggestion of the committee is acceptable to them subject to such verification by DG Shipping is done within a period of 2 working days. If no information is received from the DG Shipping within 2 working days, it will be presumed that the certificate submitted is authentic and genuine.” The recent incidents have shown that it is applicable to ships entering Mumbai coast zone as well.

While in a routine reaction, the Directorate has ordered statutory inquiry into these incidents, this not sufficient. A Group of Ministers on Corruption should examine the flourishing Black Economy in the matter end of life and abandoned vessels at the behest of ship owning countries and companies. The role of flag states must be investigated under the prevailing national and international law.

I submit that US toxic ship Platinum although indicted by US Environmental Protection Agency was dumped in India despite objection from Indian Environment Ministry following my complaint and documentary proof of forged documents due to apparent indulgence of some in Ministry of Shipping and Gujarat Maritime Board.

I submit that such presumption of genuineness of fabricated documents must be rejected urgently. I suggest that the documents of more than 100 ships that have entered or have been sunk must be investigated and their ownership be traced. This could be the first step in securing our environmental and maritime security which has been compromised by hazardous wastes traders and other vested interests.

I will be happy to share all the documents based on which I have made the above submissions.

Thanking You

Yours Faithfully
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
Mb: 09818089660, 07739308480
E-mail:krishna2777@gmail.com
Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com, imowatch.blogspot.com

Cc
Shri Pranab Mukherjee, Chairman, Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider measures that
can be taken by the Government to tackle corruption, Member, CCEA and CCS

Shri A.K. Antony, Minister of Defence, Member, CCS, CCEA, Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider measures that can be taken by the Government to tackle corruption

Shri P. Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs, Member, CCS, CCEA and Group of Ministers (GoM) to consider measures that can be taken by the Government to tackle corruption

Ban Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters

2011-08-07T07:25:00.000-07:00

To

Shri Sitaram Yechury
Chairman
Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism & Culture
New Delhi

Through RAJYA SABHA SECRETARIAT

Subject-Ban on Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters

Sir,

This is to draw your attention to my letter to the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Security in the matter of the entry of unmanned 21-year-old and 2,000-tonnne vessel MT Pavit with flag of Panama entered Indian waters in an apparent collaboration with the UK and US Defence agencies. (the letter is given below)

I also wish to draw your attention towards the sinking of MV Rak Carrier that was built in 1984 with IMO NO 8106745. This vessel that reportedly drifted about 20 Miles Off Mumbai on 4th August, 2011 also has a Panama flag.

I submit that it is apprehended that the 225 meters long Cargo Ship MV Rak Carrier carrying on board 60,000 tonnes of coal for Adani Enterprise Limited (AEL) was near India's Mumbai coast on the afternoon of 4th August, 2011 to claim insurance money for its cargo of 60054 MT cargo of coal on board unmindful of its ecological consequences and the hazardous nature for the ship itself. The real owner of the company which owns the ship is not known. It has been reported that it is owned by M/s. Delta Shipping Marine Services, a Qatar based company. There is a need to pierce the corporate veil behind this company to find out the real motives of such ship owners.

I submit that your committee may consider undertaking a inquiry into the dubious goings on in the shipping sector and the failure of Shipping Ministry in general and DG Shipping in particular.

I submit that the current presumption of genuineness of fabricated documents must be rejected urgently. I suggest that the documents of more than 100 ships that have entered or have been sunk must be investigated and their ownership be traced. This could be the first step in securing our environmental and maritime security which has been compromised by hazardous wastes traders and other vested interests.

I will be happy to share all the documents based on which I have made the above submissions.

Thanking You

Yours Faithfully
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
Mb: 09818089660, 07739308480
E-mail:krishna2777@gmail.com
Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com, imowatch.blogspot.com

UK’s Ministry of Defence rescued MT Pavit, US Defence Warship brought it to Kandla

2011-08-03T00:41:00.001-07:00

Press Note

UK’s Ministry of Defence rescued MT Pavit, US Defence Warship brought it to Kandla

MT Pavit’s Transboundary movement Compromises Environmental & Maritime Security

TWA Demands Ban on Dumping of Hazardous Obsolete Ships in Indian Waters

August 3, 2011 New Delhi: So far Indian Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Shipping have failed to reveal as to how did the unmanned 21-year-old and 2,000-tonnne vessel MT Pavit entered Indian waters in an apparent collaboration with the UK and US Defence agencies amid connivance by the UN’s Basel Convention Secretariat and UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO). MT Pavit built in Japan in 1990 has flags of Comoros, located off the eastern coast of Africa and Panama southernmost country of Central America. It was last dry docked in August 2010. Earlier, US toxic ship Platinum although indicted by US Environmental Protection Agency was dumped in India despite objection from Indian Environment Ministry.

Indian Ministry of Defence in a statement issued on July 31, 2011 states, “Coast Guard MRCC (Mb) received information from MRCC Falmouth on 29 Jun 11 regarding drifting of MT PAVIT 110 nm from Ras al Madrakah Oman coast due to engine failure and ingress of water in engine room. Subsequently MT Jag Pushpa flagged India was diverted by UK MRCC to render assistance. MT Jag Pushpa rescued all 13 crew and brought to Sikka (a port in Gujarat). On 31 Jul 11 at about 1200 hrs Coast Guard Region Headquarters (West) received telephonic information from Juhu police regarding grounding of MT Pavit off Versova beach opposite Ruia park / Chandan cinema” in Mumbai. It reveals that the vessel has been drifting since June 29, 2011. The statement informed that “Coast Guard ship Amrit Kaur and helicopter ex 842 Sqn (CG) were deployed for preliminary assessment. The vessel was assessed to have been grounded at Juhu beach without any apparent damage. The vessel is double bottom and is having 10 mt Fuel oil and 10 mt Gas oil. (30 metric ton according to DG Shipping). Owner of vessel intimated vessel was reported sunk immediately on abandoning on 30 Jun / 01 Jul 11. The company is in the process of engaging salvor for removal of vessel from beach.” The question is: when did it leave Sikka port and when it left the port was it with the crew or without crew? Who issued the port clearance at Sikka port. How it came to Sikka and how it left the port? The statement of the owner has been found to be untruthful by the officials too.The traceability of owner is a question, ToxicsWatch Alliance raised but no action has been taken.

In a statement dated 31st July, 2011, Directorate General Shipping stated, “Today afternoon, this Directorate was informed that this vessel was seen drifting off the 7 bunglows beach area. Immediately, the coast guard and Navy were alerted and more information being gathered. The vessel's name is MT Pavit (IMO No. 9016636), 999 tons GT, Flag Panama type product tanker, classed with RINA and built 1990 ran aground off Versova Beach in position 19 07.11N / 072 45.9E. The Owners of the vessel are reported to be M/s Pavit Shipping Lines, Dubai, and Managers are Ms Prime Tankers LLC, Dubai. MT PAVIT was reportedly abandoned off Oman Coast on the 29th of June. 13 crew members, all Indians were on board who were rescued by a ship of Great Eastern shipping and a US naval warship on 29th June 2011 and brought to Kandla port. The vessel is reported to be without cargo. However, she is reported to have a total of about 30 MT of fuel/diesel/Lube oil. ETV Smit Lumba has already moved towards the MT Pavit to render emergency towing operations. This Directorate would carry out the statuatory inquiry to this incident.” The question is: When the ship was abandoned “off Oman Coast on the 29th of June” then how did it come to Sikka? Whether the ownership of the ship was verified at the port. What was the purpose of the ship to come to Kandla, which is not a port for oil cargo. Before leaving Kandla, what cargo did it discharge and what cargo was loaded on it for the voyage. When it left Kandla did, the vessel get port clearance? When did the vessel become unmanned?.

So far Indian Ministry of Defence or Directorate General Shipping has not disclosed that UK’s Ministry of Defence rescued MT Pavit vessel as per its report dated 1st July, 2011. The question that remains undisclosed is: who is the owner of the real owner of this abandoned ship. (Statement from UK’s Ministry of Defence is attached). How did it reach Indian waters after its rescue by one of the ships of UK’s Royal Navy ship named HMS St Albans? This merits high level probe.

A statement from DG Shipping dated 2nd August, 2011 says, “A review meeting by the Directorate General of Shipping in the capacity Maritime Assistance Service (MAS) was held with the key Coastal State Authorities namely Indian Coast Guard, Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the charterers, the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), including the managers representative (Prime Tankers, Dubai), Local Correspondent of P & I Club and salvage companies showing expression of interest” wherein “The owners and manager i.e Prime Tankers has sent their representative to participate in the review meeting today. The Directorate has directed the owner / manager Prime Tankers to confirm their action plan to remove /salvage the grounded vessel immediately. The owners / managers were advised to seek the salvage services either from managers of the ETV or make their own arrangements at their cost, risk, and consequences. In the event of no response from the owner / manager, the Directorate General of Shipping can invoke Section 356 K of the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and take up salvage operations with cost being recovered from the owner / manager. The local P & I club correspondent stated that the vessel is not having valid P & I cover against third party liabilities.”

It further states, “The District Administration has also been requested to issue notice to the owner, manager and underwriters etc. under Section 133 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 as this vessel is become public nuisance. The investigation by the Police Authorities under Section 336 of the Indian Penal Code is in progress. The Flag Administration of the ship Panama and the Coastal Authority of Oman are being notified that the vessel has not sunk as reported earlier and therefore, they would be requested to conduct investigation under the relevant International Law and share vital information and findings in respect of safety of navigation and other related issues with the Indian Administration. The Indian Maritime Administration, District Authority including MMB and Indian Coast Guard are concerned about the safety of the ship and any damage to the Marine environment. In view of this, continuous monitoring is in progress and efforts are on for earliest removal of the ship.” TWA demands that the ship must be sent back to the country of its origin at the cost of the owner to set an example for such culprits in future.

It has been reported that it is inexplicable as to how the Navy, responsible for security beyond 12 nautical miles; the Coast Guard, which patrols the zone between 5 and 12 nautical miles; and the newly created maritime police failed to detect the entry of this foreign vessel in Indian waters and it entered undetected by the three-tier security ring. Now it appears clear that the vessel was brought to Indian waters in close collaboration between the UK Ministry of US Defence Administration.

In a similar fashion, Singapore-flagged M V Wisdom had got stuck on Juhu beach in June, 2011. Ships are routinely abandoned by unscrupulous ship owners when they have reached end-of-life or have become sea worthy or when they are dubious in order to hide the identity of the ship owning companies and to save them from its potential liability.

It is germane to pay attention to the minutes of a meeting of Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC), “Security concerns” about obsolete foreign ships entering Indian waters were expressed. The minutes dated on 8th July, 2011reads: “The representative of Coast Guard brought to the notice of IMC that various foreign made communication equipment like emergency beacons brought on board of the ships and taken to breaking yards are not properly deactivated before dismantling the ships. The Coast Guard expressed concern from security angle as there were a few incidents of false alarms emanating from such equipments. The Chairman, IMC directed the Customs representative and SRIA to take note of the concerns of the Coast Guard and ensure that all such equipments are properly deactivated.” Earlier, a 2004 report of the Directorate of Naval Intelligence filed in the Supreme Court recorded that "some ships arriving at the breaking yards...may be involved in nefarious activities". The report had warned, "Apparently, a large number of cash buyers are Pakistani nationals based in London and the UAE. Due to large profit margins, the Dawood group appears to have invested heavily in cash buyers thus having a stake in most deals". It noted that this "can lead to clandestine collection of data, survey of seabed and coastal area, weather and meteorological data and for dropping and picking agents". The report had recommended that Ministry of Defence must give clearance to all such ships but this has not been complied with.

Among others G.K. Panda of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Mumbai, Cmdr Palvinder Singh, Joint Director (Security), Ministry of Defence (Navy), Cmdt H. Nautiyal, JD (FE), Indian Coast Guards Headquarters, New Delhi and S.S. Gadkar of DG Shipping, Mumbai were present at the meeting.

The minutes read: “Regarding the concerns raised on false flag certification, the DG, Shipping representative suggested to all concerned to check up the database available with the website, ‘equasis.org.’ and to approach the DG, Shipping if details are not available therein, for exceptional reporting cases. It was also clarified by GMB that the requisite information would also be sent to MOD.”

It is noteworthy that “Equasis only shows ships in service.” The fact that M V Pavit is not revealed on this website too shows that the vessel was decommissioned, was end-of-life or abandoned to escape liability environmental liability. Essentially, such vessels are hazardous wastes which are transferred by industrialized and ship owning countries and their companies to developing countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in blatant violation of Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal with impunity. It is also applicable to to hazardous wastes and other wastes generated on board ships . US is not a party to this Convention and EU and UK are undermining this hard earned UN law by supporting IMO’s Hongkong Convention on ship recycling/dismantling which is unlikely to come into force. EU and UK by downplaying their own legislations in order to facilitate transfer of hazardous wastes laden end-of-life vessels and are indulging in linguistic corruption in the Free Trade Agreements under negotiation to this end.

“Any transboundary movement (TBM) that takes place without the pertinent notifications to all the States concerned or the consent pursuant to the Convention, or when such consent is obtained through falsification, misrepresentation or fraud, it is considered illegal traffic under the Basel Convention . Illegal traffic also occurs when the transboundary movement does not conform in a material way with the documents or when it results in the dumping of hazardous wastes or other wastes in violation of the Convention and of general principles of international law. The fact that Parties (to the Convnetion) consider that illegal traffic is a crime says a lot about how serious the international community is to ensure that the TBM and ESM (environmentally sound management) requirements of the Convention are respected.”

The 13th meeting of the Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on ship breaking was held under Chairmanship of Shri S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser, Ministry of Steel & Chairman, IMC on Ship Breaking at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) demands that no ship whether for dismantling or for shipping or in disguise of accidental snapping of towing cable of vessels be allowed in Indian waters without the name of Port of Registry, Name and address of ship owner, IMO registered owner identification number and IMO company identification Number unless this is done no seller will be traceable. (Refer to Appendix 4 of Hongkong Convention, page no. 39). Even in the aftermath the abandonment of Sinagpore -flagged MV Wisdom on Juhu beach. As an applicant in the Supreme Court in a related matter of hazardous wastes/shipbreaking, TWA has repeatedly written to the IMC and other concerned agencies regarding the same.

TWA demands that all the details regarding the probe in the matter of MV Wisdom be put on website and the information regarding inquiry with deadlines in the matter M V Pavit be put on website for transparency because it is apprehended that there are some senior government officials who have mastered the art of collusion with transnational ship owning companies to allow obsolete vessels in the Indian waters. TWA had disclosed an Office Memorandum No.29-3/2009-HSMD, Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, (HSM Division) dated 9th May, 2011 relating to implementation of Supreme Court directions in respect of ship breaking activities, wherein it has been admitted that the issue regarding the submission of fake certificates by the ship owners/agents remains unresolved.

It has come to light from the Office Memorandum dated May 2011 that Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)’s Standing Monitoring Committee (SMC) on Shipbreaking has suggested that since Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Customs were not able to verify the authenticity/genuineness of ship’s registry/flag in the fast in respect of some ships referred to them, this task in respect of each ship may be referred to the Directorate General Shipping, Ministry of Shipping ought to undertake such verification henceforth. The GMB officials informed MoEF that “the suggestion of the committee is acceptable to them subject to such verification by DG Shipping is done within a period of 2 working days. If no information is received from the DG Shipping within 2 working days, it will be presumed that the certificate submitted is authentic and genuine.” The recent incidents have shown that it is applicable to ships entering Mumbai coast zone as well.

TWA disapproves of such presumption of genuineness of fabricated documents. It demands that documents of more than 100 ships that have entered or have been sunk must be investigated and their ownership be traced.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), Mb: 9818089660,

E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com, Web: imowatch.blogspot.com

MV Wisdom to Repeat Platinum II Act?

2011-06-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Reliable sources have revealed that the cashbuyer (current unofficial owner) of MV Wisdom is one Mr Gupta and the buyer is one Mr Bansal. Both are involved in ship-breaking at Alang beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

There are two possibilities being discussed with regard to MV Wisdom. One, it has been purchased at Alang delivery. This implies that the responsibility is of the original owner. Two, this ship under tow has been sold on a "as is where is basis". It means ship was sold at Colombo delivery where it was lying for a while.

One does not know whether the vessel has been fully insured?

Sources feel that a senior officer in the Union Ministry of Shipping who is quite familiar with the Alang ship breaking activities plans to repeat his act which he successfully attempted in the case of end-of-life hazardous US ship Platinum II (SS Independence, MV Oceanic). Platinum II outwitted Union Minister for Environment's official memorandum that denied it the beaching permission under the guidance of this very official. It was this official who was the ghost writer of the letter that was sent to the Union Environmet & Forests Ministry.

In 2009 MV Oceanic (renamed Platinum II) departed Dubai for Alang, being towed by a tug Barakhoda. The tug apparently lost all power and setting the two vessels adrift some 25 km off Alang. Another tug was sent to assist Barakhoda and her crew of nine.

In October 2009, documentary proof of fake certificates emerged about the "SS Platinum-II" following efforts by ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA). Indian Environment Ministry acted following TWA's complaint taking note of falsified papers in order to evade legal regulations.

Sadly, the Ministry of Environment and Forests intervened too late amid TWA's demand that the ship be returned to the U.S. for being illegally exported.

Platinum II was abandoned at Gopnath, Bhavnagar in a region south of the Alang on the Gujarat coast. Platinum II was laying off shore with guards on board to protect the ship from looting and vandals.

There were planted news reports of the hull being cracked (an unsubstantiated charge made by the ship's owners to urge the Gujarat Maritime Board to allow the ship to be beached in November).

After running aground in February 2010 mud had made it into Platinum II's cracked hull. In later news reports from India claimed the ship, aground and abandoned at Gopnath, some ten miles south of Alang, was beginning to suffer structural cracks and that it would never be able to move from her current resting place.

In March 2010 the vessel's hull cracked aft of the accommodation (roughly at one third of the length from the aft) and the whole hull was lying at an angle of about 35 degrees.

The case of dead US ship Platinum II merits high level probe else it has set a precedent that is all set to be repeated time and time again with the connivance of senior officials. MV Wisdom case seems to be a illustrative case.

It has been reported that this dead vessel was under investigation by the Gujarati anti-terrorist unit for smuggling radioactive, hazardous, and toxic waste to organized crime. There were also news reports that this ships was looted in May-June 2010. TWA demands a intelligence probe in the matter of Platinum II, MV Wisdom and some 120 vessels currently lying on the Alang beach as if the beach has been outsourced to ship owning developed countries from US, Europe, Japan etc.

Toxic ships are being dumped in India

2011-06-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

MUMBAI: Discarded cargo vessel MV Wisdom that has run aground at Juhu beach has alarmed environmental groups which have demanded strict norms to prevent such ships from being dumped in Indian waters.

NGO ToxicWatch Alliance (TWA) has demanded that no ship under tow should be allowed to enter Indian waters between May 15 and August 15 due to inclement weather at that time.

Gopal Krishna, convener of TWA, said, "I suspect MV Wisdom was deliberately sent to affect the security of Indian ports. Many a time the monsoon is used as an excuse to dump condemned vessels in Indian waters."

He said transnational shipping companies are trying to turn most of the condemned vessels into under-tow vessels which are quite risky for Indian navigation.

Krishna said, "No ship, whether for dismantling or for shipping, should be allowed in Indian waters without the name of port of registry, name and address of shipowner, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) registered owner identification number and IMO company identification number. Unless this is done, no seller will be traceable."

TWA demanded that before allowing the salvage operation, the documents of ownership of the vessel must be verified by the Directorate General of Shipping, as the Customs expressed inability to verify the genuineness of these documents as per the report of the standing monitoring committee of the ministry of environment and forests.

He said as per the Supreme Court order dated October 2003, the authorities should check whether the ship had been decontaminated prior to its export. Krishna said, "The vessel should not be allowed to be dismantled where it is grounded."

The Singapore-flagged, MV Wisdom was towed by Seabulk Plover from Colombo to the Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujarat.

On June 11, its towing cable snapped and the cargo vessel drifted towards the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) before running aground at Juhu beach.

Debi Goenka of the Conservation Action Trust said, "The authorities should ensure that they are able to tow away the ship intact. Since the ship was discarded, it did not have fuel in its tanks, but there is always a fear of residual oil and sludge being present that can contaminate the coastal waters and marine life."

Manthan K Mehta,
The Times of India
Jun 15, 2011

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Toxic-ships-are-being-dumped-in-India-NGO/articleshow/8857313.cms

No pollution threat off Mumbai coast from stranded ship: Vasan
Jun 14,2011

Hyderabad, Jun 14 (PTI) Government today said there was no threat either of pollution or damage to Bandra-Worli Sealink due to the stranded merchant ship off Mumbai.However, the Directorate General (Shipping) and Coast Guard are monitoring the situation closely as the salvage team is unable to board the ship because of bad weather, Union Minister for Shipping G K Vasan said. "There is no threat of pollution or threat to the Sealink. It is an empty ship without any cargo or bunkers," the minister told reporters after attending the 13th Maritime States Development Council Meeting here.

The 175m-long and a 10,000 DWT vessel cargo ship M V Wisdom, which was being towed away by foreign merchant vessel `Seabulk Plover' to Alang from Colombo for scrap, drifted towards Mumbai coast on June 11 after the rope broke due to bad weather. The Minister said the Directorate General of Shipping is closely monitoring the situation and has engaged M/s SMIT, a salvage firm to asses the situation.

"Directorate General (Shipping) and Coast Guard are monitoring the situation closely. The SMIT team is not able to board the ship because of bad weather. Efforts are being made to board the ship from helicopter and to explore the possibility of refloating it," Vasan said. According to media reports, MV Wisdom had drifted dangerously close to the Bandra-Worli Sealink and there was a threat of it hitting the pillars of the iconic structure. PTI

Grounded ship: Will Wisdom prevail?
By Pandurang Mhaske
Mumbai |
MV Wisdom will be grounded at Juhu beach for at least a month, before being towed away for disposal, according to sources in the directorate general of shipping.

They said that there is a strong possibility of the ship being towed away rather being dismantled in situ. During this period, they hope the imminent high tides will allow smaller vessels or tug it or come closer to the shore and take away the 16,000 tonne ship.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard is putting pressure to take appropriate action against the vessel owner and fix the responsibility of disposal on them.

According to Maritime laws, the ship can be stranded without permission at one place for a certain period only, after which DG Shipping can initiate action against the owner. “The owners of MV Wisdom have been informed by the authorities to arrange for professional salvers to move the ship from Juhu Beach” an officer from DG Shipping said.

Mumbai Police has been asked to investigate the matter and identify the crew members of the vessels. The task has been assigned to Yellow Gate police. The police station has registered a complaint against the owners of MV Wisdom and the tug vessel and an inquiry is underway. The police are investigating how and why the vessel got stranded on Juhu Beach.

“There are possibilities of the captain and the crew of tug MV Seabulk Plover being arrested in the coming days,” said Chandrakant Naik, senior police inspector of Yellow Gate police station.

In all, the crew of the tug consists of 15 members, most of whom are Russian nationals, while one is from Ghana.

MV Wisdom had lost its tow, MV Seabulk Plover, on Saturday afternoon and had drifted towards Mumbai. There was a threat of it colliding with the iconic Bandra Worli Sea Link, but fortunately it ran aground at Juhu Beach by 7.30 pm.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_grounded-ship-will-wisdom-prevail_1555106

Officials can’t decide what to do with Wisdom

Yogesh Naik
June 14, 2011
The state government and various agencies are still groping in the dark as they try and deal with the question of what to do with MV Wisdom, the cargo ship that ran aground off Juhu beach.

The Director General of Shipping has issued a notice to the owners of MV Wisdom to remove the ship from Juhu beach.

“We have asked a salver to do a survey. The ship is stuck in the sand and not between rocks. It requires a few tugs with strong ropes,” said S D Agnihotri, director general of shipping. But the Coast Guard differs on how to remove the ship from the spot.

Coast Guard Regional Operations and Plans officer Arun Singh said, “The easiest and most cost effective way is to cut the ship with the help of professional salvers and take it away from here.”

In 1997, another ship, Zheng Dong, with nearly 250 metric tonnes of oil washed ashore off Carter Road. Some hoteliers had plans to convert it into a hotel, but locals opposed this and moved the High Court which ordered that it should be removed.

The removal of MV Wisdom is being looked after by DG Shipping and MbPT

The suburban collectorate at Bandra too had stepped in and issued notices to the owners not to set up a floatel or a hotel amidst mangroves.

This time, Collector Nirmal Deshmukh said that MV Wisdom could be pulled out of the sand using tugs. “Technology has improved since 1998 when the Zheng Dong was cut off at Bandra.”

However, the state environment department does not think the ship is a threat or could spark off an ecological disaster. “She has only four metric tonnes of oil. Besides, the removal of the ship is being looked after by the DG Shipping and Mumbai Port Trust,” said a senior government officer.

There have been no meetings at the state level to tackle the problem, though Juhu residents have registered protests. “The place has turned into a sightseeing spot. But we will not allow the salvers to break the ship at Juhu beach. We dont want to turn the beach into the Alang shipbreaking yard,” said Adolf D’Souza, corporator from Juhu.

The 9,000 tonne vessel was being towed from Colombo to Alang when the cables connecting it to the tug MV Seabulk Plover broke.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/2/2011061420110614022029453649d0dbc/Officials-can%E2%80%99t-decide-what-to-do-with-Wisdom.html

The MV Wisdom fiasco: The story gets murkier and murkier
June 14, 2011
Veeresh Malik
The mystery behind what the 36-year-old Anchor Handling Tug (AHTS) Seabulk Plover, with the 26-year-old container ship MV Wisdom, due for scrapping, was actually doing along the Indian coast for almost two weeks before the container ship landed up on the beach off Juhu, now begins to deepen

Yesterday, we had questioned why container ship MV Wisdom, which was being towed to the Alang junk yard, obtained permission to sail so close to the Mumbai coast and the sensitive Bombay High oil installation. (Why was the MV Wisdom allowed to get so near the Bandra-Worli Sea Link? ).

First of all, here are some facts, as known, and re-verified:

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/shipdetails.aspx?MMSI=376054000

SEA PLOVER
Vessel's Details
Ship Type: Tug
Year Built: 1975
Length x Breadth: 66mx13m
Deadweight: 759 tonnes
Speed recorded (Max /Average): 10/ 9 knots
Flag: St Vincent Grenadines [VC]
Call Sign: J8SE
IMO: 7401332, MMSI: 376054000

Last Position Received
Area: Indian Ocean
Latitude / Longitude: 6.797163° / 79.62228° (Map)
Currently in Port:
Last Known Port:
Info Received: 14d 17h 59min 48s ago
Not Currently in Range
Itineraries History
________________________________________
Voyage Related Info (Last Received)
Draught: 4.8 m
Destination: COCHIN
ETA: 2011-05-31 07:30
Info Received: 2011-05-30 09:56 (14d, 20h 22min 2s ago)

Translated, that means the tug-tow combo was off Colombo for days, till around forenoon on 30th May. After that, the combo set course towards India, but more importantly and interestingly, simply stopped updating her positions anymore. Why was she hanging around outside Colombo, if her sale to the Alang breakers had already been decided months ago? Yes, the reasons could have been commercial, but with the monsoon breaking, it would have made more sense to move on towards the eventual destination-just ahead of the really bad weather.

Incidentally, that "000" in her MMSI (Maritime Mobile Service Identity, or the satellite communication identity) number means that she had some very powerful radio equipment onboard, as well as qualified specialist radio operators, not uncommon for tugs of her sort-but also in no uncertain way making it very clear that people onboard knew what reporting they were supposed to make, and had the equipment to do so too. No excuses on this account. It would be very interesting to get hold of a log of her normal communications, which by rights would have been monitored in not just India but at multiple stations worldwide. And copies retained onboard. Unless destroyed. Which is also known to happen.

Here are some details from this site: http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/datasheet.aspx?datasource=ITINERARIES&MMSI=376054000

Daily Vessel's Itineraries

The update on positions comes to an abrupt end on the 30th of May.

This business of updating positions is directly related also to the vessel's identification signals broadcast all the time, as a regulation, and especially when within territorial waters or close to traffic lanes. That the Seabulk Plover & Wisdom were not doing so would have been noticed by any ship or coast station. Such a huge target, especially a ship in ballast and riding high, would be easily visible from a coast radar station for a distance of over 100km-120km and from other ships for a distance of around at least 50km, if not more. And not providing identity signals would have been observed by any of the many naval and civil station en route. What action did any of them take?

Now the question arises: did none of them relay information to anybody about an unknown tug-tow combo on the high seas without their AIS (Automatic Identification System) on? Or was there something else? Yes, ships are known to switch off their AIS as well as other identity signals, especially if they are in high-piracy areas, because in such cases it is a part of the anti-piracy measures. But they do not switch off their AIS along the areas with heavy traffic, like the Indian coast. And not if challenged by the authorities over radio-on comes the identity signal transmission, otherwise one of those many Coast Guard or Navy planes or choppers is supposed to investigate.

The next surprise is that on departing Colombo, the tug & tow combo gave their destination as "Cochin", but records available online do not show them as having visited Cochin Port. Certainly, it is possible that they did not enter the port, and simply steamed past slowly or they may have even stopped for stores and supplies-but then, did they report themselves to the Maritime authorities? This information is not available on the Cochin Port Trust website anymore.

Likewise, there is no report of any such report being made while passing Mangalore or Mormugao, the other two big ports en route. The Mumbai Port Trust website, likewise, does not show anything. It is likely, however, that they may have made their reports to these ports as they steamed past, and this information is simply not updated in the public domain, unlike in the rest of the world.

Here's what the existing rules, circulars and notices say. The last one issued by the DG (Directorate General) of Shipping on the subject of tugs and tows in Indian territorial waters is dated-it goes back to 1974. The world has changed since then, but our authorities have not bothered to update things, which, very simply, would require any ship under tow as well as the towing vessel to jointly and separately report to the coastal state, in this case India, in whose territorial waters they are entering.

All that is needed is a simple "Notice to Mariners", to start with, which instructs all special category ships entering Indian territorial waters to report in to the authorities, and then follow instructions, or stay clear. Something like this is done, for example, when testing rockets and missiles, even over international waters-and people on ships follow these notices and rules. It is as simple as that. It is done all the time.

Here are a few related links:

http://www.dgshipping.com/dgship/final/notices/casualty3_05.htm

http://www.dgshipping.com/dgship/final/rules/wreck_salvages_1974.htm

http://www.dgshipping.com/dgship/final/notices/casualty23_09.htm

Yes, all vessels are entitled to the right of free and innocent passage through territorial waters. Submarines have to do so on the surface, warships of other countries have certain protocol, nuclear ships and merchant ships carrying certain types of cargo have to follow certain specific guidelines. That is what it has been like for decades, and nobody is challenging that, especially if the foreign ships are "seaworthy".

However, in this case, the ship under tow is not seaworthy. And there, the freedom of the seas and rights of innocent passage through our territorial waters come to a grinding halt.

The DG Shipping has to answer, in the first instance, why this has not been done all these years. Everything else will follow.

(Veeresh Malik is a qualified mariner and writer. He is also consulting editor with Sailor Today).

http://www.moneylife.in/article/the-mv-wisdom-fiasco-the-story-gets-murkier-and-murkier/17274.html

Why was the MV Wisdom allowed to get so near the Bandra-Worli Sea Link?
June 13, 2011

Did the container ship being towed to the Alang junk yard have permission to sail so close to the coast and sensitive Bombay High oil installation? Who plotted her course? And how come nobody interrupted her voyage

There is now a new landmark off the coast in Bandra, in suburban Mumbai, that joins another outside the Otters Club there, and the city should consider itself lucky that it did not float onto the signature Bandra-Worli Sea Link. It is the MV Wisdom, a 26-year-old container ship, which in the course of its lifecycle has been blessed with 14 name changes, and nobody knows how many owners.

As a matter of fact, the real beneficiary owner of the ship is still not known, at least not officially. Who the real owners and financiers of this ship are will, ofcourse, be known to all and sundry in the by-lanes and backstreets of Mumbai's Ballard Estate. This is the kind of published information, incidentally, which can cause the untimely demise of journalists; or others too, as we have seen recently again. So we stay out of that aspect, though it is certainly important, especially in this day and age of scams linked to stolen assets, hidden in tax havens, appearing in other industries like international sports events, offshore oil exploration, and telecom. This article tries to answer some of the simpler questions.

The first simple question that arises is, what was this rust-bucket, junk, unseaworthy vessel doing so close to Mumbai in the first place. The next question is, who plotted courses so far inland from what the actual course on a voyage from Colombo to Alang should have been. And, certainly, why was she inland of the oil rigs and security establishments in and around Bombay High? Mariners cannot even begin to think of the damage she would have caused if she had gone adrift near Bombay High.

MV Wisdom started life in faraway Hamburg, back in 1984-85, as the container ship Olandia. She bounced around the world with a variety of names, flags and despondent owners as well as charterers. These names often saw a repeat of the name Olandia, but also included Ocean Spirit, Contship Canada, City of Leeds, Oocl Pudong, Vietnam Star, Moringia, India Star, QC Wisdom and finally, Wisdom. Through all this, she bore a constant IMO (International Maritime Organisation) number - 8417558. As a small container ship, logging around 700 TEU, she would eventually see service as a feeder and an uneconomical one at that. Scrapping, therefore, would be a natural outcome.

Rule paramount which is drilled into our heads right in the beginning of our training is: All seaworthy merchant ships have a right of innocent passage through non-inland waters worldwide. However, a ship headed for scrapping, either under her own power or tow, does not come close to land or coast, as far as possible, for multiple reasons. If she does, then she needs to inform the authorities, who will then decide if she is to be provided with what is known as "the right to innocent passage" guaranteed to all seaworthy ships of all nations. Because a ship headed for scrapping is not seaworthy. And if a national authority wishes to, it can certainly deny her the right of innocent passage through her territorial waters, till a point where she has to enter the territorial waters for scrapping, or with precautions to prevent exactly what happened with the Wisdom.

In other words, the Wisdom should simply have stayed far away from India's territorial waters, until she was right off Alang, where she was reportedly destined for, and then made an entry in as direct and straight a course as possible. That is what her entry permissions into India should have stated in the first case.

The first convention that the MV Wisdom broke is that her tug and she entered India's territorial waters knowingly, and consciously, despite being very unseaworthy. We need to know and find out if she sought the required permissions to do so, or just barged right in, and then meandered close to Bandra, subsequently. A tug tow breaking in the monsoons, especially when towing an empty unmanned dead ship with high windage, is not something the authorities should have permitted right off Mumbai. One can, therefore, only presume that she was right off our coast, by some reports just four miles off, without any permissions or clearances. It would have to be total deliberate criminal negligence if permissions were given to this movement, in the way described, with just one tug that seemingly gave up after the towing arrangement snapped.

If she was in any other country, the authorities would have insisted that she had backup arrangements, at least two tugs for the tow and a third one on standby, and very regular monitoring of the situation.

Now, a dead ship under tow is not some sort of high-speed boat, it is more like a very slow combo chugging and struggling along at a speed not exceeding 3-4 knots (about 6-8 kmph), at best, if not even slower. In this sort of weather it would have taken more than a few days just to cross Mumbai harbour, assuming she came close to the coast past Goa, and then along the Raigad/Kolaba coast. She would have been picked up on every small and large shore radar screen, every naval and coast-guard ship, every offshore supply vessel on duty in and around the Bombay High platforms, and even the radars on the platforms and rigs. Most of all, despite the heavy seas and monsoons, she would have been visible to the naked eye from more than a dozen light-houses along the coast, including assorted naval batteries.

In addition, every other ship underway in and around the area would have picked her up on their radar screens, and stayed miles away. Any ship at anchor that this combo came within miles of would either raise anchor and flee, or raise a strong protest on the radio to the tug as well as the port authorities. As seafarers, we know how unpredictable and dangerous such derelicts under tow can be, and it is just not worth it being anywhere near them. Anywhere would mean that if I was on another ship, I would keep a very safe distance, which means steer at least five miles clear distance away, regardless, even more if I was a tanker or other kind of big ship.

Every one of them would have seen a double-blip on their screens. Any one of them could have challenged the tug-ship tow on simple VHF radio, and asked them to move further from shore, as well as establish identity. Every one of them could have filed a report with the many radio and marine stations all along the coast, of a tug and tow operating too close to the coast and representing a possible hazard. It is likely that some did, but whether they did or not is unknown; and even if they did, what happened next would be unknown. Something similar happens when un-roadworthy trucks are winked past on our roads, to give you an idea of what really may have happened, since there is no other logical reason why nobody seems to be aware of what was happening till this 13,000 tonner landed up aiming for the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

The grapevine is, with hindsight, that this was a deliberate attempt to push a ship on to the Sea Link. Grapevine is seldom reliable and it does seem far-fetched, but it is an angle that will need to be investigated. If those who are investigating can find the real owners, that is.

The bigger issue, however, is that the Indian coast is rapidly becoming a dump yard for the junks and overage ships. And the Wisdom is just another example of this malaise; the solution to which has been debated and written about repeatedly, but never implemented, for a variety of reasons.

For all the coastline we have, our authorities have simply been unable to put up a simple Vessel Tracking System (VTS) along the coast, and appear to be nowhere near to doing so either. The bigger issue that the Wisdom brings out with shocking precision is simply that despite all the fuss after the 26/11 attacks by boat from Karachi, our coastline is as open as it was. Never mind small fishing boats, huge ships like the Wisdom can sail through, without being stopped or challenged. Think about it.

And if you challenge this too much, then you are in danger of meeting the same fate as other journalists who dig too deep, into matters pertaining to anything which might upset the status quo, of what really happens in offshore India. Or, being called "anti-national", as this writer has been, lately.

(Veeresh Malik is a qualified mariner and writer. He is also consulting editor with "Sailor Today".)

http://www.moneylife.in/article/why-was-the-mv-wisdom-allowed-to-get-so-near-the-bandra-worli-sea-link/17245.html

FIR in Connection with Dubious Vessel MV Wisdom

2011-06-14T08:03:00.000-07:00

While ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) suspects that the end-of-life vessel, a hazardous waste has entered Indian waters on fake documents in violation of the legal provisions within India and against Basel Convention, The Times of India, Mumbai has reported 14th June that an FIR was registered on 13th June against the captain and crew members of a foreign merchant vessel after an unmanned ship being towed away by it to Gujarat from Colombo drifted closer to the Mumbai coast as it broke free of its tug.

All 15 foreign nationals onboard 'MV Seabulk Plover' were booked under IPC Sections 280 (rash navigation of vessel) and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others).

On 11th June, the foreign unmanned ship 'MV Wisdom', which was being towed away by 'Seabulk Plover' to Alang shipbreaking yard in Gujarat, lost its tow due to rough weather and drifted close to the Mumbai coast.

`MV Wisdom', which was to be dismantled, is now grounded off Juhu beach, barely 400 metres from the coastline.

TWA has been demanding probe into fake documents of vessels like MV Wisdom by CBI for quite a while. Corroborating the same, in a letter dated May 9, 2011 authored by an Union Environment Ministry official, there is reference to a Environment Ministry report that deals with fake documents.

Verify Documents of Alang bound vessels like MV Wisdom

2011-06-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

Press Note

Verify Documents of Alang bound vessels like MV Wisdom

Maritime Security Concerns Remain Unaddressed

DG Shipping Must Demand Details of Port of Registry, Name and address of ship owner, IMO registered owner identification number and IMO company identification Number

New Delhi 13/6/2011: In the wake of the incident of MV Wisdom, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) demands that no ship whether for dismantling or for shipping, be allowed in Indian waters without the name of Port of Registry, Name and address of ship owner, IMO registered owner identification number and IMO company identification Number unless this is done no seller will be traceable. (Refer to Appendix 4 of attached Hongkong Convention, page no. 39)

As to buyers there are two buyers-cash buyer and end buyer and if the vessel in question was for Alang delivery, it merits inquiry.

It is noteworthy that such vessels are registered in tax haven countries. The global shipping companies mutilate rule of law in the Indian waters with connivance and indulgence from Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in a routine manner. Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Steel, Government of India must coordinate efforts to ensure that such incidents do not happen in future.

TWA demands before allowing the salvage operation, the documents of ownership of the vessel must be verified by Directorate General of Shipping, Ministry of Shipping because Customs has expressed its inability to verify the genuineness of these documents as per the report of the Standing Monitoring Committee of Ministry of Environment & Forests.

The vessel should not be allowed be dismantled where it is grounded which would mean fulfilling the ulterior motive of the ship owner. The vessel's IMO Number is 8417558. It is under Singapore flag. The vessel was built 1985.

On the way from Colombo to Alang, this 147-metre long cargo vessel had to cross the Mumbai coast where it broke free from its tug and drifted towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. Under tow vessels are more risky. Due to rough weather, tug ropes break free. There are no crew members on dump tows. Such vessels are made water tight. MV Wisdom's tug, the MV Seabulk Plover has been brought to Mumbai.

TWA demands that no ship under tow be permitted in Indian waters from 15th May to 15th August during monsoon for the security of the port. Many a times monsoon is used as an excuse to dump end- of-life vessels in Indian waters. Transnational shipping companies are attempting to turn most of the end- of-life vessels into under tow vessels which are quite risky for Indian navigation route.

It germane to note that the next meeting of the Supreme Court constituted Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC) on Ship breaking, Union Ministry of Steel is scheduled for 8th July. So far IMC has not submitted any action taken report to the court.

The minutes of IMC meetings dated 17th September, 2010 notes that "The Coast Guard representative brought out some security concerns and incidents of communication sets from ships reportedly finding their way to the local fisherman. It was advised to the Ship recyclers to ensure that such equipment are immediately destroyed by the Customs as per the prescribed procedures. The Chairman also advised the Naval, Coast Guard and GMB to regularly interact as per the decisions taken in the earlier IMC meetings and to resolve the major security issues in the Coastal Security Committee meetings conducted at the State Level."

In its minute dated 4th February 2009, the IMC noted the Security Concerns, saying, "Both the representative of the Coast Guard and the representative from Naval HQ raised concerns over the entry of ships carrying hazardous cargo to Alang for ship breaking and how no information is made available to them regarding the movement of ships to Alang. Besides this there was no information regarding whether the Alang Port is compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. In the context of the present security concerns in the country, the Chairman advised the representative of the Ministry of Shipping, the GMB officials, the Coast Guard representative and the Naval HQs to address the issue expeditiously so that the security gaps are taken care of and also to verify whether the port at Alang has implemented the ISPS codes. The Coast Guard representative and the Naval HQ representative also expressed apprehensions that the vessels coming in for beaching sometimes ply very close to the oil rigs, which could be a potential for accidents."

It also mentions that the Chairman of the IMC "directed that the Ministry of Shipping may organize a meeting on the matter with GMB, Naval HQ and Coast Guard HQ, Custom etc. immediately and ensure that gaps in the security frame-work issues are addressed immediately”.

The issue of MSC Chitra collision with another Merchant vessel Khailijia 3 near the Mumbai Port Trust on 7th August 2010, container vessel wherein an enquiry was ordered also merits attention.

An inquiry has been ordered by the DG Shipping into the causes of the incident of MV Wisdom. Several months have passed but has the Ministry of Shipping bothered to disclose the reasons in the case of MSC Chitra? The inquiry in the case of MV Wisdom should not meet the same fate.

Entry of such end-of-life vessels constitute an act of dumping of hazardous wastes in various disguises. Earlier, Union Shipping Minister gave vague information to the Lok Sabha saying “Different type of dangerous and Hazardous goods” are lying at Mumbai port from different dates starting from March 1983 including empty chlorine cylinders. He did not name and specify these dangerous and hazardous goods. A High level committee was also constituted to examine the cylinders/packages and advise on the measures to be taken/ methodology to be followed for neutralization of chemicals/gases and ultimate disposal of all the

uncleared hazardous cargo lying in the Port. The report is still awaited.

It may be noted that 22 % of the vessels are insulated vessels (asbestos and glass wool) as per industry sources. Bangladesh has banned insulated vessels. Pakistan has recognized the non-viability of insulated vessels. Mumbai port has issued a circular refusing insulated vessels but Alang port is continues to allow it. In the next one month 10-15 insulated are expected to come to Alang. Even industry sources say that they should not be allowed. In the refrigeration vessels (for perishable cargo), the entire vessel is insulated whereas in other vessels insulation is only in the engine.

Despite the opposition of environmental organizations, human rights and labour groups and even the ship breaking industry of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Union Ministry of Shipping has taken a unwise decision to become a party to the adoption of IMO’s HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE SAFE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND RECYCLING OF SHIPS, 2009 although its a major step backwards from existing international and national environmental law. Unmindful of the fact that the IMO treaty will not prevent a single toxic ship from being exported and dumped on the beaches of India, Shipping Ministry refused to change its course although existing international law makes it illegal to export toxic waste to developing countries, to disproportionately burden the poor with pollution.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660,
Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com, Web: www.toxicswatch.com

MV Wisdom hits Juhu beach, Mumbai

2011-06-13T03:54:00.000-07:00

MV Wisdom hits Juhu beach

MV wisdom, a 145-metre long cargo vessel bound for Alang ship-breaking yard, sparked a major scare on Saturday afternoon after it broke free from its tug and drifted towards the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

The unmanned ship eventually ran aground off the Juhu beach “late in the evening”, said coast guard officials.

On Sunday morning, walkers at the beach were greeted with the magnificent view of Wisdom against the monsoon sky. As the word spread, crowd swelled. “Every weekend, the beach sees plenty of visitors.

However, today (Sunday), there was an usually large crowd,” Juhu resident Kumar Pravesh said. “People clicked pictures of the ship and enjoyed light rain.”

Satish Malavade

Coast guard officials said that the Singapore-flagged ship was “stable”. Arun Singh, the regional operations and plant officer for the coast guard’s western command, said that Wisdom had run aground 2.5 km from the Juhu beach.

He said that the talks were on with its owners. “We will get tugs to drag the ship out,” he said.

The directorate General of Shipping will conduct an investigation into Saturday’s incident. The 9,000-tonne MV Wisdom posed a risk to the Sea Link after it went adrift owing to bad weather.

“If the ship was being taken to Alang (from Colombo), we wonder what she was doing near Mumbai’s coast,” a coast guard official had said on Saturday.

Mumbai Mirror
June 13, 2011

Shipbreaking at Mumbai's eastern coast no better than Alang Beach

2011-06-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Although ship-breaking plots in Lakri Bunder, on Mumbai's eastern coast remains off the radar of media, occupational and environmental health crisis remains unattended.

There have been 10 accidents at the Darukhana ship-breaking yards, resulting eight injuries and five deaths since April 1, 2010.

It has come to light that three workers were killed and six more grievously injured when a petrol-related fire broke out during ship-breaking at Powder Works Bunder in February, 2011.

Fire-related accidents and work-related injuries are a common reality for these workers. ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) demands that the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on shipbreaking led by S. Machendranathan must take note of ccupational and environmental health crisis at Mumbai and Alang to set matters rights. So far IMC's work has been far from satisfactory. It has not submitted any action taken report to Supreme Court.

GMB, Customs Admit Inability to Verify Fake Documents of Ship Owners

2011-06-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

Note: Relieable sources have revealed that Gulf Jash, ex- Probo Koala, is anchored in Halong Bay, Vietnam. An anonymous source has claimed that "the cashbuyer will try to beach the vessel no matter what the government or environmental agencies think. Please note sir, that the timing is important. With the monsoon about to hit the breaking yards the Gujarat Maritime Board issues a precautionary warning to all vessels waiting to take shelter or take necessary action to avoid collision. Taking this opportunity GMS is going to deliberately ground the vessel close to the breaking yards. Then the issue becomes of wreck removal rather than braking, thus making it all legal." It merits further verification but this gives a sense of deja vu. This what happened in the case of dead European vessel SS Blue Lady (ex SS Norway, SS France) and in the case of dead US vessel Platinum II (ex-MV Oceanic, SS Independence). In the case of US toxic ship, Environment Ministry's Office Memorandum (9th November, 2009) with the explicit sanction of the Union Environment Minister has been outwitted by GMB and DG Shipping, Ministry of Shipping because of the blessings of a senior Congressmen. Will the Ministry order a probe into what happened to Platinum II and its fake documents?

As per PTI release Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh sought a "factual report" from Gujarat Government following reports that a toxic-laden ship is headed towards the state's shores for dismantling after being denied entry in Bangladesh. "Yes, I have asked the state Government for a factual report," he told PTI when asked about reports that the ship is headed for Alang Ship Breaking Yard in Gujarat after being banned in Bangladesh. The Ministry reacted in a similar manner in the case of Platinum II but did not take its findings to its logical conclusion because Platinum II (ex-MV Oceanic, SS Independence) remains in Indian waters revealing the structural weakness of the Environment Ministry. Therefore, its response does not inspire confidence. Will the Ministry ever act to combat the menace of fake documents or will choose to be outwitted once again? Is the Ministry aware that most of the 120 ships currently on Alang beach have entered Indian waters on fake documents?

Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)

Press Release

GMB, Customs Admit their Inability to Verify Fake Documents of Ship Owners

TWA Demands that documents of Dead Ships Currently on Alang Beach be Probed

Its Official, Supreme Court’s Order on Shipbreaking Violated

New Delhi, 2/6/2011: In an Office Memorandum No.29-3/2009-HSMD, Government of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, (HSM Division) dated 9th May, 2011 relating to implementation of Supreme Court directions in respect of ship breaking activities, it has been admitted that the issue regarding the submission of fake certificates by the ship owners/agents remains unresolved. The Memorandum is attached.

Consequently, the identity of ship owners like those of Gulf Jash, an end-of-life European vessel remains hidden behind corporate veils. In the matter of toxic US ship Platinum II (Ex-SS Independence, MV Oceanic), ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) had provided documentary evidence of fake documents to the Environment Ministry which was referred to the Ministry of Steel. It wrote a letter to Shri S. Machendranathan Chiarman, Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on shipbreaking (constituted by Supreme Court’s 14th October, 2003 order) drawing his attention to non-compliance with the Court’s order and the issue of the hazardous and dead European vessel on 1st June, 2011 (the letter is given below). The copies of the letter have been sent to the Union Ministers of Environment and Shipping and other senior officials.

It has come to light from the Office Memorandum dated May 2011 that Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF)’s Standing Monitoring Committee (SMC) on Shipbreaking has suggested that since Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Customs were not able to verify the authenticity/genuineness of ship’s registry/flag in the fast in respect of some ships referred to them, this task in respect of each ship may be referred to the Directorate General Shipping, Ministry of Shipping ought to undertake such verification henceforth. The GMB officials informed MoEF that “the suggestion of the committee is acceptable to them subject to such verification by DG Shipping is done within a period of 2 working days. If no information is received from the DG Shipping within 2 working days, it will be presumed that the certificate submitted is authentic and genuine.” TWA disapproves of such presumption of genuineness of fabricated documents. It demands that documents of some 120 dead ships currently on Alang Beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat must be investigated.

The Committee observed that “at present there is no single point access to the yards and therefore, hazardous waste is being illegally dumped at various places. It was suggested to have a single point access to the yards in order stop such illegal dumping activity.”

It has come to light from the report of the site visit of the committee that they visited the existing Hazardous Waste Treatment, Storage & Disposal Facility (TSDF) site and it was observed that the existing cell is almost full. TWA has confirmed it from the sources in the ship breaking industry that the TSDF is full. The report of the site visit by SMC is attached.
Before it was filled up Gujarat Enviro Protection and Infrastructure Ltd (GEPIL), Alang Unit has been operating and maintaining Common Hazardous waste TSDF on behalf of GMB, since October’ 2005.The site was constructed and developed by GMB. GEPIL was awarded this TSDF for Operation and Maintenance through competitive Bidding Process in September’ 2005. Its total Notified Area is 7 hectares. The site is situated at Alang Ship breaking yard. It is designed to collect, transport, Receipt, Store, treat and dispose off wide range of hazardous waste. GEPIL (Alang Unit) is also associated with Sweeping, collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of Municipal wastes generated during the ship breaking activities. GEPIL (Unit Alang) has been providing its services to more than 80 industries of region. The facility receives wastes from Ship breaking and Ship recycling industrial sectors. In its myopia GMB has suggested that “they may raise the height of the embankment of the cell and compress the existing material to enhance its capacity within designed parameters. This work needs to be taken up on urgent basis to ensure that this facility is available to shipbreakers at the existing site at least for another one year.”

TWA disapproves of creation such facilities for hazardous wastes that originated in developed countries. The million dollar question is that even if this is done what happens after one year and the year thereafter. Will Bhavnagar become a Hazardous Waste TSDF capital for the ship owning companies and countries in order to appear vibrant to the developed world?

Given the emergency situation that has emerged for the GMB, the SMC informed to the stakeholders that without the TSDF facility the shipbreaking activities should not be allowed by the GPCB as per the Supreme Court directions. It is evident to TWA that the shipbreaking activity that is currently in operation is happening in the absence of TSDF, thus, in clear violation of the Court’s directions.

SMC has recommended that “ship breaking yard shall not commence breaking of the ship till such time proper decontamination certificate is issued by GPCB after thorough inspection.” This recommendation does not take cognizance of Hon'ble Court's order that reads, "(16) At the international level, India should participate in international meetings on ship-breaking at the level of the International Maritime Organisation and the Basel Convention's Technical Working Group with a clear mandate for the decontamination of ships of their hazardous sub-stances such as asbestos, waste oil, gas and PCBs, prior to export to India for breaking." One of the fourteen Terms of Reference on which the High Powered Committee was to give its report and recommendations "Decontamination of ships before they are exported to India for breaking.” The apex court's order endorsed Basel Convention. (Order is attached).

SMC has suggested that monitoring of asbestos in ambient air at shipbreaking yards on Alang beach “shall be commissioned by GMB for carrying out the same by a reputed institute like NIOH, as a one time study.” TWA has been demanding that asbestos cannot be handled safely or in a controlled manner. Therefore, International Labour Organisation’s resolution of June 2006 and World Health Organisation’s resolution of 2005 seek elimination of future use of asbestos. Indian workers in general and migrant workers of Alang should not be made to handle asbestos under any situation.

TWA demands that Gujarat Pollution Board (GPCB) should make the study for sea water and sediment analysis public so that the extent of pollution at Alang beach can be comprehended.
Standing Monitoring Committee (SMC) on Shipbreaking comprises of (1) Dr. M. Subba Rao, Director, MoEF, (2) Shri B. R. Naidu, Scientist-D and Zonal Officer, CPCB, Vadodara (3) Shri B. D. Ghosh, Addl. Industrial Adviser, Ministry of Steel, (4) Capt. J. S. Uppal, Principal Officer, Mercantile Marine Department, DG Shipping, (5) Dr. S. R. Tripathi, Asstt. Director, NIOH, and (6) Dr. R. R. Tiwari, Scientist-C, NIOH. SMC visited the Ship Breaking Yards on Alang beach on 24th January, 2011.

TWA demands that the funds collected by GMB and Steel Ministry’s Ferrous Scrap Committee (FSC) must be used for remediation and decontamination of Alang beach and for workers and villagers’ environmental and occupational health rights.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com, Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com, Web: www.toxicswatch.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Gopal Krishna
Date: Wed, Jun 1, 2011 at 7:23 PM
Subject: Non-compliance of Supreme Court Order on Ship Breaking
To: asfasteel@nic.in
Cc: jairam54 , gkvasan@sasnsad.nic.in,
t.chatterjee@nic.in, secy-shipping@nic.in, m.mehrishi@nic.in,
jp.shukla@nic.in, Rajiv Gauba , sarojmoef , pknag@nioh.org, pranabnag@yahoo.com, nioh@nioh.org,
aasharma_env@yahoo.com, eembvr-gmb@gujarat.gov.in,
eemdbvr-gmb@gujarat.gov.in, ms-gpcb@gujarat.gov.in, gpcb-bav@gujarat.gov.in,
cusdiv-bvr@nic.in, commi-labour@gujarat.gov.in, sbagnihotri@dgshipping.com,
jasjeetsuppal@vsnl.net, mmdkandla_1@dataone.in, barun.deb@nic.in,
fasli@dgfasli.nic.in, bvbabu.cpcb@nic.in, tripathinioh@yahoo.co.in,
srtripathi@nioh.org, Claude Alvares , Sanjay Parikh

To

Shri S. Machendranathan
Chiarman
Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on shipbreaking
Union Ministry of Steel
Government of India
New Delhi

Subject-Non-compliance of Supreme Court Order on Ship Breaking

Sir,

With reference to news reports in The Times of India and Hindustan Times
dated 1st June, 2011 in the matter of European toxic ship Gulf Jash
(ex-Probo Koala), the letter dated 9th may, 2011 sent to your ministry
by Hazardous Substances Management Division, Ministry of Environment &
Forests and pursuant to my earlier letters to IMC on shipbreaking, I wish to
draw your attention towards the formation of a Standing Monitoring Committee
on Shipbreaking by the Environment Ministry to monitor/review compliance to
the recommendations of the Committee of Technical Experts (CTE) and the
Hon’ble Supreme Court directions dated 6.9.2007 on ship breaking activities
in the country.

It appears that Standing Monitoring Committee on Shipbreaking is
duplicating the work being done by Hon'ble Supreme Court
constituted Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on shipbreaking by it order
dated 14th October, 2003. While I appreciate that IMC has ensured that the
minutes of its meeting are uploaded on Steel Ministry's website, I am quite
eager read the minutes of the last meeting of IMC that was held in early
2011 as I wish to make submission prior to the next meeting of IMC on 8th
July, 2011. I must submit that since its formation till date IMC has not
submitted its Action Taken Report to the Hon'ble Court. It is about time it
did so.

I have also learnt that the Standing Monitoring Committee visited Alang
Shipbreaking Yards on 24th January, 2011 and held meetings to review the
present status of compliance to the recommendations of the CTE and the
directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
I am attaching the letter dated 9th may, 2011 and the Standing Monitoring
Committee's site visit report for your perusal and consideration. From the
report of the Standing Monitoring Committee on Shipbreaking, it is clear
that Hon'ble Court order has not been complied with.

I wish to draw your attention towards one very core aspect of the Hon'ble
Court's order that reads, "(16) At the international level, India should
participate in international meetings on ship-breaking at the level of the
International Maritime Organisation and the Basel Convention's Technical
Working Group with a clear mandate for the decontamination of ships of their
hazardous sub-stances such as asbestos, waste oil, gas and PCBs, prior to
export to India for breaking." One of the fourteen Terms of Reference on
which the High Powered Committee was to give its report and recommendations
"Decontamination of ships before they are exported to India for breaking.”
The apex court's order endorsed Basel Convention. (Order is attached). I am
also attaching a UN report that refers to the situation at Alang beach and
Basel Convention's Guidelines for Dismantling of Ships.

I submit that IMC should seek compliance with Hon'ble Supreme Court’s order
that endorsed UN’s Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal from the Ministries of
Environment & Forests, Shipping and Steel and Gujarat Maritime Board.

In the specific case of 182 meter long hazardous vessel Gulf Jash (ex-Probo
Koala) which is reported to be on the way to Indian waters, IMC must
recommend refusal of entry to this vessel that is laden with hazardous
asbestos, PCBs, toxic paints, fuel and chemical residues and it has been
established that it has not been pre-cleaned. The list of hazardous
substances is attached. The ship’s IMO number is 8309816. The picture of the
ship is attached. The ship currently has the flag of Panama. As of 14 May,
2011, the vessel was in Indian Ocean. It last port was Abu Dhabi. Probo
Koala was renamed in Gulf Jash in 2007.

I wish to inform that TWA has learnt from officials in Alang that Indian
Coast Guards and Indian Navy would be the first to know about its possible
entry in Indian waters.

It is apprehended that Global Marketing Systems (GMS), a US company
specialised in the brokering of vessels for demolition has bought the ship.
It is hiding its final destination. It is noteworthy that earlier the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took legal action against Global
Marketing Services (GMS) and sister company Global Shipping LLC (GSL), both
companies set up by the famous ship-breaking cash buyer Mr. Anil Sharma, for
exporting the ship from in violation of the U.S. Toxic Substances Control
Act (TSCA) in past in the matter of Platinum II (ex-SS Oceanic, SS
Independence). This US based Cash-Buyer, GMS is trying to deviate the vessel
towards Alang beach, India or Gadani beach, Pakistan. GMS is owned by a US
citizen of Indian origin. The ownership history is attached.

I submit that prior to this In July 2010, Trafigura, an Amsterdam,
Netherlands based transnational company founded in 1993 was found guilty of
illegal export of waste from an EU country to states in Africa, Carribean
and Pacific. It attempted to deliver goods from onboard the Gulf Jash
(ex-Probo Koala) to the Amsterdam port reception facility while concealing
their hazardous nature. The court stated that Trafigura knew the waste was
toxic and chose to dispose of it at a cheap price. The company was fined 1
million euros but appealed the decision. In 2006, the company Trafigura used
the Gulf Jash (ex-Probo Koala) to illegally dump 528 tonnes of toxic waste
in Abidjan, the largest city of the Ivory Coast, causing the death of 16
people.

Its registered owner in 2006 was "Celtic Legend Shipping Inc." of Norway.
Later, the "beneficial owner" (and manager and operator) is Prime Marine
Management, of Athens, Greece. The Probo Koala was chartered by Trafigura
LTD, a subsidiary of the NL trading company Trafigura Beheer BV (the parent
company of the 55 trading companies operated by Trafigura). Probo Koala's
agent in Abidjan was WAIB-CL, and there was an intermediate company, between
Trafigura LTD and WAIB-CL, called "Societe Tommy". Tommy was the entity that
actually "disposed" of the hundreds of metric tonnes of toxic waste
throughout and around the city of Abidjan. The role of Puma Energy (100%
owned by Trafigura based in Amstelveen, NL and controlled from Trafigura's
Lucerne, Switzerland offices) remains unclear, as does its association with
the company, "Tommy" and WAIB-CL, though the Ivorian authorities had
arrested those directing each of WAIB-CL, Tommy and Puma Energy. Puma Energy
had a local office in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. On July 2, 2006 the Probo
Koala was in Amsterdam where the chartering company of the ship, Trafigura,
declined paying higher costs to offload and treat waste that it claimed were
residues from routine tank washing operations.

As you are aware that it is a matter if fact that “The multiplicity of
private structures intervening in trade and maritime transport (flag, owner,
ship owner, charterer, manager, consignee, emptier, etc) and the vagueness
presiding voluntarily or involuntarily in the allocation of roles and
responsibilities meant that a huge amount of time was wasted in
investigations. Nowadays, maritime activity is increasingly an activity
where opacity in actions remains significant, in particular in the high
seas, outside the territorial waters of each State.” (Report of Committee on
Toxic Waste in Abidjan, Ivory Coast Attached).

It is noteworthy that Dutch authorities had allowed the ship to sail
unimpeded. Under the Basel Convention the responsibility for the dumping of
wastes should be tied to the generator of the hazardous wastes; the exporter
of the wastes (charterer Trafigura) or to the country of export. Under EU
law, exports of hazardous wastes from the EU to non-OECD countries are
strictly prohibited.

I submit that European Commission must engage the European Union law
enforcement organisation EUROPOL to coordinate member states' activities in
order to prevent the ship, its captain, owners and operators escaping
prosecution. EUROPOL is the European Law Enforcement Organisation which
exists to improve the effectiveness and co-operation of the competent
authorities in the Member States in preventing and combating terrorism and
other serious forms of international organised crime. This vessel must be
denied entry. European Commission must recall this vessel to Europe in
compliance with the October 2006 European Parliament Resolution.

I submit that Indian environmental borders have been compromised with
enormous amounts of hazardous wastes and ships waste moving inside our
borders to exploit cost externalization possibilities and in the process
exploit fragile coastal environment of Alang beach in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

I wish to draw your attention towards the hazardous wastes/shipbreaking
matter that came up for hearing in the Supreme Court on May 25, 2011. The
vacation bench of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice Chandramauli Kr Prasad
observed, "Why don't they break these ships in their own countries," Justice
Singhvi asked, adding "If there is a threat to environment, then this court
will intervene". This observations of the bench are quite welcome.

I submit that TWA will apprise the court and pray for its intervention if
the Ministries of Environment & Forests, Shipping and Steel do not stop the
entry of this end-of life vessel laden with hazardous wastes and toxic
materials. The next date of hearing in the Supreme Court is on 5th July,
2011.

I submit that any vessel that has been rejected by a neighbouring country
must be rejected in India well. The vessel’s entry has been banned in
Bangladesh in May 2011. This vessel cannot be allowed entry because India is
a party to the UN treaty on hazardous wastes and the tenth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention will be held at Cartagena
de Indias, Colombia from 17 -21 October 2011.

The Convention was initiated in response to numerous international scandals
regarding hazardous waste trafficking that began to occur in the late 1980s.
The Convention entered into force on 5 May 1992 with its Secretariat in
Geneva, Switzerland. It is eminently clear that the Basel Ban is needed now
more than at any point since the Convention was adopted. In the Third
Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP3) in September 1995
made an amendment to include the request of the G-77 countries including
India for the total ban on all exports of hazardous wastes from Organization
of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to non-OECD
countries that was passed by consensus and came to be known as the Basel Ban
Amendment.

TWA has been warning concerned authorities to abandon the Free Trade
Agreements (FTAs) with countries like EU and Japan who have been promoting
hazardous wastes trade along with countries such as US, Germany, and the UK
by indulging in linguistic corruption.

The Basel Ban amendment effectively banned as of 1 January 1998, all forms
of hazardous waste exports from the 29 wealthiest most industrialized
countries of the (OECD to all non-OECD countries. In order for the Ban
amendment to enter the force of law it will need to be ratified by 62 of the
Basel Parties. The Basel Ban has been ratified by 70 countries (Parties to
the Convention). For entry into force of the Ban Amendment, only the
official deposits equalling 63 of the 62 are needed (representing 3/4ths of
the 82 Parties present at COP3). India must ratify it to safe guard its
environment for the sake of intergeneration equity instead of pursuing the
path of FTAs with countries EU and Japan or International Maritime
Organisation (IMO)’s ship recycling convention which is anti- environment,
anti-worker and anti-human rights.

In such a backdrop, Supreme Court’s observations of May 2011 are reminiscent
of what the head of the Indian delegation, said at the first Conference of
the Parties (COP 1) to the Basel Convention in 1992, in Uruguay. Requesting
industrialized countries to refrain from exporting hazardous wastes to
developing countries, he said, "You industrialized countries have been
asking us to do many things for the global good – to stop cutting down our
forests, to stop using your CFC’s – now we are asking you to do something
for the global good – keep your own waste." India should revive its
exemplary position on the matter of waste trade and take the ship-breaking
activity off the Alang beach, which at present appears to have been
outsourced for ship owning countries and companies to contaminate the
coastal environment for ever ridiculing Coastal Regulation Zone.

I submit that in the 58 page Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and
Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling, having studied the Draft it is matter
of relief that Ministry of Steel is making sincere efforts to comply with
the Supreme Court order of 14th October, 2003 and 6th September 2007 to
protect the fragile coastal environment of Alang Beach. In Chapter 3 of the
Code at Section 3.1.2 there is mention of "dry dock" method for ship
recycling among others. And in Chapter 6 of the Code at Section 6.6.1 (a)
there is reference to Coastal Regulation Zone-1991 which has decreed the
following regulation on 19th February 1991 under the reference Coastal
Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, “For regulating development activities,
the coastal stretches within 500 metres of the high tide line of the
landward side are classified into 4 categories. Paragraph 2 of the
Notification lists out the 'Prohibited activities and exceptions' The
activities declared as prohibited within the CRZ, namely, Para 2 (ii)
states, " manufacture, handling, storage or disposal of hazardous substances
as specified in the 'Notifications of the Government of India in the
Ministry of Environment and Forests' No. S.O. 594 (E) dated 28th July 1989,
S.O. 996 (E) dated 27th November 1989 and G.S.R. 1037 (E) dated 5th December
1989. Para 2 (v) states, “discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from
industries, cities towns and other human settlements." It is clearly that
there is a case for revisiting the conditional environmental clearance given
to the ship-breaking industrial activity on Alang beach, which is attracting
vessels like Gulf Jash (ex-Probo Koala).

In view of the above, I submit that besides stopping the entry of this
end-of-life hazardous vessel in Indian waters, it would be apt for the
Indian authorities to verify the documents of some 120 ships which are
currently on the Alang beach and forewarn the Pakistani authorities about
the harmful ramifications of allowing such a ship in their territory well.

I will be glad share more information.

Thanking You

Yours faithfully
Gopal Krishna,
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
New Delhi
Mb: 9818089660,

E-mail: toxicswatchalliance@gmail.com

Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com
Web: www.toxicswatch.com

Cc/

Union Minister of Environment & Forests
Union Minister of Shipping
Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests
Secretary, Ministry of Shipping
Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests (HSMD)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests (HSMD)
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel
Dr Saroj, Director, Ministry of Environment & Forests
Members of Standing Monitoring Committee on Shipbreaking
Dr Claude Alvares, Member, Supreme Court's Monitoring Committee (SCMC) on
Hazardous Wastes

Ramesh seeks Gujarat report on toxic ship

2011-06-02T00:13:00.000-07:00

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, June 01, 2011

The government rushed into action a day after report of toxic ship Probo Koala, now known as Gulf Jash, heading to Gujarat for dismantling even as country’s law fails to prevent entry of such ships.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that he has sought a report on Gulf Jash from the Gujarat government after Bangladesh refused entry to the ship involved in controversial death of 16 persons in Ivory Coast, where it dumped its toxins in 2006.

“Yes, I have asked for the report,” the minister said.

For many environmental activists such as Gopal Krishna, convener of NGO Toxic Watch Alliance, preventing entry of Gulf Jash into Indian territorial waters will not be easy.

“Many ships enter India on basis of fake papers hiding the fact that they have toxins. Most of these toxic ships originally of the companies registered in Europe are sold to buyers who then register them in Panama. Its entire history is then wiped out,” he said.

Gulf Jash is also registered in Panama and an official of US based Global Marketing Systems, the alleged owner of the ship, told HT that the ship does not contain any toxins. “It has been used to ferry dry cargo since the Ivory Coast incident,” the person who identified himself as Rizwan said.

He explained the history of the ship since illegal dumping of toxins in Ivory Coast allegedly caused death of 16 persons but claimed that the company is not its owner. He, however, did not deny that it was negotiating to buy Gulf Jash. “We negotiate to buy many ships,” he said.

As the news of Gulf Jash entering India spread, Alang based Leela Group was prompt to claim that it has not bought the ship. “We have no connection to her or have any information regarding the vessel,” a statement issued by Corporate Communication department of the company said.

As per rules, a foreign ship for dismantling is allowed entry only if it has an Indian buyer. In the past, ships denied entry into Bangladesh such as SS Blue Lady was bought by Indian ship breakers and were dismantled in Alang in Gujarat.

If the government wants the environment ministry can direct the port and coast guard authorities prevent to a ship from entering India on the grounds of containing toxins. In 2009, the ministry has stopped entry of US ship Platinum II allegedly carrying 200 tonnes of asbestos and 210 tonnes of materials containing toxic polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) from entering Alang.

This time, the ministry’s action will depend on the report it receives from the Gujarat government.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ramesh-seeks-Gujarat-report-on-toxic-ship/Article1-704582.aspx

Govt unaware of owners of ships coming to Alang, says report
Jun 2, 2011

NEW DELHI: The government is unaware of who really owns the ships that are coming to Alang for ship-breaking, an internal report of the government accessed by TOI admits.

The report prepared by the Standing Monitoring Committee on Shipbreaking Yards at Alang notes that the customs officials and the Gujarat Maritime Board are unable to verify whether the documents provided to them when the ship beaches at Alang are falsified or not.

The committee has recommended that the Director-General Shipping be made responsible for verifying the documents of the 'end-of-life' ships coming to Alang for being broken down.

But the Gujarat Maritime Board has attempted to create a loophole in this. It has said that if the DG Shipping does not clear the documents within 48 hours then it would be presumed that the certificates submitted are authentic and genuine.

The committee had noted that the customs and GMB officials had been unable to "verify the authenticity and genuineness of ship's registry/flag in the past in respect of some ships referred to them".

The issue of ownership had become important with a Naval intelligence report. The report had warned in 2004 that the Dawood gang had invested heavily in the business of ship-breaking. "A large number of cash buyers (who buy these condemned ships against cash) are Pak nationals based at London/UAE. Due to large profit margins, Dawood group appears to have invested heavily in Cash Buyers thus having a stake in most deals," Directorate of Naval Intelligence had noted.

Almost 40-50% of the metal trade arising from breaking down a ships was done through the hawala route, it had also recorded.

The intelligence report had warned that smuggling of contraband, explosives and agents on these ships on to Indian soil was a distinct possibility. It had said that the defence ministry should give clearance for all such vessels before the ship is allowed to enter Indian waters.

It has been reported several times that ships bearing registration with shell companies in countries like Liberia, Comoros Islands, Kiribati and Panama come for breakage at Alang. The real owners of the ships remain hidden behind these shell companies with the ships carrying what are called 'flags of convenience'.

Alang Beach, Gujarat Wary of Notorious European Vessel, Gulf Jash

2011-06-01T03:59:00.000-07:00

Press Release

Alang Beach, Gujarat Wary of Notorious European Vessel, Gulf Jash

Indian Coast Guards & Indian Navy Must Stop Its Entry in Indian Waters

Supreme Court’s Order Prohibits Entry of Dead Vessels sans Pre-cleaning

European Commission must recall this Toxic vessel

New Delhi 1

June, 2011 –Demanding compliance with Supreme Court’s order which has endorsed UN’s Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), an applicant in the Court demands that the Ministries of Environment & Forests, Shipping and Steel must refuse entry of this 182 meter long hazardous vessel Gulf Jash (ex-Probo Koala) in Indian waters. This vessel is laden with hazardous asbestos, PCBs, toxic paints, fuel and chemical residues and it has been established that it has not been pre-cleaned. The list of hazardous substances is attached.

The ship’s IMO number is 8309816. The picture of the ship is attached.

The ship currently has the flag of Panama. As of 14 May, 2011, the vessel was in Indian Ocean. It last port was Abu Dhabi. Probo Koala was renamed in Gulf Jash in 2007.

TWA has learnt from officials in Alang that Indian Coast Guards and Indian Navy would be the first to know about its possible entry in Indian waters.

Reliable sources suggest that Global Marketing Systems (GMS), a US company specialised in the brokering of vessels for demolition has bought the ship. It is hiding its final destination. It is noteworthy that earlier the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) took legal action against Global Marketing Services (GMS) and sister company Global Shipping LLC (GSL), both companies set up by the famous ship-breaking cash buyer Mr. Anil Sharma, for exporting the ship from in violation of the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) in past in the matter of Platinum II (ex-SS Oceanic, SS Independence). This US based Cash-Buyer, GMS is trying to deviate the vessel towards Alang beach, India or Gadani beach, Pakistan. GMS is owned by a US citizen of Indian origin. The ownership history is attached.

Prior to this In July 2010, Trafigura, an Amsterdam, Netherlands based transnational company founded in 1993 was found guilty of illegal export of waste from an EU country to states in Africa, Carribean and Pacific. It attempted to deliver goods from onboard the Gulf Jash (ex-Probo Koala) to the Amsterdam port reception facility while concealing their hazardous nature. The court stated that Trafigura knew the waste was toxic and chose to dispose of it at a cheap price. The company was fined 1 million euros but appealed the decision. In 2006, the company Trafigura used the Gulf Jash (ex-Probo Koala) to illegally dump 528 tonnes of toxic waste in Abidjan, the largest city of the Ivory Coast, causing the death of 16 people.

Its registered owner in 2006 was "Celtic Legend Shipping Inc." of Norway. Later, the "beneficial owner" (and manager and operator) is Prime Marine Management, of Athens, Greece. The Probo Koala was chartered by Trafigura LTD, a subsidiary of the NL trading company Trafigura Beheer BV (the parent company of the 55 trading companies operated by Trafigura). Probo Koala's agent in Abidjan was WAIB-CL, and there was an intermediate company, between Trafigura LTD and WAIB-CL, called "Societe Tommy". Tommy was the entity that actually "disposed" of the hundreds of metric tonnes of toxic waste throughout and around the city of Abidjan. The role of Puma Energy (100% owned by Trafigura based in Amstelveen, NL and controlled from Trafigura's Lucerne, Switzerland offices) remains unclear, as does its association with the company, "Tommy" and WAIB-CL, though the Ivorian authorities had arrested those directing each of WAIB-CL, Tommy and Puma Energy. Puma Energy had a local office in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. On July 2, 2006 the Probo Koala was in Amsterdam where the chartering company of the ship, Trafigura, declined paying higher costs to offload and treat waste that it claimed were residues from routine tank washing operations.

It is a matter if fact that “The multiplicity of private structures intervening in trade and maritime transport (flag, owner, ship owner, charterer, manager, consignee, emptier, etc) and the vagueness presiding voluntarily or involuntarily in the allocation of roles and responsibilities meant that a huge amount of time was wasted in investigations. Nowadays, maritime activity is increasingly an activity where opacity in actions remains significant, in particular in the high seas, outside the territorial waters of each State.” (Report of Committee on Toxic Waste in Abidjan, Ivory Coast Attached).

Dutch authorities had allowed the ship to sail unimpeded. Under the Basel Convention the responsibility for the dumping of wastes should be tied to the generator of the hazardous wastes; the exporter of the wastes (charterer Trafigura) or to the country of export.

Under EU law, exports of hazardous wastes from the EU to non-OECD countries are strictly prohibited.

TWA demands that European Commission must engage the European Union law enforcement organisation EUROPOL to coordinate member states' activities in order to prevent the ship, its captain, owners and operators escaping prosecution. EUROPOL is the European Law Enforcement Organisation which exists to improve the effectiveness and co-operation of the competent authorities in the Member States in preventing and combating terrorism and other serious forms of international organised crime.

This vessel must be denied entry. TWA demands that the European Commission must recall this vessel to Europe in compliance with the October 2006 European Parliament Resolution.
Indian environmental borders have been compromised with enormous amounts of hazardous wastes and ships waste moving inside our borders to exploit cost externalization possibilities and in the process exploit fragile coastal environment of Alang beach in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
The hazardous wastes/shipbreaking matter came up for hearing in the Supreme Court on May 25, 2011. The vacation bench of Justice G S Singhvi and Justice Chandramauli Kr Prasad observed, "Why don't they break these ships in their own countries," Justice Singhvi asked, adding "If there is a threat to environment, then this court will intervene". TWA welcomes the observations of the bench.

TWA will apprise the court and pray for its intervention if the Ministries of Environment & Forests, Shipping and Steel do not stop the entry of this end-of life vessel laden with hazardous wastes and toxic materials. The next date of hearing in the Supreme Court is on 5th July, 2011.

TWA holds that any vessel that has been rejected by a neighbouring country must be rejected in India well. The vessel’s entry has been banned in Bangladesh in May 2011.

This vessel cannot be allowed entry because India is a party to the UN treaty on hazardous wastes and the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention will be held at Cartagena de Indias, Colombia from 17 -21 October 2011. The Convention was initiated in response to numerous international scandals regarding hazardous waste trafficking that began to occur in the late 1980s. The Convention entered into force on 5 May 1992 with its Secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland. It is eminently clear that the Basel Ban is needed now more than at any point since the Convention was adopted. In the Third Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP3) in September 1995 made an amendment to include the request of the G-77 countries including India for the total ban on all exports of hazardous wastes from Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries to non-OECD countries that was passed by consensus and came to be known as the Basel Ban Amendment.

TWA has been warning concerned authorities to abandon the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries like EU and Japan who have been promoting hazardous wastes trade along with countries such as US, Germany, and the UK.
The Basel Ban amendment effectively banned as of 1 January 1998, all forms of hazardous waste exports from the 29 wealthiest most industrialized countries of the (OECD to all non-OECD countries. In order for the Ban amendment to enter the force of law it will need to be ratified by 62 of the Basel Parties. The Basel Ban has been ratified by 70 countries (Parties to the Convention). For entry into force of the Ban Amendment, only the official deposits equalling 63 of the 62 are needed (representing 3/4ths of the 82 Parties present at COP3). India must ratify it to safe guard its environment for the sake of intergeneration equity instead of pursuing the path of FTAs with countries EU and Japan or International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s ship recycling convention which is anti- environment, anti-worker and anti-human rights.

In such a backdrop, Supreme Court’s observations of May 2011 are reminiscent of what the head of the Indian delegation, said at the first Conference of the Parties (COP 1) to the Basel Convention in 1992, in Uruguay. Requesting industrialized countries to refrain from exporting hazardous wastes to developing countries, he said, "You industrialized countries have been asking us to do many things for the global good – to stop cutting down our forests, to stop using your CFC’s – now we are asking you to do something for the global good – keep your own waste." India should revive its exemplary position on the matter of waste trade and take the ship-breaking activity off the Alang beach, which at present appears to have been outsourced for ship owning countries and companies to contaminate the coastal environment for ever ridiculing Coastal Regulation Zone.

In the 58 page Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling, having studied the Draft it is matter of relief that Ministry of Steel is making sincere efforts to comply with the Supreme Court order of 14th October, 2003 and 6th September 2007 to protect the fragile coastal environment of Alang Beach. In Chapter 3 of the Code at Section 3.1.2 there is mention of "dry dock" method for ship recycling among others. And in Chapter 6 of the Code at Section 6.6.1 (a) there is reference to Coastal Regulation Zone-1991 which has decreed the following regulation on 19th February 1991 under the reference Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, “For regulating development activities, the coastal stretches within 500 metres of the high tide line of the landward side are classified into 4 categories. Paragraph 2 of the Notification lists out the 'Prohibited activities and exceptions' The activities declared as prohibited within the CRZ, namely, Para 2 (ii) states, " manufacture, handling, storage or disposal of hazardous substances as specified in the 'Notifications of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests' No. S.O. 594 (E) dated 28th July 1989, S.O. 996 (E) dated 27th November 1989 and G.S.R. 1037 (E) dated 5th December 1989. Para 2 (v) states, “discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries, cities towns and other human settlements." Clearly, there is a case for revisiting the conditional environmental clearance given to the ship-breaking industrial activity on Alang beach, which is attracting vessels like Gulf Jash (ex-Probo Koala).

Besides stopping the entry of this end-of-life hazardous vessel in Indian waters, it would be apt for the Indian authorities to verify the documents of some 120 ships which are currently on the Alang beach and forewarn the Pakistani authorities about the harmful ramifications of allowing such a ship in their territory well.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660,
E-mail: toxicswatchalliance@gmail.com, Web: imowatch.blogspot.com
http://www.shipbreakingplatform.org
Greenpeace reports on the Probo Koala:
http://www.greenpeace.nl/reports/coplaint-dutch-advertising-cod/
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/trafigura/

FIDH report on the Probo Koala:
http://fidh.org/IMG/pdf/FIDH-LIDHO-MIDH_Rapport_ProboKoala_avril2011.pdf

UN Special Rapporteur Report on the investigation into the dumping of waste in Ivory Coast:
http://bit.ly/iiZi9I

Alang Beach faces competition from Chittagong Beach & Gadani Beach

2011-05-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

Note: Is it a coincidence that Alang beach in India, Chittagong beach in Bangladesh and Gadani beach in Pakistan on the Bay of Bengal have become the dustbin of the shipping companies of the industrialized countries from EU, Japan, US and others. A EU report on Ship breaking in South Asia refers to Alang and Sosiya on the west coast in the State of Gujarat, India; Chittagong on the shores of Sitakund on Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh; and Gadani in Karachi, Pakistan as "the ideal ship breaking location" unmindful of the fragile coastal environment. This report appears quite insensitive to the historical context in which hazardous industries and end-of-life products (wastes) are transferred to South Asian countries.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) disagrees with most of the motivated observations mentioned in the report based on its field visit with a UN team. The yards on beach are always in a mess. Contrary to the observations in the report that "Asbestos was packed separately in plastic bags and stored near a garbage collection point", the fact is asbestos is never found in isolation, it is always embedded in some other structure. The landfill at Alang is completely filled up. TWA disapproves of Japanese, EU, International Chamber of Shipping and IMO's myopic approach of financing or recommending such landfills ad infinitum.

EU's motivated interest in South Asian beaches results from the fact that some 40 per cent of ships/vessels demolished are under European flags or belonged to ship owners established in the European Union or to members of the European Free Trade Association.

It may be recalled that the first ship breaking activity in undivided India was reported near Garden Reach, Kolkata in 1912. In post-divided India, first vessel MV Kota Tenjong was beached at Alang beach for ship breaking purpose in 1983. There is a need to examine the circumstances of such hazardous, dirty and degrading activity which makes Alang beach, Chittagong beach and Gadani beach, the most polluted beaches in the world even as the beaches of the ship owning countries are protected and cherished by them. Such manifest double standards are unacceptable.
The fact is Alang Beach, Chittagong Beach and Gadani Beach are competing with each other to get themselves contaminated beyond remediation for short-sighted financial gains without comprehending the motives of ship owning companies and countries.

Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)

Alang faces tough competition as Bangladesh yards resume work

Business at Alang’s ship-breaking yards plummeted by half in April as rival facilities in Bangladesh reopened after a 10-month closure ordered by the courts there over environmental concerns.

This is the sharpest month-on-month fall in two years at Alang, near the Gujarat town of Bhavnagar and home to Asia’s largest ship-breaking facility.

“The fall is due to competition from Bangladesh, which resumed ship-breaking operations at around 60 of its 110 ship-breaking slots from April after getting conditional permission from a Bangladesh court, which had banned ship-breaking activity for almost 10 months on environmental issues,” said a port official at Alang on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Alang received 20 ships with a tonnage of 139,596 in April compared with 34 ships and 302,356 tonnes in March.

“The fall in tonnage and ship arrival in April is the sharpest in the last one year. The fall is also the sharpest if compared with April last year,” said Vishnu Gupta, president, Ship Recycling Industries Association India (SRIA). “This is mainly due to competition from Bangladesh, which has started buying ships aggressively.”

This may be the beginning of a slow growth cycle for the Indian ship-breaking industry as the situation is likely to worsen in the next few months.

“We are offering around $500 (Rs.22,650) per tonne rates to sellers while Bangladeshi recyclers are offering more than $520 per tonne as they want to make up for lost business, which is why most sellers are preferring Bangladesh over India,” explained an Alang-based recycler who did not want to be named.

He said Indian ship-breakers cannot afford to buy ships at higher prices as they mostly sell their scrap steel in the domestic market, where there is a disparity in the prices between ship-buying rates and scrap steel rates.

“We are buying ships at around $500 per tonne while scrap steel prices are at Rs.23,000 ($507) per tonne. We are losing our business to Bangladesh as they can afford to buy ships at higher rates because of lower labour costs,” the ship-breaker said.

Indian ship breakers have seen profit margins shrink, said SRIA vice-president Vippin Agrawal. He didn’t elaborate on the extent of this shrinkage.

The neighbouring nation is also attracting companies that intend to scrap larger vessels, which is a concern for Indian ship-breakers.

“Bangladesh has bought dozens of ships in the last one-and-a-half months and is in final negotiations with two international firms willing to scrap two VLCCs (very large crude carriers that weigh 200,000-320,000 tonnes each),” said a ship-breaker at Alang, also requesting anonymity.

Email and phone calls to Hefazatur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, did not elicit any response.

“We are already facing problems of smaller ships coming for dismantling for the last one year. Competition from Bangladesh has added to it,” said SRIA’s Gupta.

In 2010-11, Alang scrapped 357 vessels against 348 vessels in 2009-10. However, tonnage at Alang’s 173 slots fell to 2.8 million tonnes (mt) from about 2.96 mt in 2009-10, the highest in 12 years, Gupta said. The fall in tonnage despite more vessels is because of their smaller sizes, he said.

Alang’s ship-breakers have cancelled plans to hire more workers, Gupta said.

“In 2009-10, when the industry was faring well, we were planning to raise the workforce to 25,000 from the current 15,000. That plan has been cancelled. If the situation doesn’t improve in the coming months then we may be forced to reduce the workforce,” Gupta said.

http://www.livemint.com/2011/05/26215625/Alang-faces-tough-competition.html?atype=tp

Economics of End-of Life Ships

2011-05-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

THE ECONOMICS OF SHIP DISMANTLING, SHIP BREAKING AND SHIP RECYCLING

Why Ship-owners Sell Ships for Ship dismantling, shipbreaking and ship
recycling?

When the maintenance costs of the vessel start to exceed possible
revenue, or when the vessel has become unattractive for the second-hand
market.

How Ships are sold for Ship dismantling, ship breaking and ship
recycling?

Ship-owners who have decided to end the economic life of a vessel will
look for a cash buyer. The cash buyer will either be a dedicated broker
or the scrap yard operator himself. Typically, the ship will take cargo
for a final voyage to the area where the scrap yard is located. After
completion of this voyage, the ship will be brought, under its own
power, to the scrap yard where it will be dismantled. The cash buyer
pays a price in US$ per light displacement ton (ldt), which is roughly
equivalent to the steel weight of the ship.

What is normal price at Ships are sold?

For years the price has been around 150 US$/ldt (with lows around 100
US$/ldt and highs around 200 US$/ldt), but recently the strong demand
for steel scrap in China and the low supply of ships have driven prices
up to record levels of nearly 500 US$/ldt for average vessels and more
for particularly valuable ones.

What affects Ship Breaking Industry Most?

Freight market, the number of ships available for scrapping depends on
conditions on the freight market. If ships can still earn good money,
owners will not decide to send the ship for scrapping. In the past two
years, scrapping volumes were very low due to a booming and profitable
freight market.

The large majority of ships for scrapping will have to come from the
deep sea merchant fleet and will be mainly tankers and bulk carriers
(which are the “volume” segments). Other market segments, such as
warships, inland waterways vessels and offshore structures, are of
limited size and availability and so can hardly provide a steady stream
of material for large-scale recycling. The operator of a modern
recycling facility will therefore have difficulty building a business
model that fully covers its amortization costs.

What is life span of normal ship?

Ships are individual constructions with a long life-cycle and will have
undergone many repairs and maintenance in their 20-30 years of
operation. . The ships currently heading for the scrap yards were built
in the 1970s using materials that are no longer used today (e.g.
asbestos).

What is dismantling capacity in the EU?

There are facilities for larger ships mainly in Belgium, Italy and the
Netherlands, with a combined capacity of about 230,000 ldt/year, and a
multitude of smaller facilities for fishing vessels and other small
craft in most other maritime Member States. Taken together, the
existing capacity in the EU for ship dismantling may be estimated at
approximately 500,000 ldt per year. The EU neighbouring Turkey having
20 dismantling yards on the shore of Aliaga (near Izmir) have a joint
capacity of approximately 1 million tons per year. (As on 2007).

Source : http://scrapshipbreaking.com/2011/05/20/the-economics-of-ship-dismantling-ship-breaking-and-ship-recycling/

GADANI SHIP BREAKING YARD, PAKISTAN

Gadani ship-breaking yard is the world’s third largest ship breaking yard. The yard consists of 132 ship-breaking plots located across a 10 km long beachfront at Gadani, Pakistan, about 50 kilometres northwest of Karachi.

In the 1980s, Gadani was the largest ship-breaking yard in the world, with more than 30,000 direct employees. However, competition from newer facilities in Alang, India and Chittagong, Bangladesh resulted in a significant reduction in output, with Gadani, today, producing less than one fifth of the scrap it produced in the 1980s. The recent reduction in taxes on scrap metal has led to a modest resurgence of output at Gadani, which now employs around 6,000 workers.

In the 2009-2010 fiscal year, a record 107 ships, with a combined light displacement tonnage (LDT) of 852,022 tons, were broken at Gadani whereas in the previous 2008-2009 fiscal year, 86 ships, with a combined LDT of 778,598 tons, were turned into scrap.

http://scrapshipbreaking.com/2011/05/08/gadani-ship-breaking-yard-pakistan/

Supreme Court Worried about Ship Dismatnling on Alang Beach

2011-05-26T05:41:00.000-07:00

Note: Some 120 ships are currently standing on once pristine Alang beach. The hazardous industrial operations in this fragile coasatal environment began in the early eighties in the pre-Environment Protection Act, 1986 era. It is about time Alang beach taken away from the vice like grip of ship owning companies and countries and is restored to its earlier glory.

Danish companies have strong stake in ship-breaking in Alang, Gujarat and they pursue goal of dumping hazardous wastes by mutilating Basel Convention and by supporting International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Convention on Shipbreaking calling it recycling.

It may be recalled that the Danish ship “Ricky” (51 year-old asbestos laden ship, Kong Fredrick IX) contained hazardous wastes entered Alang beach for scrapping ilegally as it was bought by Jupiter Ship Management, a Mumbai based company. On 15 April, 2005, Connie Hedegaard, Denmark's environment minister alerted her Indian counterpart A Raja about the illegal movement of this ship. Ricky ('Kong Frederik IX') left Denmark on 16 March 2005. One wonders as to why did it take one month for the Danish Minister to alert the Indian auhtorties? What is the fate of the case that was filed against the original ship owner in Denmark? Letters were sento Danish authorties but no reply was recieved.

Per Stig Moller, the then Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs also wrote to K Natwar Singh, the then Indian Foreign Minister. This was followed-up by meetings between Michael Sternberg, the then Danish ambassador in Delhi and the Pradipto Gosh, the top bureaucrat and Secretary at the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

On 23 April 2005, "Riky" arrived for scrapping at Alang under the jurisdiction of Gujarat Maritime Board. Even the flag under which the ship sailed in isn't perfectly clear. N B Deshmukh, the then Assistant Commissioner, Customs Division, Bhavnagar, Gujarat said that Riky was carrying the flag of Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea). An application was filed in 2005 challenging the MoEF in the Supreme Court on the ship's admission into India because the ship sailed in under the flag of Roxa, a non-existent "country". The case is till pending in the Supreme Court.

Ship owning countries and compnies are using IMO Convention to make such state of affairs legitimate. If that happens Alang will practically be deemed a place outside the jurisdiction of Government of India.

Is it wild to draw a possible link between India's best kept secret of the night when arms rained over Purulia in Bengal at night on 17th December, 1995 and Alang's ship breakers with business relations with Danish enterprises?

The next date of listing of the hazardous wastes case is 5th August, 2011.

Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)

The Supreme Court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice C.K. Prasad expressed concern over the environmental impact of dismantling and recycling of foreign ships carrying radioactive material and other toxic wastes at Alang port in Gujarat.

The apex court wished to know as to why these ships were not dismantled or broken in the country of their origin. Justice Singhvi said that tonnes of toxic waste was being brought to Alang port and dumped there.

The court said that recycling and breaking of ships at Alang port could be beneficial for some people in Gujarat or in other states but it was adversely impacting the environment.

"Why don't they break these ships in their own countries," Justice Singhvi asked.

The court made it clear that it would not be an indifferent spectator if there was any adverse bearing on the environment because of ship recycling activities. "If there is a threat to environment, then this court will intervene," said Justice Singhvi.

The court's observations came in the course of the hearing of a petition by Alang port-based Ship Recycling Association (India) seeking direction to Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) not to go ahead with the auction of four plots each measuring 120 square metre.

The association asked the court to direct the board to first implement the recommendation of the committee of technical experts which said that smaller plots of 30 square metre each should be merged to create bigger plots as the smaller plots were not suitable for carrying out ship recycling activities.

The association told the court that the board accepted the recommendation of the committee and decided in favour of larger plots by phasing out the existing smaller plots.

The association sought orders restraining the board from auctioning the four plots without first merging the existing smaller plots to create bigger plots. The court declined the plea.

The court dismissed the application by the association.

The order dated 25/05/2011 by the (VACATION BENCH) is as under:

UPON hearing counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R

In this application filed by Ship Recycling Association (India), prayer has been made to restrain the Gujarat Maritime Board (for short, 'the Board') from auctioning the four vacant plots measuring 120 square meters at Alang Ship-Recycling Yard and to direct the Board to amalgamate and/or convert the existing smaller plots measuring 30 square meters into bigger plots before auctioning the four vacant plots.

While, learned counsel for the applicant heavily relied upon the recommendations made by the Standing Monitoring Committee on Ship Breaking Yard at Alang which is said to have recommended for merger of the available plots with the smaller plots, learned counsel representing the Board submitted that in view of the provisions contained in the Gujarat Maritime Board Act, 1981 (for short, "the Act"), the Gujarat Maritime Board (Conditions and Procedures for Granting Permission for Utilising Ship Recycling Plots) Regulations, 2006 (for short, "the Regulations") and the policy framed by the Board for amalgamation/merger of the existing plots, the smaller plots on which the members of the applicant association are carrying their operations, cannot be merged with the four plots proposed to be auctioned. Learned counsel also produced site map to show that the plots proposed to be auctioned are far away from the 30 square meters plots and argued that the same cannot be amalgamated or merged with the smaller plots.

We have considered the respective submissions and carefully perused the documents on which reliance has been placed by learned counsel for the parties. We have also gone through the provisions of the Act and the Regulations as also the guidelines framed by the Board for amalgamation of the plots.

In our view, the prayer made by the applicant is thoroughly misconceived and there is no valid ground, much less, justification for restraining the Board from auctioning the four plots or for issue of a direction for conversion of the existing smaller plots into bigger plots by adding portions of the four plots with the smaller plots. Although, there is some dispute between the parties about the exact distance between the smaller plots on which members of the applicant association are carrying their operations, they are ad idem that two kinds of plots are situated at some distance. The Regulations framed by the Board in exercise of the power conferred upon it under Sections 37, 38, 39, 41 and 110 of the Act and Clause-A of the guidelines do not permit for amalgamation of the plots by shifting the existing plots to another plot location.

The guidelines also prohibit amalgamation of two working plots. In terms of sub-clause (2) of Clause-A, the vacant plot located in between two working plots having 30 square meters width can be offered to both adjoining plot holders in equal measure. However, there is no provision for amalgamation of larger plots with the smaller plots irrespective of the distance between two plots. Therefore, there is no warrant for staying the auction of the four plots measuring 120 square meters or for issue of a direction to the Board to merge portions of the bigger plots with the smaller plots.

In the result, the application is dismissed.

Some IMO Influence on Special Rapporteurs' Report on Shipbreaking, Still Facts Are Glaring

2011-04-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

Note: Having accompanied the Special Rapporteur on Toxic waste to Alang, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) finds the statement of the Special Rapporteur with regard to "improving health and safety conditions in shipbreaking yards" to be factually incorrect. The assertion that "considerable decrease in the number of work-related injuries resulting in death or permanent or temporary disabilities" at shipbreaking yards is a figment of someone's imagination. Even newspapers reports can reveal the falsehood of this statement. TWA is aware that one IMO official was working overtime to influence the statement and report of Special Rapporteur. Having interacted with Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu personally, I refuse to believe that he has made this statement. It appears that officials who drafted his report were under some influence. I suspect that someone else has attributed these views without cross-checking it with Prof Ibeanu.

The statement on page 2 of the Special Rapporteurs' report which one finds here also has the resonance of one IMO official:
With specific regard to shipbreaking, the Special Rapporteur notes with satisfaction
the improvement of the health and safety conditions in Alang/Sosiya, as well as the efforts made by the regulatory authority and the industry to improve the health and quality of life of workers and their families.
The Special Rapporteurs' views on hazardous waste management is also evidently incorrect because the National Inventory of Hazardous Wastes Generating Industries & Hazardous Waste Management in India prepared by India's Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) available on its website reveals the correct picture. India has 36, 165 hazardous waste generating industries, generating 62, 32, 507 Metric Tonnes of hazardous wastes every year in the face of paucity of capacity to deal with it.
Out of the total waste generated within the country, as per CPCB, Land Fillable Hazardous Wastes is 27, 28, 326 MTA (Metric Tonnes/Annum), Incinerable Hazardous Waste is 4, 15, 794 MTA and Recyclable Hazardous Wastes is 30, 88, 387 MTA It is obvious that the recyclable portion of Hazardous Wastes is in the range of 49.55 % and is more than other two categories. The land disposable portion and incinerable portion are in the tune of 43.78 % and 6.67 % respectively.

India has only 22 Common Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (TSDF) for the disposal of hazardous wastes in 10 States only namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. Total disposal capacity of these facilities, is 15, 00, 568 MTA which is much less than the present generation of 27, 28, 326 MTA of land-disposable hazardous wastes. The deficit of TSDF capacity is 12, 27, 758 MTA. It is obvious that the additional TSDF to the tune of 15, 00, 000 T/A must be developed to accommodate the present and future quantities of land disposable hazardous wastes.

For incinerable hazardous waste as per CPCB, there are 14 Common Incinerators in 7 States and 127 individual incinerators in 12 States. Total incineration capacity of these incinerators is 3, 27, 705 MTA while the present generation of Incinerable hazardous wastes is 4, 15, 794 MTA. It is clear that there is a deficit of 88,089 MTA of incineration capacity of the country. It is proposed by different States to install additional incinerators to provide an additional incineration capacity of 2, 56, 710 MTA. From these figures reported in the “National Inventory of Hazardous Wastes Generating Industries & Hazardous Waste Management in India”, it is quite clear that Special Rapporteur has erred in welcoming "the significant progress the country has made in the area of the management and disposal of hazardous products and wastes" at page of his report.

The inconsistency with regard to his views on ship breaking is quite manifest when he says, "Regulatory authorities in Alang/Sosiya and the shipbreaking industry should
step up their efforts to improve health and safety in the yards" because he also states and observes his major concerns as "the health and safety situation
prevailing at the shipbreaking yards continues to remain critical, as witnessed by the 12 fatal accidents that occurred in Alang/Sosiya during the course of 2009, and there are a number of identifiable shortcomings which need to be addressed" at page 12 of his report. TWA agrees with the latter part of it.

TWA agrees with the report when it states, "Health facilities in Alang/Sosiya do not possess sufficient human, technical and financial resources to provide any treatment other than first aid for minor injuries. The nearest hospital equipped to deal with life-threatening conditions is in Bhavnagar, more than 50 kilometres away. The Red Cross hospital in Alang, which the Special Rapporteur visited, can count on only four medical doctors and nine beds to provide health care not only to some 30,000 workers in the yards, but also to the neighbouring villages of Alang (which has a population of about 18,000 people) and Sosiya (4,000 people)" on page 14.

TWA agrees, "In Mumbai the situation is even worse, with no permanent facilities except first aid and ambulance services."

TWA shares the observation that "most workers, but reportedly also a number of yard owners, are not aware of the serious life-threatening work-related diseases which may result from long-term exposure to toxic and hazardous substances and materials present on end-of-life ships. In particular, it appears that the majority of the
workforce and the local population do not know the adverse consequences of prolonged
exposure to asbestos dusts and fibres and are not familiar with the precautions that need to be taken to handle asbestos-containing materials."

It is true that "The majority of the workforce lives in overcrowded makeshift facilities just outside the yards. Most accommodations lack basic amenities such as kitchens, toilet facilities, electricity and running water. The water and sanitation facilities available in Alang/Sosiya remain grossly inadequate to deal with the consumption, cooking, and personal and domestic hygienic requirements of the 30,000 workers who work and live there. In Mumbai, the situation is even worse, with no safe drinking water available in the yards."

On page 13, he observes, "the vast majority of the workforce in Mumbai do not
receive any information on the hazards or risks to health and safety, nor do they receive any training on how to avoid or minimize them. With regard to safety training, the Special Rapporteur is of the view that existing training opportunities in Alang/Sosiya should be improved, considering the magnitude of the risks associated with shipbreaking activities and the hazardous substances workers are potentially exposed to." He adds, "Due to the informal nature of working arrangements, workers are not covered by social protection schemes, and do not receive any benefit in case of work-related injuries or diseases." TWA agrees with it.

He observes, employers do not pay for long-term medical treatment or for expenses
linked to chronic work-related illnesses. Workers do not usually receive any wages or
benefits when absent from work on medical grounds. TWA agrees with it.

TWA endorses Special Rapporteur's assessment wherein it says "in India ships are
dismantled on beaches, a method commonly referred to as “beaching”.5 This method of
ship dismantling fails to comply with generally accepted norms and standards on
environmental protection. Although very little work has been carried out to assess its
environmental impact, the dismantling of ships on sandy beaches without any containment other than the hull of the ship itself appears to have caused high levels of contamination of soil, air, and marine and freshwater resources in many South Asian countries, and to have adversely affected the livelihood of local communities surrounding the shipbreaking facilities, which often rely on agriculture and fishing for their subsistence" at page 9 of his report.

TWA welcomes Special Rapporteur's recommendation seeking "an independent study be
carried out to assess the actual and potential adverse effects caused by the discharge
of hazardous substances and materials into the natural environment. Such a study
should also assess the steps that need to be taken for the gradual phasing out of
“beaching” in favour of more environmentally friendly methods of shipbreaking" at page 21 of his report.

It appears that while making general observations, the report has erred but in many specific instances it has stated facts which merit the attention of Government of India, ship owning countries, companies and IMO who continue to contaminate South Asian beaches like Alang even as they cherish such beaches in their own countries. IMO treaty on ship recycling by promoting status quo with regard to shipbreaking activities on beach appears racist.
Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on Toxic waste
concludes his visit to India

The Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Mr. Okechukwu Ibeanu, during a 10-day mission, from 11 to 21 January 2010, assessed the progress made India in minimizing the adverse effects that hazardous activities, such as shipbreaking and the recycling of electronic waste (e-waste), have on the human rights of countless individuals working in these sectors or living close to the places where these activities take place.

The Special Rapporteur visited the capital New Delhi and an e-waste recycling facility in Roorkee, informal small-scale laboratories for the dismantling and recycling of electronic products in a suburb of the capital, a facility for the treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous wastes in Ankleshwar, and a number
of shipbreaking yards in Alang and Mumbai.

”I welcome the significant progress India has made in improving health and safety conditions in the shipbreaking yards, as witnessed by the considerable decrease in the
number of work-related injuries resulting in death or permanent or temporary disabilities, but a number of serious concerns remain to be properly addressed”, Mr.
Ibeanu said.

“First and foremost, I urge the owners of the yards to comply with the existing labour and social security legislation, and the Government to monitor its effective
implementation”, he added. Training opportunities need to be improved, and personal protective equipments (PPEs) should be provided to, and used by, all workers in the
yards. Medical facilities do not possess sufficient human, technical and financial resources to provide any treatment other than first aid for inor injuries, and there are no schools or formal education facilities for the children of those employed in the yards, 20 per cent of whom are accompanied by their families. In India , ships are currently dismantled on the beaches, a method commonly referred to as “beaching”, and the impact of this on the surrounding environment and the livelihood of local communities relying on agriculture and fishing for their subsistence continues to be debated.

“In order to ascertain the environmental impact of the shipbreaking industry, I recommend that an independent study be carried out to assess the actual and potential
adverse effects that may be caused by the discharge of hazardous material into the natural environment, as well as the level of risk”, Mr. Ibeanu said.

The Special Rapporteur noted that he was “shocked by the extremely poor conditions in which most workers live in Alang and Mumbai”. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers
live in makeshift facilities lacking basic sanitation facilities, electricity and even safe drinking water. “I call on Governmental authorities to provide appropriate plots of lands, and facilitate the construction of adequate housing facilities for those who work in the yards. Adequate sanitation and drinking water facilities should also be put in place”.

Updates from South Asian Beaches

2011-04-10T05:39:00.000-07:00

Accident prone MSC Chitra to be dismantled

On August 7 last year the cargo ship MV Khalija-3 collided with the container vessel MSC Chitra 30 nautical miles off the Mumbai port. This was followed by another accident involving the container ship, which occurred on March 19, 2011. This time the mishap resulted in the ship's anchor chain damaging the winch and other parts. The cause of the same was the breaking of mooring lines leading to drifting of the already damaged vessel.

Finally, according to sources in DG Shipping, the authorities have now opted to tear the ill-fated MSC Chitra down, overriding their earlier decision to wash their hands clean of the ship by selling it to the Alang ship-breaking yard.

With the efforts of salvage company Smith Tech, MSC Chitra re-floated safely on March 11. Soon after, the directorate general of shipping (DGS) decided to get rid of the vessel by way of scrapping, and permitted her sending off to Alang ship-breaking yard. However, delay in clearance processes resulted in the mishap. Currently, the ship lay at Alfa anchorage and the salvage company is spending nearly US$2.5L on it per day.

Earlier, when DGS permitted the sale of MSC Chitra at Alang, Smith Tech had promised to escort the vessel as far as Alang -- nearly 200 miles from Mumbai, and the dead vessel, whilst being towed, would have taken just 4 days to cover the distance. But DGS took too much time to provide clearance to her last voyage, which eventually led to the accident on March 19.

If the ship can safely withstand outer anchorage and be re-floated, being currently grounded 30 to 50 meters in deep water, then it could be brought to Alang. However, the sudden decision to sink her in deep water has raised many questions.

Apr 10, 2011
By Mahebub Kureshi
Bhavnagar
DNA

Wires holding MSC Chitra come apart, ship moved away

The ill-fated ship MSC Chitra has been moved 30 nautical miles off the city harbour as the anchor wires holding it came apart during a strong receding tide, the Directorate General of Shipping said today. During the strong "ebb tide" on Saturday (full moon day), the anchor wires holding the vessel afloat were parted. "Fortunately the vessel was manoeuvred safely out of port without damage to other vessels or blocking the channel," a release issued here by the DGS said, adding that MSC Chitra has been moved to a location about 30 nautical miles north of the entrance of Mumbai Port.

Having partially submerged after an accident in August last year, MSC Chitra was refloated only nine days earlier on March 10 and being prepared to be taken to the Alang ship-breaking yard, the DGS said. During the nine days that it was refloated, it was placed on four point moorings while at its new location, salvors were working with two tugs and one salvage barge to ensure safety of the vessel, it added. The salvors are working again to prepare the vessel for beaching at Alang, it said.

MSC Chitra had collided with the in-bound M V Khalija on August 7 last year while exiting the Mumbai harbour, leading to heavy damage to port operations. After the collision the vessel started taking in water and settled on a shallow patch within Mumbai Port Trust, listed heavily and partly submerged.

March 22,2011
PTI

In the continued absence of ship breakers from Bangladesh from market, both India and Pakistan are proving to valuable outlets for cash buyers and owners alike.

New India Assurance asked to pay for ship wreck loss

The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of New India Assurance Company which had rejected the claim of a ship-breaking firm for compensation. The firm bought a Belgian vessel and was bringing it from Singapore on its ‘funeral voyage’ to Alang port in Gujarat for demolition. It wrecked on way in high seas due to bad weather.

The ship was covered by marine insurance and the ship-breaker invoked the policy. The insurer rejected the claim leading to litigation in the consumer forum.

The National Consumer Commission asked the insurance company to pay Rs 14 crore with 9 per cent interest to Priya Blue Industries, the scrap dealer in ships. However, the insurer appealed to the Supreme Court.

It ruled that the loss suffered due to the ship wreck was properly assessed by the surveyors and the commission order was correct.

M J Antony
Business Standard
April 04, 2011

Shipbreaking in Bangladesh

Bangladesh ship breakers have got an interim High Court (HC) order issued in their favour on February 27, 2011. The order says, ship import should not be stopped and sought suggestions from parties concerned to facilitate procurement of old scrap vessels.

Sitakundu in Chittagong emerged as the world's largest ship-breaking destination as Bangladeshi importers had beaten their competitors in India and Pakistan to buy the highest number of scrap vessels sold in the international market during 2007, 2008 and 2009 period.

The active ship breaking yards in Sitakundu, 20 kilometres north of the port city Chittagong, dismantled more than 130 ships in 2007.

Bangladesh used to dismantle nearly 50 per cent of the ships sent to scrap-yards across the globe.

Intelligence Raids Reveals Alang Remains a Fake Document Factory

2011-01-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

Press Release

Intelligence Raids Reveals Alang Remains a Fake Document Factory

Dilution of Central Excise Intelligence Opposed

Import of hazardous substances, a Global Threat

New Delhi 7/1/2011: ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) welcomes the notification of Director General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), Union Ministry of Finance seeking change in system of invoicing by ship breakers at Alang, Gujarat to ensure more transparency. This Public Notice No. 01/2010 dated on 26/7/2010 vindicates TWA’s allegations about non-transparency in Alang. The document is attached.

Notably, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence functions under the Central Board of Excise and Customs in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue has taken note of "problems such as import of hazardous substances that will occupy centre stage in the future as the emerging global threats." In such a context, the notification assumes huge significance as it will end up helping systematic quantification of material flow and help detect and segregate goods of hazardous nature.

On 23rd December, 2010, Mr Raju, Commissioner, Central Excise, Bhavnagar issued a Press Note (attached) referring to “ a number of cases of Revenue leakage in Alang against Ship Breakers of Alang, who fraudulently passed on Cenvat Credit worth crores of Rupees. They were also not showing production, clearance, transportation and Service Tax related information in their statutory records. The investigations are going on and some notices have been issued by ADG (CEI). In order to curb these malpractices, the Public Notice No. 02/2010 was issued on 13.12.2010 by the Central Excise Commissionerate, Bhavnagar. The public notice requires them to maintain certain records which would make it difficult for those who choose to evade duties by clandestine clearances.” The Press Note says that “ around 100-150 persons came to Central Excise, Head Quarters office, Bhavnagar and informed that they were from the Alang Ship Breaking Association”, “they continued shouting slogans and fearing damage to public property, and a as matter of abundant precaution, police force was called to ensure peace and security of the Government office”.

In such a backdrop, TWA has learnt that under pressure due to strike, now DGCEI decided to put the notification seeking change in system of invoicing by the ship breakers for transparency, in abeyance for one month after the intervention of Chief Commissioner, Ahmedabad. The TWA opposes any amendment in the notification and demands that the notification of 13.12.2010 be enforced rigorously both in letter and spirit because it is in compliance of the Supreme Court’s order in the hazardous wastes/shipbreaking case. Most ship breakers who are law abiding support this notification. The case is listed for hearing on 21st January, 2011.

It is noteworthy that Office of the Commissioner of Central Excise & Service Tax, Bhavnagar, Department of Revenue, Union Ministry of Finance issued on 26/7/2010, a Public Notice No. 01/2010 saying, “It has been brought to the notice of this Commissionerate that the Ship Breaking Units situated in Alang, Sosiya and other areas falling within its jurisdiction are not issuing their Central Excise invoices by declaring correct value and description of the scrap, plates etc generated as a result of their manufacturing activities. Investigations recently initiated by Director General of Central Excise Intelligence, Ahmedabad Zonal Unit revealed that the documentation and procedures followed by the ship breaking units are suffering from several infirmities resulting in substantial loss of Government Revenue.” As per power conferred under Central Excise Rules, 2002, it said, “All ship breaking units are directed to discontinue their present system of mentioning general description of ship breaking materials in their invoices. They should declare the correct and full description of the goods...”

For the first time since 14th October, 2003, in compliance of the Supreme Court order, this Public Notice seeks proper inventory saying, “Ship breaking units are also directed that as soon as they complete dismantling and clearance of materials obtained from each imported ship, vessel or any other floating structure, they should submit a statement to the jurisdictional Range Superintendent indicating the LDT of the imported ship, nature of the imported ship [cargo, passenger, tanker etc], total quantity of scrap of each metal obtained and cleared, total quantity of plates of each metal and different sizes [thickness] obtained and cleared, total quantity of each item of non-excisable goods obtained and cleared [wood, furniture, old engine, machinery, stores etc.], and the percentage difference of total weight of goods and materials obtained and cleared vis-a-vis the LDT of the imported ship etc.”

Earlier, the four-day-long strike by ship breakers at Alang happened to protest this notification asking for a ship-wise break-up of material obtained from dismantled vessels. The notification was issued in July 2010 and ship-breakers were asked to periodically submit details of excisable and non-excisable items obtained from the ships they bring for scraping. Ship-breakers were told to maintain ship-to-ship stock register. At present, ship-breakers submit details goods-wise, and not ship-wise. The notification was issued after a multi-crore excise duty evasion ''racket'' at Alang came to light. The ship breakers were allegedly hiding value addition to scrap and were inflating the quantity of items exempted from excise duty. The strike ended on 31st December, 2010 evening after the representatives of ship-breakers met officials of central excise and other departments. The work at Alang yard was resumed on 1st January, 2011. Ship breaking at Alang came to a halt on December 21, 2010 remained suspended for four days in protest of the notification.

Earlier, the Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC) on Ship breaking, Union Ministry of Steel noted in the minutes of its meeting dated 17th September, 2010 that “The Coast Guard representative brought out some security concerns and incidents of communication sets from ships reportedly finding their way to the local fisherman. It was advised to the Ship recyclers to ensure that such equipment are immediately destroyed by the Customs as per the prescribed procedures. The Chairman also advised the Naval, Coast Guard and GMB to regularly interact as per the decisions taken in the earlier IMC meetings and to resolve the major security issues in the Coastal Security Committee meetings conducted at the State Level.”

In its minute dated 4th February 2009, the IMC noted the Security Concerns, saying, “Both the representative of the Coast Guard and the representative from Naval HQ raised concerns over the entry of ships carrying hazardous cargo to Alang for ship breaking and how no information is made available to them regarding the movement of ships to Alang. Besides this there was no information regarding whether the Alang Port is compliant with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. In the context of the present security concerns in the country, the Chairman advised the representative of the Ministry of Shipping, the GMB officials, the Coast Guard representative and the Naval HQs to address the issue expeditiously so that the security gaps are taken care of and also to verify whether the port at Alang has implemented the ISPS codes. The Coast Guard representative and the Naval HQ representative also expressed apprehensions that the vessels coming in for beaching sometimes ply very close to the oil rigs, which could be a potential for accidents.”

It also mentions that the Chairman of the IMC “directed that the Ministry of Shipping may organize a meeting on the matter with GMB, Naval HQ and Coast Guard HQ, Custom etc. immediately and ensure that gaps in the security frame-work issues are addressed immediately.” No action has been taken so far to plug the existing the loop holes.

On the issue of radioactive materials raised by TWA, it observes, “Regarding report of a huge quantity of Smoke Detectors containing radioactive material lying in the Plots at Alang, the AERB informed that due to large volume of non-radioactive materials contained in the smoke detectors, it is difficult for them to accept the material in the present shape for disposal at the BARC facility.” The issue remains unresolved so far.

Even as the Union Steel Ministry is seized with the issue of 58 page Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling prepared in compliance of the Supreme Court's order dated September 6, 2007 to improve the situation, death toll of migrant workers from Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and Orissa in Alang underlines the fact of non-improvement on the Alang beach. In the year 2010 alone, some 20 workers have died while at work. Most of the workers are poor migrants work in a hazardous and toxic working environment. Meanwhile, the ongoing contamination of once pristine Alang beach is yet to see the sight of any effort to remediate the site and take the hazardous industrial activity off the beach, away from coastal environment. Alang is a litmus test for government’s sensitivity towards country’s environmental borders in which it has failed miserably so far.

While such state of affairs prevails, 348 ships were dismantled without complying with environmental and occupational health regulations and Supreme Court’s order in 2010. Since 1983, Alang has so far dismantled 5,200 ships. There are a total of 127 private ship-breaking plots at Alang. The theft of excise duty has been going on for a very long time.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com, Web: imowatch.blogspot.com

Central govt acts tough, shipbreakers go on strike in Alang

2010-12-23T08:10:00.000-08:00

The strike by shipbreakers in Alang has brought shipbreaking activities to a halt from 21st December with the ship-breakers protesting a notification issued by Central Excise (CE), Government of India that seeks a ship-wise break-up. The strike has continued for the third day.

The strike by ship-breakers is an attempt to pressurize the the central government. They protesting on the grounds that as they dismantled more than one ship at a time, it was not possible to furnish ship-wise details of material obtained.

This notification was issued on 26 July, 2010 where ship-breakers were asked to periodically give details of excisable and non-excisable items obtained from the ships they bring for scraping. This was after CE's intelligence wing had found large scale duty evasion by some ship breakers who used to inflate the quantity of non-excisable items.

ToxicsWatch Alliance feels that the excise officials are right in saying that the ship-breakers were not complying with all the requirements of the notification.

The Central Excise duties are the largest source of revenue for the country. Approximately 30% of the total revenue receipts are collected from Central Excise duties. The levy and collection of Central Excise duties is under the authority of Central Excise Act, 1944. Section 3 provides for the levy and collection of Central Excise duty.

The rate and amount of duty as well as the items on which duties are levied are those which are indicated in the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and the schedule therein. The taxable event for Central Excise duty as per Section 3 of CEA (Central Excise Act) 1944 is the manufacture or production of goods.

It means that Central Excise duty is leviable as soon as the goods are manufactured or produced. The items on which the excise duty is levied are known as excisable goods.

For the purpose of administrative convenience the actual collection of duty is done at the time of removal of goods from the place of manufacture of production. The rate of duty, which is levied, is the rate of duty applicable to such goods or which is in force at the time of actual removal.

Shipbreakers face raid by Economic Intelligence Wing

2010-12-04T00:30:00.000-08:00

ToxicsWatch Alliance expresses its appreciation for the notification issued by Director General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), Government of India seeking ship-wise break-up of material obtained from dismantled vessels. This notification is in compliance of the Supreme Court's order which has been flouted for quite a while.

DGCEI has unearthed a multi-crore duty evasion at Alang. The ship breakers have been hiding value addition to scrap and were inflating the quantity of items exempted from excise duty.
Alang has been under the scanner of the DGCEI for massive evasion of excise duty and issuing fake Cenvat invoices.

The industry has been involved in this scam along with furnace units. Its a scam of Rs 150 crore - 200 crore a year.

A search operation was conducted by Ahmedabad zonal unit of DGCEI at 18 premises belonging to 11 major industrial groups engaged in ship-breaking in Alang. The operation resulted in recovery of incriminating documents pointing towards large-scale under-valuation of excise duty as well as issuing of fake Cenvat invoices. Alang for long has reputation of being a fake document factory.

DGCEI estimates that the ship-breaking units evade excise duty and other taxes by undervaluing their scrap by over 30%. Fake Cenvat invoices were issued without actual movement of scrap to enable their buyers avail fraudulent Cenvat credit of duty. The scrap recovered from ship-breaking is mostly used by re-rolling units, which avail SSI exemption, and do not require Cenvat invoices. Many induction furnace units across the country do not avail SSI exemption and require Cenvat invoices for input credit of duty.

"The invoices and goods of ship-breaking units of Alang are traded separately and that too at a premium. The scrap generated is delivered to re-rolling units, while Cenvat invoices are sold to furnace units without movement of goods," explained DGCEI officials.

The notification has been enforced after officials at Director General of Central Excise Intelligence noticed that except for a few units, most ship-breakers were ready to comply with the new rule.

Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) is the apex intelligence organization functioning under the Central Board of Excise & Customs, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, entrusted with detection of cases of evasion of duties of Central Excise and Service Tax. The Directorate General is headed by Director General. The role of the Directorate General in tackling the menace of duty evasion is manifold. It develops intelligence, especially in new areas of tax evasion through its intelligence network across the country and disseminates information in this respect, by issuing Modus Operandi Circulars and Alert Circulars to appraise field formations of the latest trends in duty evasion. Wherever found necessary, this Directorate General on its own, or in co-ordination with field formations, organises operations to unearth evasion of central excise duty and service tax. In 2004, DGCEI was entrusted with the work of detecting evasion in service tax.

Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI) was earlier known as Directorate General of Anti-Evasion (DGAE). It was established in the year 1979 as an independent wing under the control of Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, New Delhi with regional units located at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. It became a full-fledged Directorate in 1983 headed by a Director. In 1988, the Directorate was upgraded to Directorate General under a Director General with four Zonal Units located at Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai headed by Additional Director General.

The Directorate General was expanded in the year 2000 with the setting up of a number of Regional Units under the respective Zonal Units and was renamed as DGCEI. DGCEI was re-strengthened in the year 2002 with the addition of two more Zones at Ahmedabad and Bangalore. At present DGCEI, with its Headquarters at New Delhi, has 6 Zonal Units and 18 Regional Units.

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence functions under the Central Board of Excise and Customs in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue has taken note of "problems such as import of hazardous substances that will occupy centre stage in the future as the emerging global threats."

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in its present form is a lean organisation charged essentially with the collection of intelligence, its analysis, collation, interpretation and dissemination on matters relating to violations of customs laws, and to a lesser extent, anti-narcotics law. In order to ensure effective discharge of its responsibilities, DRI maintains close liaison with all the important enforcement agencies in India like the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Income-Tax department, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Control Bureau, Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Border Security Force, Central Bureau of Investigation, Coast Guard, the State Police authorities and also with all the Customs and Central Excise Commissionerates. It also maintains close liaison with the World Customs Organisation, Brussels, the Regional Intelligence Liaison Office at Tokyo, INTERPOL and foreign Customs Administrations.

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence functions under the Central Board of Excise and Customs in the Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue. Headed by Director General in New Delhi, it is presently divided into seven zones, each under the charge of an Additional Director General, and further sub-divided into Regional Units, Sub-Regional Units and Intelligence Cells with a complement of Additional Directors, Joint Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors, Senior Intelligence Officers and Intelligence Officers.

More information about the raid by DGCEI, New Delhi on shipbreakers of Alang to follow shortly.

Alang’s death yard breaking news again

2010-10-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

LAST WEEK 28-year-old Janardhan Choudhary became this year’s 24th fatality at the world’s largest ship-breaking yard in Alang, Gujarat. Local NGOs, however, claim that the figure is more than double that.

Such deaths have been routinely ignored by vessel owners and officials of the regulator, the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB). But this time the news reached the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on ship-breaking, a wing of the steel ministry. And soon the Prime Minister’s Office was seeking details of the case from Dalip Singh, joint secretary at the ministry, about how the IMC planned to handle the crisis.

Central to the issue is the ministry draft code on safe ship recycling that was prepared following a Supreme Court order three years ago, but which vessel owners continue to pass over. A top GMB official rubbished the charges, claiming that the deaths had been meticulously reported by the board. “We do push ship-breakers to comply with all the regulations. But accidents can always happen,” GMB vice-chairman Pankaj Kumar said over the telephone.

Sources say 50-70 workers die every year at Alang. Alarmed, a Central government team led by Singh and S Machendranathan, additional secretary and financial adviser to the steel ministry, visited Alang last month and issued strict directions to the GMB and the ship-breakers to improve the working and living conditions of the roughly 5,000 workers at the yard.

Earlier this year, Okechukwu Ibeanu of the UN Human Rights Council, a special rapporteur on the baneful impact of the movement and dumping of toxic and hazardous products, had been shocked to see the appalling conditions in which the workers at Alang lived.

There are also concerns over environmental damage — about the reportedly chaotic manner in which beaching, cutting and shipbreaking in the inter-tidal zone are done. “It has long been obvious to experts that in such a zone these can never be done without harming the environment,” says Gopal Krishna of ToxicsWatch Alliance that works closely with the workers at Alang.

According to him, it is simply not possible to contain pollutants on a tidal beach where hulls of ships are often breached, or toxic paints erode, releasing organic pollutants, heavy metals and oils onto the beach and into the sea. But the ship-breakers have a different take on this. “The wet sand surface makes it impossible to install emergency gear in the hull,” argues Pravin Nagarsheth, president, Iron and Steel Scrap Association of India.

Now what does the regulator have to say on that?

Source: Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 43, Dated October 30, 2010

Code of conduct for ship-breaking yards
Kunal Bose / October 26, 2010
Business Standard

The other day in a stormy evening, three workers at a ship breaking yard at Sitakundu in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh were crushed to death as a heavy steel plate fell on them. In nearly past two decades, no less than 500 workers were killed in accidents while at work at Sitakundu, home to the world’s second largest ship breaking yard after Alang along the Arabian Sea coast in Gujarat. This Bangladeshi toll is exclusive of many deaths, mostly unrecorded, caused by handling of hazardous waste materials and emission of toxic fumes.

Arguably, the scene at Alang was equally despicable till the Supreme Court started issuing orders to the government to ensure the safety, health and welfare of ship-breaking workers. The ministry of steel, again under the court directive, is formulating a code of conduct for the yards incorporating the recommendations of a committee of technical experts. A common problem of India and Bangladesh is that in spite court directives, ship-breaking yards, which were a law unto themselves till some time ago, are still prone to breaking rules. That’s why workers get killed or injured at yards not infrequently and areas in and around Alang and Sitakundu remain dangerously polluted. The scene is no different at Pakistan’s Gadani ship-breaking yard either.

NGOs and environment activists would want such yards to be shut. But since condemned ships are a good source of clean ferrous scrap good for direct rerolling into new steel products, governments of the three countries would rather subject yard owners in boundaries of discipline than go for yard closure. A Bangladeshi minister has made the government’s policy choice clear by saying that “our closing down the ship-breaking yard will turn the country into a market for foreign ironmongers. We are trying to create a separate zone for the industry in line with the prime minister’s directive.” India looks at the ship-breaking industry more or less in the same way.

According to G K Basak, executive secretary of Joint Plant Committee of the steel ministry, of India’s annual requirements of up to 12 million tonnes of ferrous scrap, as much as 3.5 million tonnes this year will come from dismantled ships, against 3 million tonnes in 2009-10. The generation of good quality rerollable steel in large quantities when ocean going ships are beached and dismantled underpins the importance of ship-breaking industry, its present pitfalls notwithstanding. While scrap steel originating in ships is the favoured feedstock for many rerolling units here, nearly 200 rerollers in Bangladesh depend heavily on about 2 million scrap generated at Sitakundu. Gadani generated over 850,000 tonnes of scrap last year for use by Pakistan’s rerolling industry.

Over 65 per cent of steel recovered from a condemned ship comes good for rerolling. But why so? This is because rerolling of ship plates require reheating of only up to 1,000 degree centigrade and that greatly restricts scale formation. Ship steel, as rerollers say, has fine grains giving it a good corrosion resistance character. A steel ministry paper says shapes and sections rerolled from ship steel are largely immune from physical defects like seams, internal cracks and furnace burns. Rebars made from low ductility ship steel lend themselves well to intensive cold twisting. Ship steel not found good for rerolling goes for melting.

Roughly 45,000 ocean going ships are floating on waters and each year up to 1,000 ships are beached. Ships remain seaworthy for up to 25 years. But there is a general tendency among ship owners to keep their vessels afloat beyond their useful life when the freight market stays buoyant. Like other sectors, freight market bore the burden of both financial crisis followed by downturn in world trade. Baltic main index continues to behave erratically. Shipping will always be impacted by what happens to the global economy, for nearly 90 per cent of traded goods globally are transported by sea.

In any case, at all times the three countries in this sub-continent will remain locked in competition to buy old ships. Ship-breaking, though it has a murky past, has an important bearing on the coastal economy of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It is a highly labour intensive operation providing jobs to both skilled and unskilled workers. The units at Alang accounting for over 90 per cent of the industry, provide employment to over a lakh of people. More than the revenue consideration for the government, what is important is that to the extent ship steel is generated and recycled either through rerollers or furnaces leads to conservation of iron ore, coal and energy.

This industry cannot be wished away. But at the same time strict vigilance of the work of ship breakers is called for. The government should also nudge them to use modern fuel based torches, mechanical cutters, detonation charges for handling very thick metal and cranes for transfer of steel and other materials. Why should the workers be pressured to carry heavy metal plates endangering their lives? Every time a ship is to be broken, it must have a comprehensive dismantling plan from the superstructure to the hull.

SOUTH ASIAN SCRAPPING BEACH UNDER SCRUTINY BY U.S. OFFICIALS

2010-10-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

BP’s SCHEME TO DUMP TOXIC SHIP ON SOUTH ASIAN SCRAPPING BEACH UNDER SCRUTINY BY U.S. OFFICIALS

28 October 2010. Seattle, USA. – According to the toxic watchdog organization Basel Action Network (BAN), a U.S. flagged oil tanker named Prince William Sound, one that is part owned by BP and formerly was used to haul BP oil, is about to be sold for scrapping on the notorious shipbreaking beaches in South Asia. The ship, built in 1975 and whose namesake and owner are all too familiar reminders of recent environmental disasters, is likely to contain toxic wastes such as asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other hazardous substances, and as such poses a threat to workers and the environment should it be exported to a developing country.

The vessel is reportedly moored now in a BP shipping depot in Malaysia, and its transfer is imminent. If the U.S. government fails to quickly intervene, the ship could be run up on the beaches of India, Bangladesh or Pakistan within days, where impoverished laborers break down ships by hand, subjecting them to explosions, accidents and occupational disease from exposure to toxic substances. This “beaching” method of scrapping ships is also devastating to local environments due to pollution and mangrove forest destruction undertaken to make room for the ships.

According to officials at the United States Maritime Administration (MARAD), the sale must first be approved by them based in part by a determination by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the export will not violate the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) or other environmental laws. They have been notified by the ship’s owners (it is 25% owned by BP) of their intent to sell the vessel for scrap to a cash-buyer, a middleman who allows companies like BP to both sidestep controversy and avoid direct sales to Asian shipbreaking yards and also make a large profit by avoiding responsible and more expensive ship recycling in the U.S. or another developed country.

“BP is proving once again a callous disregard for people and the environment,” said BAN’s Green Ship Recycling Campaign Director, Colby Self. “The EPA and MARAD must step in now and prevent what could be another BP-sponsored environmental disaster.”

Unlike BP, Chevron opted this year to recycle two of its tankers in Brownsville, Texas, in accordance with strict U.S. environmental and labor protection laws. Chevron’s environmentally responsible ship disposal decisions in 2010 generated U.S. green recycling jobs at a time when U.S. jobs are much needed.

Due to the year of construction, the Prince William Sound likely contains PCBs, asbestos of other hazardous materials within its construction. The EPA has noted, “Although no longer commercially produced in the United States, PCBs are most likely to be present in vessels deployed before the 1979 PCB ban." [1] The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), in force since 1979, prohibits the export of PCB contaminated material for disposal purposes. However, the U.S. EPA has long struggled to enforce TSCA against shipping industry violators, particularly when vessels operate outside U.S. waters and beyond EPA jurisdiction.

MARAD is required by law to authorize the foreign scrapping and reflagging to foreign registry of all U.S. flagged vessels; but in past years, BAN’s protests have revealed that MARAD’s review neglected to consider the potential violation of laws that were enforceable by agencies outside MARAD’s jurisdiction. As a result, many U.S. vessels were reflagged and sold or scrapped abroad in violation of TSCA. Now, MARAD and EPA have established a new process of review in which MARAD seeks EPA judgment to ensure compliance with TSCA prior to any reflagging or foreign scrapping authorization.

“The new Maritime Administration should be applauded for promising to more carefully monitor ship sales to prevent violations of U.S. environmental laws,” said Mr. Self. “But this is the test case. It’s time to take a stand and uphold environmental and labor protection laws for everyone, everywhere. We urge MARAD and EPA to halt this sale as a matter of urgency.”

For more information, contact:

Mr. Colby Self
Green Ship Recycling Campaign Director
Basel Action Network
+001 206 250 5652

[1] National Guidance: Best Management Practices for Preparing Vessels Intended to Create Artificial Reefs, http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/habitat/artificialreefs/documents/pcb.pdf

Death of a Alang Worker & New Draft Code on Safe Ship Breaking/Recycling

2010-10-17T02:43:00.000-07:00

To

Dr Dalip Singh
Joint Secretary
Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Shipbreaking
Ministry of Steel
Government of India
New Delhi

Subject-Death of Alang Worker & New Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Breaking/Recycling

Dear Sir,

This is with reference to the death of Janardhan Choudhary, a 28 year old ship breaking worker, working in M/s Bansal Infra Co. Ltd. at yard no.154 Alang Shipbreaking yard, who died as a result of a fatal accident at work on October 12, 2010 at about 3.00 pm.

While he was working as a helper, scrap material from the ship fell down in the open wing tank manhole of the ship. He was shifted to hospital at Bhavnagar, 50 kms away from Alang and Sosiya ship breaking yards, where he died. Janardhan was a migrant labour from Siddhartha Nagar, an impoverished district of Uttar Pradesh. Why is the hospital 50 km away?. Does Ministry of Steel's Draft Code on Safe Ship Recycling address it adequately? Why has Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) not been held accountable for its acts of omission and commission and why its structural competence to supervise secondary steel production through ship recycling has not been examined so far.

Even as the Steel Ministry is seized with the issue of 58 page Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling prepared in compliance of the Supreme Court's order dated September 6, 2007 to improve the situation, each such death underlines the fact of non-improvement on the Alang beach. Since January 2010 alone, 17 workers have died while at work. Most of the workers are poor migrants from poor areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh and Jharkhand and work for meagre wages in a hazardous and toxic working environment. Approximately 50 workers per year are killed on the Alang beach.

I wish to congratulate the central government’s team led by Mr S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser and you for having visited Alang Beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat on 17th September, 2010. The death of workers after your visit demonstrates the significance of such an initiative.

IMC’s site visit under Mr Machendranathan merits appreciation for it has issued strict directions to GMB and Shipbreakers to sort out the issue of housing facilities for workers in the shipbreaking industry within three months. Such sensitivity on the part of IMC is rare and environmental and labour groups are encouraged to expect similar action in the matter of enviro-occupational hazards.

Prior to your visit in Alang, there was a visit by Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, UN Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights. I wish to draw your attention towards the statement of the UN Special Rapporteur after his visit to India. Prof. Ibeanu during his 10-day mission, from 11 to 21 January 2010, assessed the progress made by the country in minimising the adverse effects that hazardous activities, such as shipbreaking have on the human rights of countless individuals working in these sectors or living close to the places where these activities take place. He visited a number of shipbreaking yards as well. His statement is attached.

Prof. Ibeanu has noted that in India, ships are currently dismantled on the beach, a method commonly referred to as “beaching”, and its actual impact on the surrounding environment and the livelihood of local communities relying on agriculture and fishing for their subsistence continues to be debated. “In order to ascertain the environmental impact of the shipbreaking industry, I recommend that an independent study be carried out to assess the actual and potential adverse effects that may be caused by the discharge of hazardous material into the natural environment, as well as the level of risk”, he said.

On behalf of the ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA), I had accompanied the UN Special Rappartour and Stefano Sensi, Human Rights Officer, UN Human Rights Council during their visit.

The Special Rapporteur has finally noted that he was “shocked by the extremely poor conditions in which most workers live in Alang and Mumbai”. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers live in makeshift facilities lacking basic sanitation facilities, electricity and even safe drinking water. “I call on Governmental authorities to provide appropriate plots of lands, and facilitate the construction of adequate housing facilities for those who work in the yards. Adequate sanitation and drinking water facilities should also be put in place”. His report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

As you are aware I have been in correspondence with the Steel Ministry and other concerned ministries. This letter is with reference to the current ship breaking/ recycling matters. I wish to draw your attention towards five specific issues:-

1. Having read the Chapter 10 of Annual Report of the Steel Ministry pertaining to shipbreaking and the minutes of the IMC meetings, I wish to submit that the minutes of IMC meeting held after 5.10.2009 are not available on the ministry's website as yet.

2. Although Hon'ble Supreme Court through its order dated October 14, 2003 mentions that an Inter-Ministerial Committee be set up for ship breaking comprising of labour and environmental organisations besides members of Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ministry of Labour, Gujarat Maritime Board, Gujarat State Pollution Control Board, Central Pollution Control Board, Steel Scrap and Ship breakers Association etc, the same has not been done so far. More than 6 years have passed since the setting up of IMC but it has not invited workers and environmental groups to make their presentations and testimonies.

3. Although there is need for further modifications in the 58 page Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling, having studied the Draft it is matter of relief that Ministry of Steel is making sincere efforts to comply with the Supreme Court order of 14th October, 2003 and 6th September 2007 to protect the fragile coastal environment of Alang Beach and the most vulnerable workers involved in the shipbreaking activity. While I will send a detailed comment on the Draft Code, I wish to submit few very crucial issues for your consideration.

In Chapter 3 of the Code at Section 3.1.2 there is mention of "dry dock" method for ship recycling among others. And in Chapter 6 of the Code at Section 6.6.1 (a) there is reference to Coastal Regulation Zone-1991 which has decreed the following regulation on 19th February 1991 under the reference Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, “For regulating development activities, the coastal stretches within 500 metres of the high tide line of the landward side are classified into 4 categories. Paragraph 2 of the Notification lists out the 'Prohibited activities and exceptions' The activities declared as prohibited within the CRZ, namely, Para 2 (ii) states, " manufacture, handling, storage or disposal of hazardous substances as specified in the 'Notifications of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests' No. S.O. 594 (E) dated 28th July 1989, S.O. 996 (E) dated 27th November 1989 and G.S.R. 1037 (E) dated 5th December 1989. Para 2 (v) states, “discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries, cities towns and other human settlements."

It has been obvious to the vast majority of ship recycling experts and waste management authorities that the methodless process of “beaching" whereby ships are run aground on beaches for cutting and breaking apart in the intertidal zone can never be accomplished in a manner which is environmentally sound or protective of human health. Careful analysis of the intrinsic characteristics of beaching operations are conclusive that no amount of prescriptive improvements or protections can remedy the four fatal characteristics of intertidal beaching operations:

First there is the impossibility of containing pollutants on a tidal beach where hulls of ships are often breached accidentally or by cutting, or toxic paints erode or are abraded sending persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals and oils onto the beach and into the seawater;

Second, due to a shifting and soft wet tidal sand surface, there is the impossibility of rapidly bringing emergency response equipment, including fire-fighting equipment and vehicles, ambulances and cranes along side the ship, to assist or remove persons hurt inside the hull;

Third, the impossibility of allowing cranes to work alongside to lift heavy cut sections of a ship and thereby preventing heavy cut sections from being subject to gravity, shifting or falling directly into workers or into the marine environment; and

Fourthly, there is the absolute incompatibility of conducting hazardous waste management operations (which is what they are as long as ships contain hazardous wastes, in the ecologically delicate and vital coastal zone.

These fatal flaws of the beaching operations inevitably will result in causing avoidable death and pollution. No amount of band-aid guidelines and criteria can cure the malignancy inherent in beaching operations. To expect prevention of adverse effects to human health and the environment from massive toxic ships on an intertidal beach already makes the fulfillment of such objective impossible.

The worst outcome is that by not drawing a clear line at the outset, this fatally flawed beaching operation will get legitimized, millions might be spent into trying to mitigate the inherently inappropriate and dangerous working platform and the Code will have succeeded in perpetuating death and pollution for many years to come.

4. In the Draft Code there is reference to IMO Convention on Ship Recycling, I wish to submit that a vast body of civil society environmental, development human rights, and labor organizations besides the ship breaking industry itself have come together to condemn this Convention as a historical failure, if it cannot muster the political courage to cease the scandalous pretense that scrapping aged ships containing hazardous wastes and oils on ocean beaches in the intertidal zone might be somehow a viable way to achieve the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships.

The Draft Code and its planners cannot remain “method neutral” as such a statement is “science deficient” in the matter of beaching operations. Such a stance of the Draft Code is morally deficient -- for to be “method neutral” is to be neutral on actual matters of life and death. How many of these deaths could have been prevented were proper equipment such as cranes, fire fighting vehicles, and ambulances been made accessible to the fallen workers?

The fact that countries such as Norway, member States of the EU, the USA, and Japan can pretend that this method is viable is in fact the height of hypocrisy, as such operations would be banned in those countries in an instant for violations of coastal zone management laws, occupational safety and health laws, and hazardous waste management laws.

The Code must include the following text:-"Ship Recycling Facilities authorized by the concerned government agency shall establish and utilize procedures to ensure that ship recycling operations taking place on intertidal flats, or ocean beaches or other working platforms which prevent: rapid access to ships by emergency equipment; the ability to utilize cranes and lifting equipment at all times alongside vessels; and the possibility of full containment of pollutants during all cutting and stripping operations, are prohibited";

Additionally, the Code's Safety Health Environment (SHE) policy should include provisions for technical assistance to GMB with an aim to direct funds toward phasing-out beaching based ship breaking operations and replacing it with dockside, slip, or dry dock platforms as a matter of urgency and responsibility. "Dry dock" does find mention in the draft Code as well.

5. I wish to draw your attention towards the unpardonable and unacceptable act of rampant forgery of documents in the ship breaking industry. The matter of dumping of Platinum II (MV Oceanic, SS Independence), a US ship on fabricated documents illustrated it in the most explicit way. Pursuant to my earlier communications, I got a letter from Director, Union Ministry of Environment & Forests dated 16 December, 2009 in response to my letter dated 10th December, 2009 "regarding "Platinum -II" raising certain issues relating to the ownership and port of registry of the ships arriving at Alang for breaking purposes."

I had argued that most of the ships which entered Indian waters post September 6, 2007 order of the Supreme Court in likelihood came on fake documents. Director, Union Ministry of Environment & Forests wrote to me, "Since Ministry of Steel is the nodal Ministry for shipbreaking activities in the country, your representation has been forwarded to the Ministry of Steel (copy enclosed for ready reference)." I wish to know whether there has been any probe in the matter of ships that have entered Indian waters on fake documents in general and in the particular case of Platinum –II.

6. The Draft Code does not take cognisance of the fact that Basel Convention on was signed by India on 15th March, 1990 and ratified on 24th June, 1992. In keeping with the same, the Code should refer to the recommendations of High Powered Committee headed by Prof. M G K Menon, incorporate Basel Convention's Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management of the Full and Partial Dismantling of Ships (attached), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)'s Technical Guidelines on Ship breaking and reproduce the ship breaking specific directions of the Supreme Court dated 14th October, 2003 (repeated ad verbatim in the 6th September, 2007 order).

The apex court's order reads, "(16) At the international level, India should participate in international meetings on ship-breaking at the level of the International Maritime Organisation and the Basel Convention's Technical Working Group with a clear mandate for the decontamination of ships of their hazardous sub-stances such as asbestos, waste oil, gas and PCBs, prior to export to India for breaking." One of the fourteen Terms of Reference on which the High Powered Committee was to give its report and recommendations "Decontamination of ships before they are exported to India for breaking.” The apex court's order endorsed Basel Convention. (Order is attached)

The CPCB states in its 'Environmental Guidelines for Shipbreaking industries', "Old vessels containing or contaminated with substances such as PCBs, waste asbestos dust and fibre, lead and lead compounds are accordingly classified as hazardous materials. The customs authority and /or the concerned State Maritime Board should ensure this and issue a certificate to this effect that the vessel is free from prohibited materials." So far IMC has not been able to make Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) comply with such guidelines.

I have learnt that GMB misled this Supreme Court’s Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Ship breaking into visiting Alang Beach on a holiday because 17th September was a Vishwkarma Puja Day, a holiday to assess the workers living and working condition. In the aftermath of the workers death on October 12, GMB and other concerned agencies must be made to face exemplary punishment

In view of the beleaguered marine environment of the beaches and desperate workers,
I am hopeful of a positive outcome from the deliberations of the IMC.

While the vital steps that I have proposed will be helpful, you may refer to relevant case laws at: http://www.basel.int/ships/relevcaselaw.html as well.

I will be glad to share more information. I will send a detailed comment on the 58 Draft Code shortly.

Thanking you

warm regards
Gopal Krishna
Convener
ToxicsWatch Alliance
Focal Point, Platform on Shipbreaking
Ban Asbestos Network of India (BANI)
New Delhi
Mb: 9818089660
Skype id: witnesskrishna
E-mail: krishna2777@gmail.com
Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com
Web: www.toxicswatch.com

Cc/

Shri S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser, Ministry of Steel
Sh L Siddhartha Singh, Director, Ministry of Steel
Dr Saroj, Director, Ministry of Environment & Forests

Yet Another Worker dies at Alang Beach

2010-10-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

Since January 2010, 17 workers died at work at Alang beach. Most of the workers are poor migrants from poor areas of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand and Gujarat and work for meagre wages in a hazardous and toxic working environment.

Janardhan Choudhary, a 28 year old ship breaking worker, working in M/s Bansal Infra Co. Ltd. at yard no.154 Alang Shipbreaking yard, died as a result of a fatal accident at work on October 12, 2010 at about 3.00 pm.

While he was working as a Malpani (helper), scrap material from the ship fell down in the open wing tank manhole of the ship. He was shifted to hospital at Bhavnagar, 50 kms away from Alang and Sosiya ship breaking yards, where he died. Janardhan is a migrant labour from Siddhartha Nagar, an impoverished district of Uttar Pradesh. He is married and his family stays at his native place.

Mr. Ram Patel, Vice President of Alang Sosiya Ship Recycling & General Workers Association (ASSRGWA) along with colleagues rushed to the hospital.

The ASSRGWA demanded strict action against the employer and the Labour Department for non-enforcement of safety measures on the yards statutory compensation and dues to the family members of the deceased worker.

The ship breaking industry in Alang and Sosiya employs over 55,000 workers. Despite the number of deadly accidents and hundreds of workers' death, a full-fledged hospital is 50 kms away.

According to a survey published by International Metalworkers' Federation in 2007, on average 50 workers per day get injured and some of them seriously.

Source: http://groups.google.com/group/shipbreaking?hl=en

Ship-breaking Update

2010-10-13T02:57:00.000-07:00

The shipbreaking site located on the Alang beach, Bhavnagar on western India's Gujarat state, scrapped about 350 vessels in the 2009-10 fiscal year, producing about 3m t of scrap.

In India, pursuant to Supreme Cout order, a Draft Code on Regulations for Safe and Environmentally Sound Ship Recycling (As on 30.09.2010) IMC Members are requested to send their comments/suggestions by e-mail to mfsteel@nic.in (Kind attention:-Under Secretary,MF Desk,Ministery of Steel,Udyog Bhawan,New Delhi 110107)(As on 30.09.2010)

In Pakistan, construction and engineering industries depend on the steel re-rolling industry, which acquires its raw material from ship-breaking or imported scrap.

Under the new policy the steel production target was set at 10 million tonnes by the year 2015 and 15 million tonnes by the year 2020. The present capacity of steel production is four million tonnes as against demand of over 6 million tonnes per annum, showing a gap of 2.5 to three million tonnes, that is, being met through import. The steel production units are functioning bellow capacity because of raw material shortage and slack demand.

To expand the steel sector huge amount is needed that Pakistan cannot afford. Besides, other elements like security of investment, foreign experts and continuous availability of raw materials at reasonable prices, uninterrupted supply of electricity is also required that lacks in Pakistan. Moreover, the steel sector is directly linked with the international market where iron and steel prices are on the rise and Pakistan has to follow the trend, as it cannot stand alone.

The steel re-rolling industry of the country is presently facing numerous problems as it is not getting raw material in sufficient quantity and utilising only 40 percent capacity against normal use of 80 to 90 percent. Moreover, due to slowdown in the construction activities, sale of steel products has decreased. For instance the production capacity of the re-rolling mills in Karachi was 5,000 tonnes per day, but the demand was only 2,000 tonnes per day.

Due to the shortage of raw material and other problems the prices of steel bars in the domestic market had at a time reached Rs 87,000 per tonne, which are now available at Rs 55,000 per tonne. The price was the lowest at Rs 40,000 per tonne last year when the scrap ships prices were at $250 per tonne to $280 per tonne in the international market.

The scenario of the steel sector in Pakistan indicates that this industry has a bright growth potential. The per capita consumption of steel in Pakistan is only 38 kilogrammes (kgs) as against global average of 175kg. If very modest increase in per capita steel consumption took place and reached 80kg in the next 10 years, the steel demand would be 16 million tonnes per annum for a population of about 200 million by the year 2020.

However, a 26.9 percent negative growth rate was recorded during July-March 2009-10 in steel products. Among the major factors behind this was the financial crunch in Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM).

World over the unprecedented economic slowdown started in 2008. It caused crash of steel products market in terms of both price and quantity wise and the production of steel industry had suffered very badly during 2008-09, which continued during 2009-10

Pakistan is an importer of basic raw materials of steel and due to the above situation PSM has suffered huge losses of Rs 26.5 billion in 2008-09, even it has not been able to import basic raw materials, iron ores and coal, as per its requirement. During July 2009 to February 2010, capacity utilisation was at 43 percent only.

Future plan: The domestic consumption of steel products is around 5.6 metric tonnes per year. Expansion in the production capacity of Pakistan Steel to three metric tonnes per year or above was planned. The plan would be implemented in two phases and completed in the next three to five years.

Pakistan Steel has also started an indigenisation programme to replace costly imported iron ore by locally available material and it is expected that 250,000 metric tonnes local iron ore will be arranged for PSM this year, which will be enhanced to 500,000 metric tonnes within the next three years.

Ship-breaking industry: The ship-breaking industry played an important role in developing steel industry in Pakistan. This industry started in 1970 and reached to its peak in 1980s.

The ship-breaking industry is an indispensable part of the economy for developing countries since it requires a small amount of investment and being mainly dependent on manual labour and is a good source of employment for the locals. From the point of ship owners, it provides a cash flow for the renewal of fleet, by disposing irreparable ships.

Ship breaking is perhaps as old as the shipping industry itself. It is the process of dismantling of an obsolete ship’s structure for scrapping. The scrapped metals, steel or iron, are used by the respective re-rolling industries as raw material whose products are used by the construction and engineering industry in Pakistan.

A ship’s life lasts for an average of 25 to 30 years after that it is supposed not safe to sail. About 95 percent of these ships are dismantled to recover steel. Scrapping a ship can make the owner an earning of about $1.9 million. However, the ships built before the 80’s have tonnes of extremely toxic substances, hazardous to human and environmental health.

Conducted at a pier, dry dock or dismantling ship includes a wide range of activities, from removing all gear and equipment to cutting down and recycling the ship infrastructure. The activity is a challenging job due to complexity of the ships and the environmental, safety and health issues involved.

In the early days wooden ships condemned were often burned or even carefully ‘lost’ in some convenient spot. Today the ship-breaking industry is run on scientific lines, and nothing is wasted. Sooner or later, every ship that sails into the sea is going to make its last voyage and the odds are that final journey will last at one of the ship-breaking yard on the coast of India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. The term ‘ship-breaking’ is slowly being replaced by ‘ship-recycling’.

In the 1970’s ship-breaking was done in the docks of Europe. It was supposed a highly mechanised industrial operation. But as European countries became more environmentally conscious they started taking health and safety measures, which escalated costs of scrapping. Therefore, about 90 percent of the ship-breaking industry moved to Asian countries, like India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Turkey, as these countries were less environmentally and health conscious. Every year about 600 to 700 ships die and are brought to the beaches of Asia for scrapping.

From early 1980s to maximise profits ship owners sent their vessels to the scrap yards of India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam where wages, health and safety standards were minimal and workers were ready to accept minimum wages. It was estimated that over 100,000 workers were employed at ship-breaking yards worldwide. Of them about 45,000 ocean going ships in the world about 700 (1.55 percent) are taken out of service every year. At the end of their sailing life, ships are sold so that the valuable steel, about 95 percent, of ships mass can be reused.

Two ship-breaking yards sued in Bangladesh

2010-09-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

The Department of Environment (DoE) sued two ship-breaking yards at coastal belt of Sitakunda upazila, Chittagong yesterday for dismantling ships without DoE clearance and polluting environment.

DoE investigator Saiful Ashraf filed the cases against -- Mak International and MM Ship-breaking Industry of Shitalpur and Jahanabad with Sitakunda Police Station and the Environmental Court.

Saiful alleged that the yards were set up without environment clearance or required mitigation measures and facilities for removing liquid and solid hazardous waste during cleaning and dismantling the ships.

“None of the ship-breaking yards of Sitakunda have clearance certificates by the DoE,” he said.

Owners of Mak International dismantled two ships -- MV Badri and MT Bow on September 16 one of which was dismantled at a rented yard of MM Ship-breaking Industry, informed DoE Director Md Zafar Alam.

“A portion of the MV Badri was found in a dismantled state,” he said adding, “Process is under way to seize both the ships to provide evidence for the cases”.

The accused individuals in the case against Mak International include the yard owners Joynal Abedin, Jamil Abedin, Mohammad Alauddin and the manager Firoz Ahmed.

In another case the accused include three owners of Mak International and owners of MM Ship-breaking, Monwara Begum, her husband Abu Mohsin and manager Jahangir Alam.

Nine out of 122 ship-breaking yards of Sitakunda coastal belt were sued since April 21 this year.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=155357

Beaching of vessels in Bangladesh Starts Again?

2010-09-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

As news began to filter through of the success of a recycler beaching two vessels in Bangladesh this week, prices in India shot up by about USD 10 to USD 20 per tonne as many in the industry began to anticipate a return of the big hitters to the bidding tables. This very anticipation unexpectedly drove prices up this week as a total of seven market units were committed to Alang buyers.

However, the reality on the ground in Bangladesh remains slightly different and the extreme resistance in the wake of the beachings is expected to place into jeopardy, subsequent attempts to import and beach vessels. Consequently, we expect little activity from Bangladesh until the rest of the local yards open up, which is still expected to take some time.

Meanwhile, based on the extremely high prices of some purchases this week, it appears some cash buyers are taking positions with their fixtures. On the other hand, others remain on the conservative side, possibly due to a healthy dose of inventory already on hand. As a result, differences of almost USD 40 per tonne have been seen between those looking to take positions (perhaps with the Bangladesh angle in mind) and those inclined to stay on the more cautious/realistic side.

At the time of writing, high profile Avin, Tanker Pacific and Great Eastern vessels were being negotiated and the spread of levels was of some mystery to both owners and brokers alike.

Finally, Turkey too jumped in on the action this week and managed to take home single decker M/V KOBZAR I of 1,870 LDT at a firm price of USD 295 per LT LDT.

For week 38, GMS demo rankings for the week are as below:

Country Market Prices GEN Cargo Sentiment Tanker Prices

India Bullish USD405/ltldt USD445/ltldt

Pakistan Steady USD395/ltldt USD430/ltldt

China Bullish USD380/ltldt USD400/ltldt

Bangladesh Bullish N/A N/A

Per LDT

(Sourced from GFMS)

Environmental & Labour Groups Denounce IMO’s Treaty & FTAs

2010-09-20T08:23:00.001-07:00

Press Release

Environmental & Labour Groups Denounce IMO’s Treaty & FTAs

Alang workers live & work in Guantánamo Bay like condition

UN Special Rappartour Shocked by Dumping of Obsolete Ships on Gujarat Beach & Workers’ Plight

Gujarat Maritime Board takes Central Team on Shipbreaking for a ride

New Delhi 20/9/2010- A central government’s team led by S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser and Dr Dalip Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel visited Alang Beach, Bhavnagar, Gujarat on 17th September evening on a Vishwkarma Puja Day, a holiday to assess the workers living and working condition. Notably, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) misled this Supreme Court’s Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Ship breaking into visiting Alang Beach on a holiday! A Round Table on “Ship Owners Liability for Enviro-occupational Exposures on Alang Beach & Global Shipping Industry” on 15 September held in New Delhi took note of the IMC’s visit to Bhavnagar and Alang and issued statement seeking removal of ship breaking industrial operations from the Alang beach. (Statement of Labour & Environmental Groups on Shipping Industry attached)

While IMC’s site visit merits appreciation for it has directed strictly to GMB and Shipbreakers to sort out the issue of housing facilities for workers in the shipbreaking industry within three months and report to IMC. It has taken serious note of inaction by the GMB and shipbreakers with regard to housing, hospital facilities, sanitation and occupational health rights of workers, the unregulated industrial operations in the fragile coastal environment is unpardonable and unacceptable. IMC is also seized with the issue of ship owners’ liability and rampant forgery of documents in Alang in the aftermath of the dumping of Platinum II, a US ship on fabricated documents.

There is a grave apprehension that most of the end-of-life ships that entered Indian waters after the Supreme Court’s order of September 2007 (Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice S H Kapadia Bench) have indulged in forgery of documents that merits high level probe. Letters requesting for the same has been sent to the Home Minister.
The migrant causal workers of Alang who come from Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and Orissa live and work in conditions akin to the detainees of Guantánamo Bay Military Detention Centre of US who exist like slaves with no human rights. If Alang beach and its industrial operations are made accessible to media, it would emerge that the war against slavery is far from over.

Earlier, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu during his 10-day mission, from 11 to 21 January 2010, the Special Rapporteur assessed the progress made by the country in minimising the adverse effects that hazardous activities, such as shipbreaking have on the human rights of countless individuals working in these sectors or living close to the places where these activities take place. He visited a number of shipbreaking yards as well. (Prof Ibeanu’s statement is attached.)
Prof. Ibeanu noted that in India, ships are currently dismantled on the beach, a method commonly referred to as “beaching”, and its actual impact on the surrounding environment and the livelihood of local communities relying on agriculture and fishing for their subsistence continues to be debated. “In order to ascertain the environmental impact of the shipbreaking industry, I recommend that an independent study be carried out to assess the actual and potential adverse effects that may be caused by the discharge of hazardous material into the natural environment, as well as the level of risk”, he said. ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) accompanied the UN Special Rappartour and Stefano Sensi, Human Rights Officer, UN Human Rights Council during their visit. The Special Rapporteur has finally noted that he was “shocked by the extremely poor conditions in which most workers live in Alang and Mumbai”. Semi-skilled and unskilled workers live in makeshift facilities lacking basic sanitation facilities, electricity and even safe drinking water. “I call on Governmental authorities to provide appropriate plots of lands, and facilitate the construction of adequate housing facilities for those who work in the yards. Adequate sanitation and drinking water facilities should also be put in place”. His report will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council.

The Supreme Court’s committee on Shipbreaking comprises of members from Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Ministry of Labour, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Steel Scrap and Ship breakers Association of India (ISSSAI) etc. for the implementation of court Orders and other related functions. The apex court had asked for the inclusion of labour and environmental groups in the committee but the same has not been done till date.

The participants of the Round Table were severely critical of the free trade agreements, role of GMB, Ministry of Shipping and UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) that has been working at the behest of the ship owners from developed countries. IMO has misled the ship recycling counties to adopt an International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships.*

Environmental and labour groups of India in particular and South Asia in general have called for the boycott of this anti-environment and anti-labour treaty. Even the shipbreaking industry is opposed to this treaty and is beginning to see the merit in the Basel Convention and its Basel Ban Amendment.

So far the Convention has been signed, subject to ratification or acceptance, by France, Italy, the Netherlands, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Turkey. Turkey, one of the five major ship recycling nations in the world, has signed this regressive treaty. The Round Table underlined the double standards of European countries like France and the Netherlands who appear to be hand in glove with countries like Japan to promote unregulated free trade in hazardous wastes through Free Trade Agreements by undermining Basel Convention and Basel Ban Amendment and becoming party to IMO’s treaty that allows ongoing contamination of South Asian beaches of Alang, Chittagong (Bangladesh) and Gadani (Pakistan).

Environmental health groups are opposed to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) including one with the European Union (EU) and Japan that allows status quo to continue with regard to hazardous waste trade. Government of India is highly secretive about the agreements with Japanese government and EU. These groups have been campaigning against the India-Japan FTA and India-EU FTA that entails such free trade. The Round Table welcomed the order of Bangladesh’s High Court Division dated 11 May, 2010 requiring pre-cleaning/decontamination of vessels imported into Bangladesh for breaking purposes. The earlier orders and the order of 11 May, 2010 in specific required that all vessels to be imported for breaking must be decontaminated at source and outside the territory of Bangladesh. Following the Court’s order the Import Policy Order was amended to ensure that the pre-cleaning certificates are produced by the authorized agents of the exporting state. This amendment was changed on request from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) that purported to allow ships to enter Bangladesh with in-built, poisonous and cancerous substances for the safe disposal of which Bangladesh does not have minimum facilities. With blessings from the MoEF, the ship breakers continued to import dirty ships that eventually had to stop by virtue of the order of 11 May, 2010. In India, in the last session of Parliament, Jairam Ramesh informed that he has written to the Ministries of Commerce and Finance seeking their assistance in regulating the hazardous waste trade but so far there has been no progress and hazardous waste trade continues to be promoted by the Commerce Ministry, which is quite disturbing.

It is noteworthy that Japan launched a new waste initiative and venue at the G8 summit in 2004. The aim of this initiative is contrary to the prime objectives of the Basel Convention that sought minimization of transboundary movement of hazardous waste, Japan’s 3R Initiative calls for lifting of trade barriers for waste and for the free movement of recyclable materials, including toxic wastes, within a regional context. Using its financial muscle it has dictated the agenda of the 3R Initiative to promote regional waste trade schemes. Its interest in hazardous waste treatment facilities and ship-breaking yards at Alang Beach is illustrative of the same.
Japan is on a prowl to kill the Basel Convention through its Economic Partnership Agreements. In 2008, it signed ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to promote waste trade hold in the region. ASEAN is 13 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The same is being replicated in India. At the last Conference of Parties to UN’s Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes, Japan proactive role to stop the crucial Ban Amendment, 1995 from coming into force was intriguing. With the unfolding of Japan’s FTAs with other Asian countries, it is clear that it wants to re-define toxic waste as non-waste. It’s a case of linguistic corruption. A similar Partnership Agreements has been challenged in the Supreme Court of Philippines.

It has reliably been learnt that the Commerce Ministry will seek the Cabinet's approval soon for the India-Japan free trade agreement (FTA) likely to be signed during the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's forthcoming visit to Tokyo in October although its anti-environment. Japan-India FTA and India-EU FTA will makes it difficult for India to impose a trade ban on toxic wastes which is an expressed right enjoyed by any sovereign state and is acknowledged by the Basel Convention. India must ratify Basel Ban Amendment instead of making itself vulnerable to toxic waste imports.
The participants of the Round Table included trade unions, environmental groups, lawyers, researchers and media persons.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660,
E-mail:krishna2777@gmail.com, Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com,
Web: www.toxicswatch.com

P K Ganguly, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Mb: 9968214082

H Mahadevan, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Mb: 9818120885

Ashim Roy/ Rakhi Sehgal, New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI), Mb: 9911599955

Manicandan, International Metal Worker’s Federation, Mb: 9868319261

Grazia Cioci, Platform on Shipbreaking, Mb: +32 (0)495 832441

Note: IMO treaty will enter into force 24 months after the date on which 15 States, representing 40 per cent of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, have either signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or have deposited instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the IMO’s Secretary-General. The combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of those States during the preceding 10 years must constitute not less than 3 per cent of their combined merchant shipping tonnage. It’s an industry sponsored treaty.

Central Team Visits Bhavnagar & Alang

2010-09-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

A Round Table on “Ship Owners Liability for Enviro-occupational Exposures on Alang Beach & Global Shipping Industry” discussed the visit of the Supreme Court constituted Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Ship breaking to Bhavnagar and Alang on 17th September among other things. The visit was facilitated by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB). The apex court had asked for the inclusion of labour and environmental groups in the IMC but the same has not been done till date.

The IMC team led Bhavnagar/Alang by S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser and Dr Dalip Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel comprised of officials from other ministries as well. (in Picture)

The Round Table took stock of the developments at the international and national levels besides the acts of omission and commission of ship owners, ship-breakers and the government agencies. The participants included trade unions, environmental groups, lawyers, researchers and media persons.

Ship Owners Liability for Enviro-occupational Exposures on Alang Beach & Global Shipping Industry

2010-09-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

A Round Table on “Ship Owners Liability for Enviro-occupational Exposures on Alang Beach & Global Shipping Industry” is planned in New Delhi on 15th September.

The Round Table will discuss the developments at the international and national levels besides the acts of omission and commission of ship owners, ship-breakers and the state government. The participants include trade unions, environmental groups, lawyers, researchers and media persons.

Headquartered in London UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has been working at the behest of the ship owners from developed countries. In order top protect the interest of the ship owners, now it has misled the ship recycling counties to adopt an International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. It will enter into force 24 months after the date on which 15 States, representing 40 per cent of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, have either signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval, or have deposited instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the IMO’s Secretary-General. The combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of those States during the preceding 10 years must constitute not less than 3 per cent of their combined merchant shipping tonnage. So far the Convention has been signed, subject to ratification or acceptance, by France, Italy, the Netherlands, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Turkey. Turkey, one of the five major ship recycling nations in the world, has signed this regressive treaty.

At the national level, in pursuance of the Supreme Court order in the matter of Hazardous Wastes/Ship breaking and at the request of Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Steel had set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Ship breaking under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary with members of Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Ministry of Labour, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Steel Scrap and Ship breakers Association of India (ISSSAI) etc. for the implementation of Supreme Court Orders and other related functions. The apex court had asked for the inclusion of labour and environmental groups in the committee but the same has not been done till date.

At the last IMC meeting issues such as Radiological study of works, Issue of gas free for hot work and other services under the Petroleum Rules, Security Concerns, Safety of workers, Spillage of Chemicals on Gujarat Shore, completion of trust hospital etc were discussed. For a better understanding of the various issues under consideration of the IMC, chairperson had expressed his desire to lead an Inter-Ministerial delegation to Alang. The IMC team led Bhavnagar/Alang by S. Machendranathan, Additional Secretary & Financial Adviser and Dr Dalip Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel is due to visit Bhavnagar/Alang. There will be officials from other ministries as well. The Round Table will take stock of their proposed visit as well.

Shipping Ministry & Goa's Oil Spill

2010-09-03T06:50:00.000-07:00

Goa's popular beaches turned black on 30 August evening due to oil spill off the coast of Panaji. Beaches like Calangute, Siquerim, Candolim in north Goa and Colva, Betalbhatim and Sernabhatim in the south were covered with black tar balls. South Goa beaches are covered with black oil which has been washed ashore.

Union Shipping Ministry's incompetence has been revealed consistently. Most recently, collision of two merchant ships off the Mumbai coast on August 7 had caused a massive oil spill.

Goa government is downplaying the tar ball menace. Union Minister of Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh and the Shipping Minister has been asked to probe the matter.
of the oil spill. The oily trail across several beaches like Calangute, Candolim, Colva and Velsao and raised concerns about the success of the forthcoming tourist season.

The ships that pass along the coastline are the culprits. They discharge their waste which either surfaces before being deposited on the seabed or the waste gets erupted in monsoon.

One of the common causes for the tar ball phenomenon is careless dumping of used oil by a passing ship.

Major ship breakers boycott IMO treaty

2010-09-01T02:56:00.001-07:00

Major ship dismantlers such as India, Bangladesh and China are conspicuous by their absence

International Maritime Organization(IMO)'s Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships 2009 has now recognised for its anti-environment, anti-labour and anti-communities stance.

Ships from ship owning countries from US and Europe have connived at their movement away from their shores in tandem with the complicity of IMO and lethargy of UN's Basel Convention despite the fact that ships US ship Platinum ll (SS Oceanic, SS Independence), French ship Blue Lady (SS Norway, SS France) and Danish ship RIKY using corporate veils and gullible and corrupt officials of developing countries.

So far the Convention has been signed, subject to ratification or acceptance by France, Italy, the Netherlands, Saint Kitts and Nevis and now Turkey. The combined maximum annual ship recycling volume of those States must during the preceding 10 years, constitute not less than 3% of their combined merchant shipping tonnage.

The Hong Kong Convention, adopted at a diplomatic conference in May 2009 is aimed at ensuring that ships, when being recycled after reaching the end of their operational lives; do not pose any unnecessary risk to human health and safety or to the environment.

This convention is designed to ensure that not only are the conditions under which ship dismantlers work safe and environmentally acceptable but that all major issues surrounding ship recycling, including the fact that ships sold for scrapping may contain environmentally hazardous substances such as asbestos, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, ozone depleting chemicals are suitably addressed.

The text of the ship recycling Convention was developed over 3 year period with input from IMO Member States and relevant non governmental organizations and in cooperation with the International Labour Organization and the Parties to the Basel Convention and includes regulations covering the design, construction, operation and preparation of ships so as to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships the operation of ship recycling facilities in a safe and environmentally sound manner and the establishment of an appropriate enforcement mechanism for ship recycling, incorporating certification and reporting requirements.

The Convention has been open for signature by any State from September 1st 2009 and remained so until August 31st 2010. Thereafter, it shall be open for accession by any State.

It will enter into force 24 months after the date on which 15 States representing 40% of world merchant shipping by gross tonnage have either signed it without reservation as to ratification, acceptance or approval or lodged such agreements with the IMO Secretary‑General.

Shipping Ministry Dismal Performance is consistent

2010-08-11T04:29:00.000-07:00

Press Release

Fragile Marine Environment in Indian Waters Facing Unprecedented Threat

Mumbai oil spill & chlorine gas leak underlines it

New Delhi/11/8/2010: Absence of a National Shipping Policy to ensure environmental security of Indian waters from ships of all ilk in the face of all too frequent accidents along with oil and chemical spills has become quite stark. Be it in the marine oil and hazardous and noxious substance (HNS) incidents like chlorine gas** leak, dumping of hazardous materials, war materials, end-of life ships or lack of radioactive radiation scanners or the transfer of harmful invasive species and pathogens via ships' ballast water unmindful of Marine Biosafety or the most recent case of collision between two ships which are registered in tax haven countries, it is noteworthy how the global shipping companies can mutilate rule of law in the Indian waters with connivance and indulgence from Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of UN’s International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

Intriguing silence of likes of G K Vasan, Minister of Shipping and Lakshmi Venkatachalam, Director General of Shipping & ex. officio Additional Secretary to the Govt. of India regarding the incident of the morning of 7th August 2010, container vessel MSC Chitra collision with another Merchant vessel Khailijia 3 near the Mumbai Port Trust merits attention. It is just doing a routine enquiry into the causes of the accident has been ordered. The oil slick has spread over an area of nearly five kilometres around the ship. The MSC Chitra was loaded with more than 2400 containers, 2600 tonnes of oil and 300 tonnes of diesel fuel, and a large number of these loaded containers had already sunk into nearby waters. Some of these containers were reported to include toxic materials such as sodium peroxide. A rather thick oil slick was surrounding the vessel. This ship had sailed to Mumbai from Dubai, and was outbound from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) port facility when the collision occurred. The Khalija-3 was apparently towed into port after the incident. Admittedly, later as the listing of the ship (a ship that is leaning on one side or the other) increased, about 250 containers have fallen into the sea.

Survey of the main channel was got carried out by Indian Navy in the early morning of 8th August,.2010. On 9th August, 2010, the Navy started undertaking survey of some containers that have hit the bottom. To facilitate this, all ship movements have been stopped. The vessel has 2662 tons of heavy oil in its various tanks and 245 tons of diesel oil for its own use. Presently, there is an oil spill around the vessel. The Coast Guard and three JNPT tugs are spraying dispersants under the directions of Coast Guard. Some oil has reached ashore in Raigad District of Maharashtra.

While punitive and remedial action is required to prevent such incidents in future, it has been noted that concerned officials have filed maritime charges against the two captains of the vessels. Sources within the industry have expressed consternation at such misplaced charges because it is the pilot/captain of the port and not the captain of ship which is responsible in such matters.

In the present case as a result of the collision the hatch No.2 of MSC Chitra got damaged leading to ingress of water, as a result of which MSC Chitra started listing. Due to the impact of collision, three containers on deck dropped into the sea and about 200 liters of hydraulic oil leaked out.

Even though bow of Khailijia 3 was damaged, this vessel was safely docked at Ballard Pier (BPX) berth of the Mumbai Port Trust. The Mumbai Port Trust contacted the vessel agent and the insurer. The owner and the insurers P&I club, appointed M/s. Smit Salvage, Singapore for assessment and salvaging of the vessel. M/s. Smit secured the compartments and also dropped anchor, securing the vessel from drifting.

Earlier on 14 July 2010, one of the cylinders with liquid chlorine gas, stored at Haji Bunder area, which has been notified by Mumbai Port Trust for handling and storage of hazardous export/import goods developed a leak and chlorine gas dissipated into the atmosphere. “In all 118 persons were affected by the incident and were admitted to
various hospitals.” The Shipping Minister informed the Lok Sabha on 9th August that “no financial assistance has been provided to the affected persons.” Why isn’t there any law to ensure compensation these people for enviro-occupational exposure?

As in the case of the collision of ships, an enquiry was ordered into the causes of the incident, identify lapses and those responsible as well as to suggest remedial measures to ensure that an incident of this type does not recur. It was said that reasons of the leakage would be known after detailed enquiry. Several months have passed but has the Ministry of Shipping bothered to disclose the reasons?

There were strict directions issued to all the Major Ports to dispose off all the hazardous/inflammable cargo lying in port area since long time under section 61 & 62 of Major Port Trust Act, 1963. Has this order been complied with? As of 9th August, 2010, ports like Kolkata Dock System, JNPT, Tuticorin, New Mangalore, Mumbai, Kandla, Chennai hazardous substances like Sodium Aluminate Solution, Brass Ash (Waste Scrap), Metal Scrap slag & Ash of Nickel, Slag & Ash of Chrome, Slag & Ash of Nickel, Low Grade Nickel, Hydroxide & PCB Scrap, Old and used NI/CD, Battery, Waste oil, Methyl Monomer and War materials like empty shells cartages etc.

Notably, efforts have been made to destroy the material with the help of Police/Army /Bomb disposal squad. But no agency is coming forward to destroy the material.

With regard to Mumbai, the Shipping Minister gave vague information to the Lok Sabha saying “Different type of dangerous and Hazardous goods” are lying at Mumbai port from different
dates starting from March 1983 including empty chlorine cylinders. He did not name and specify these dangerous and hazardous goods.

As to “Methyl Monomer” lying at New Mangalore port, it has been stated that its there because of “Inadequate storage space in the factory premises of M/s BASF, Mangalore”, the importer. BASF is the world's largest producer of acrylic monomer. BASF is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory). It has close to 385 production sites worldwide. Its subsidiary, BASF India Limited is headquartered in Mumbai, with manufacturing facilities in Thane, Mangalore. BASF India Limited manufactures and markets expandable polystyrene, tanning agents, leather chemicals and auxiliaries including specialised metal complex dyes, leather dyes, textile chemicals, dispersions and speciality chemicals, acrylic polymers in primary forms and crop protection chemicals. BASF India Limited is also involved in the trading of chemicals including dyestuffs and related textile auxiliaries, and renders technical services to various industries. Is it convincing that such a company has “Inadequate storage space in the factory premises”?. This merits investigation by a high powered government agency.

A High level committee was also constituted to examine the cylinders/packages and advise on the measures to be taken/ methodology to be followed for neutralization of chemicals/gases and ultimate disposal of all the uncleared hazardous cargo lying in the Port. The report is still awaited.

Despite the opposition of human rights, labour and environmental organizations which got endorsed by ship breaking industry of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Indian delegation was misled by the Ministry of Shipping into becoming a party to the adoption of IMO’s new convention on ship recycling although its a major step backwards from existing international and national environmental law. Unmindful of the fact that the IMO treaty will not prevent a single toxic ship from being exported and dumped on the beaches of India, Shipping Ministry refused to change its course although existing international law makes it illegal to export toxic waste to developing countries, to disproportionately burden the poor with pollution.
The reply of the Minister of Shipping with regard to “Installation of Radiation Monitor Portals at All Ports”, in Rajya Sabha on July 27, 2010 revealed that the “Government proposes to install Radiation Monitoring Portals (RMP) in all the Major Ports by 2012. At present steel junk imported is visually examined by Customs Department which is empowered to check the import-export cargo. The Radiation Monitor Portals will help prevent smuggling in/out of radio active hazardous materials only.” Visual inspection of such hazardous materials is ridiculous. This and the incidents above illustrate the sorry state of affairs in the Ministry of Shipping that merits immediate and urgent intervention.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660, E-mail-krishna2777@gmail.com, imowatch.blogspot.com, Web: www.toxicswatch.com

**Chlorine gas becomes more toxic as the pH level of the water drops and it becomes even more toxic when it is combined with other toxic substances such as cyanides, phenols and ammonia.

At different concentrations effects of chlorine on fish and aquatic organisms is different. At 0.006 mg/L, it kills trout fry in two days, recommended maximum for all fish and aquatic lifeat is 0.01mg/L at which it kills Chinook Salmon and Coho Salmon, at 0.01-0.05 mg/L oysters have difficulty pumping water through their bodies, at 0.2 mg/L Maximum Brook and Brown Trout can withstand, at 0.05 mg/L Maximum
amount that can be tolerated by young Pacific Salmon in the ocean, 0.1 MG/L ills most marine plankton, at 0.25 mg/L, only the hardiest fish can survive, 0.37 mg/L maximum fish can tolerate and 1.0 mg/L ills oysters.

On humans, its over-exposures can cause the following health effects:
coughing, labored breathing, sore throat, and potentially fatal lung disorders (chemical pneumonitis and pulmonary edema). Repeated chlorine over-exposures by inhalation can result in emphysema and erosion of teeth. The symptoms associated with specific Chlorine concentrations manifest themselves differently. It causes
irritation of the eyes and mucous membranes and irritation of the throat. Prolonged exposure may result in death. In addition, high concentrations of this gas mixture can cause an oxygen-deficient environment, especially if released in a poorly-ventilated area.

Individuals breathing such an atmosphere may experience symptoms which include headaches, ringing in ears, dizziness, drowsiness, unconsciousness, nausea, vomiting, and depression of all the senses. Under such circumstances of over-exposure, death may occur.

Update on Ship Collision near Mumbai Port

2010-08-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

In the morning of 07.08.2010, container vessel MSC Chitra collided with another vessel Khailijia 3 near the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) area. As a result of this collision the hatch No.2 of MSC Chitra got damaged leading to ingress of water, as a result of which MSC Chitra started listing.

Due to the impact of collision, three containers on deck dropped into the sea and about 200 ltrs of hydraulic oil leaked out.

Immediately, through the Mumbai Port Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS), two tugs were requisitioned and were rushed to render assistance. 24 crew members of MSC Chitra were evacuated by the crew of the tugs. The Master of the vessel and five crew members were brought on shore at Mumbai, while the two tugs continued to remain stand by.

Even though bow of Khailijia 3 was damaged, this vessel was safely docked at BPX berth of the MbPT. The Director General (Shipping) [DG (S)] and Coast Guard were informed of the incident and relevant notices to mariners and warnings on VHF channel were promulgated to all concerned.

The MbPT contacted the vessel agent and the insurer. The owner and the insurers P&I club, appointed M/s. Smit Salvage, Singapore for assessment and salvaging of the vessel. M/s. Smit secured the compartments and also dropped anchor, securing the vessel from drifting.

Later as the listing of the ship increased, about 250 containers have fallen into the sea.

Survey of the main channel was got carried out by Indian Navy in the early morning of 08.08.2010. The channel was found clear at that time. Limited ship movements were carried during the day. On 09.08.2010, the Navy is undertaking survey of some containers that have hit the bottom. To facilitate this, all ship movements have been stopped.

The floating containers are being cleared with the help of tugs and floating cranes. They will be stored on the JNPT side of the channel. The Mumbai Port Harbour is likely to be cleared of floating containers in next two-three days.

Once the vessel stabilizes and is certified safe to board, the salvagers will board the vessel and remove the fuel from the various tanks into the barges to eliminate threat of pollution.

The vessel has 2662 tons of heavy oil in its various tanks and 245 tons of diesel oil for its own use. Presently, there is an oil spill around the vessel. The Coast Guard and three JNPT tugs are spraying dispersants under the directions of Coast Guard. Some oil has reached ashore in Raigad District.

The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board authorities have been alerted as also the agencies that draw water from Mumbai harbor. The State Disaster Management Authority is meeting today with the concerned agencies. All efforts are being taken by MbPT and JNPT in collaboration with salvagers, Coast Guard, Indian Navy and other authorities to ensure that the situation is normalized at the earliest. The situation is being closely monitored by the Ministry of Shipping.

An enquiry by the DG (Shipping) into the causes of the accident has been ordered and is underway.

The DG (S) has convened meeting of all agencies for monitoring the situation. MoS is also monitoring the situation on-line.

The CoS meeting of Cabinet Secretariat was held on 08.08.2010 and the situation was reviewed. It will meet again on the 10.08.2010.

Survey of the area carried out by the Navy this morning shows 10-12 containers in the channel. Hence shipping movement could not be resumed. Action is being taken to mark the submerged containers whereafter restricted shipping movements can be considered. Action is also being coordinated to tow the submerged as well as floating containers to the barge. Once the containers are removed from the channel, the area will be surveyed by the Chief Hydrographer and on his advice full shipping movements can be commenced.

The Coast Guard is co-ordinating action to contain the oil spill. Salvers will also be asked to assist in this work.

Fishing is not affected as there is general ban till 15th August 2010.

The Salvers will make an assessment tomorrow on the decision to ballast the vessel and turn it upright; otherwise action would have to be taken to debunker the ship by removing the oil into barges.

So far 17 vessels, 9 at JN Port and 8 at Mumbai Port have completed their operations on 8th and 9th August 2010 but could not be sailed out. 15 vessels were scheduled, 9 for JN Port and 6 for Mumbai Port, but could not be berthed.

http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=64476

Ministries hold meetings on affairs of Alang Beach

2010-07-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Sources have informed that K. Mohandas, Secretary, Union Ministry of Shipping and Rajeev Gupta, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Shipping and Ms. Jacinta. Jose, Deputy Secretary, Union Ministry of Shipping hosted an inter-ministerial meeting at Parivahan Bhawan,New Delhi on 21st July, 2010. It was attended by three representatives of the ship-breaking industry among others.

The meeting dwelt on pre-cleaning of end-of-life ships, responsibility of ship owners, prior consent of exporting country and IMO treaty among other things.

Dr Dalip singh, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Steel and Focal Point of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Shipbreaking was also present. Officials from Environment Ministry were also attended it as the ministry is the focal point for Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. This UN treaty addresses cleaner production, hazardous waste minimization and controls on the movement of these wastes. India is a party to this treaty. Basel Convention Secretariat takes cognisance of the relevant national decisions with regard to ship dismantling. The Secretariat maintains a full-text collection of selected case law of national and regional courts on enviromentally sound management of ship dismantling. These are accessible here:http://www.basel.int/ships/relevcaselaw.html

Basel has Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management of the Full and Partial Dismantling of Ships. These Technical Guidelines were adopted by the sixth Conference of the Parties in Decision VI/24. In that Decision, Parties and others were invited to use the Technical Guidelines and to report to the Seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties, through the Secretariat, on their experience and any difficulties or obstacles encountered in the application of the Guidelines, with a view to improving them as necessary and required.

Technical guidelines for the environmentally sound management of the full and partial dismantling of ships are available in Bengali, Hindi, Turkish and Urdu (Copyright, Part I, Part II)besides English.

The 21st July meeting was attended by A. Banerjee, Chief Surveyor-cum-Additional Director General. It was attended by Ms. Lakshmi Venkatachalam, Director General of Shipping as well.
DG Shipping is a Statutory Authority constituted under Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 whose major activities include ensuring safety of life and ships at sea and International Convention relating to maritime matters among other things.

There would be a preparatory meeting in Mumbai on 7th August to finalize India's position at the 60th Meeting of the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC).

Sources have informed that Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC)on ship-breaking will hold its next meeting in Alang and Bhavnagar on 25th August, 2010. The general issue of control and management of hazardous waste has been under consideration in the Supreme Court in writ petition no. 657 of year 1995. The various State Governments/Central Ministries were affected in this case and Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) was the nodal Ministry.

During the course of deliberation, the Supreme Court issued the various orders, the first important order being on 14 th October, 2003. In pursuance of the Supreme Court order dated 14 th October, 2003, and at the request of Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Steel set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) vide order dated 12 -01-2004 followed by an addendum order dated 20-4-2004 under the Chairmanship of Additional Secretary and FA with members of Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF), Ministry of Labour, Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), Central Pollution Control Board, Indian Steel Scrap and Ship breakers Association of India (ISSSAI), Mumbai Port Trust, Kolkata Port Trust etc. for the implementation of Supreme Court Orders and other related functions.

So far, IMC has held meetings on 5-2-2004*, 11-6-2004, 19-1-2005, 28-6-2005, 1-02-2006, 21-9-2006, 17-1-2007 & 9-8-2007*, 28-2-2008, 4-2-2009 and 5-10-2009; coopted members of other organizations; discussed various issues pertaining to ship breaking industries and issued a large number of directions in line with the Supreme Court Orders. There were meetings in 2010 as well but its proceedings are known so far.

Denmark & China. Maersk wants to end 'beachings'

2010-07-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

06 July 2010
A.P. Moller - Maersk has a policy on responsible ship recycling at least five years before international requirements on workplace safety and environment enter into force.

A large part of the world shipping industry still uses once pristine tidal beaches in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan as a junk yard.

Between 60% and 80% of the world’s out-of-service vessels are sailed on shore there and cut to bits and pieces by thousands of workers, often barefooted, and often with no safety protection whatsoever. Accidents, explosions and deaths are commonplace in what is the world’s most dangerous work place, according to the UN’s International Labour Organization, ILO.

The scene is different at the China Changjiang Ship Recycling Yard in Jiangyin near Shanghai.

The yard, used by Maersk, lives up to stringent international standards for safety and environment. Standards that are now also part of the Group policy approved by Maersk’s Executive Board in January.

To date Maersk has successfully recycled ships in China without a single injury.

“When we sell a ship to be recycled in a responsible way, we often get USD 1 million less than what we could have obtained otherwise. But that’s the cost of being a responsible corporate citizen,” says Soren Andersen, Head of Maersk Line Vessel Management.

Traditionally Maersk has sold its ships long before the end of their operating life, but up until the mid-1990s a few of the Group’s vessels were nevertheless scrapped when no better alternatives were available.

Still, Maersk decided early on to invest in responsible dismantling methods and became one of the first movers in the industry. By 2008 the executive arm of the European Union held up Maersk as a good example.

“European ship owners can be expected to act in a spirit of corporate social responsibility. Practical examples for this exist already today,” The European Commission wrote in a strategy paper. The word “examples” referred directly to Maersk.

Now, international requirements are approaching within an estimated five years, and Maersk is making a business out of responsibility. A special unit for ship recycling takes in outside clients as well.

“Recycling is a very dangerous business, but it doesn’t have to be more dangerous than building ships. It’s the same thing, only in reverse,” says Tom Peter Blankestijn, Director of Maersk Green Ship Recycling.

Green organisations are indeed lauding Maersk for being ahead of the rest of the industry.
“We applaud Maersk for showing leadership and taking a stance against the dangerous and polluting practice of breaking ships on tidal beaches,” says Ingvild Jenssen from the NGO Platform on Shipbreaking.

Maersk Green Ship Recycling
From 2000 to 2010, the A.P. Moller - Maersk Green Ship Recycling has recycled more than 50 ships. In 2009 the team has supervised 20 ship recyclings in China, of which 7 were from third parties.

The yard in Jiangyin is ISO 14001 and OHSMS 28001 certified.

Maersk Green Ship Recycling monitors on a daily basis to ensure the yard lives up to requirements.

http://www.bymnews.com/news/newsDetails.php?id=71488

Fire mishap leaves one dead at Alang shipyard

2010-07-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

Fire mishap leaves one dead at Alang shipyard
July 24, 2010
RAJKOT: A fire accident at Alang ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar district left one worker dead and four others injured on Saturday, official sources said.

The accident occurred at about 11:30 am at Alang ship breaking yard's plot number 78 when some workers were cutting a scrap piece with gas cutter near a ship's engine room. Though the fire was brought under control shortly, but by then it had claimed the life of Shamshaulla Sheikh (27), who died on the spot. The injured are being treated at referral hospital in Alang and Civil Hospital in Bhavnagar. The condition of the one of the injured being treated at the Civil Hospital is reported to be serious, sources said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Fire-mishap-leaves-one-dead-at-Alang-shipyard/articleshow/6211783.cms

Ship Recycling Safety in Pakistan Explored at UN Workshop
Submitted by editor on July 23, 2010

In an effort to improve the health, safety and environmental standards in the ship-
recycling industry in Pakistan, the United Nations Environment Programmes
Secretariat of the Basel Convention convened a three-day international workshop on Ship Recycling Technology and Knowledge Transfer in Izmir, Turkey.

The workshop, which was held in cooperation with the Government of Turkey and the Ship Recyclers Association of Turkey, ended today with progress being made on strengthening the understanding of the Conventions role in the international regulatory regime of ship recycling.

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal has been involved in the issue of ship recycling since the late 1990s. While the Convention applies to the recycling of end-of-life ships, it has been difficult to enforce over the years due to its provisions.

In May 2009, the International Maritime Organization ( IMO ) adopted the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. The Convention, which has yet to come into force, places specific requirements on ships from their design and construction to their operation and recycling.

The South Asian region, namely India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, dominates the global ship-recycling industry, currently occupying 70 to 80 percent of the market, with China and Turkey occupying much of the remainder.

A delegation from Pakistan attending the UNEP workshop was comprised of representatives of both Government and industry. They sought to learn from the improvements made in the ship-recycling industry in Turkey and implement the practical, regulatory and institutional changes back home in Pakistan.

The workshop has been an opportunity to assist the Government of Pakistan and its industry to improve its regulatory, institutional and infrastructural capacity to fulfill the requirements of the Hong Kong Convention and the relevant requirements of the Basel Convention in relation to ship recycling, particularly those dealing with the downstream management of hazardous and other wastes.

We believe that this workshop does not only address needs of individual countries or regions, but will also contribute towards defining the respective scopes of the two international conventions and will in this way enable a better and clearer international regulatory regime, said Dr. Nikos Mikelis of the IMO.

Speaking of the initiative in Izmir, Ms. Katharina Kummer Peiry, Executive Secretary of the Basel Convention, remarked: There is a real willingness on the part of the Pakistani Government and industry to make improvements to this important industry and bring about enduing changes to the prevailing safety, health and environmental conditions in Gadani. We are thus grateful to the Government of Turkey and the Ship Recyclers Association of Turkey for extending a helping hand at this crucial time of need.

For More Information, Please Contact:

Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head of Media, Nairobi, + 254-20-7623084; + 254-733-632755 ( m ); +41-79-596-5737 ( m2 ), e-mail: nick.nuttall@unep.org

Michael Stanley-Jones, Press Focal Point/Public Information Officer, Joint Services of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, + 41-22-917-8668; ( m ) + 41-79-730-4495,

e-mail: msjones@pic.int or SafePlanet@unep.org

Source: Media Newswire

‎Shipbreaking prices weaken, but still higher than year-ago

SteelGuru
21 Jul 2010

Despite declining in the last couple of months, prices paid for ships for scrapping remain about $100/tonne above where they were a year ago.

Russian ship engineer goes missing at Alang, search on
19 July, 2010

A Russian crew member of an LPG carrier beached at Alang Ship Breaking Yard in Bhavnagar district has gone missing. Now, even after 48 hours search by multiple agencies have proved futile.

LPG carrier Summerset, with a total of 19 crew, including four Indians, had beached on plot number 113 at the Alang Shipbreaking Yard around 9 pm on Saturday.

But by the time the vessel was beached, Russian crew member Yasil Yev was found missing.

The Bhavnagar police said: “Captain Keskov has registered a complaint with the Alang police station. Multiple agencies – the Local Crime Branch, Marine Police and Customs have launched an intense search.”

Bhavnagar police said shipping agent G M Bakshi Renu Gopal has said Yev is an electric engineer.

The police have ruled out foul play, but have said it is keeping all options open. There is the possibility of Yev having met with an accident too, the police said.

“For the same, we are undertaking an intense search of each and every part of the ship. On their part, the marine police are busy conducting a search between the shore and the vessel anchorage point,” said an officer.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Russian-ship-engineer-goes-missing-at-Alang--search-on/649104

Worries grow over shipbreaking plan for Swan Hunter site

Jul 21 2010 by Adam Jupp, The Journal

(Dismantling work in progress of a Ghost Ship on Teesside)

CONCERNS have been raised that moves to bring shipbreaking work to the Tyne could hinder wider plans for a green industrial revolution along the river.

It has emerged North Tyneside Council is in talks over a contract that would see a decommissioned military vessel dismantled on the Swan Hunter site, in Wallsend.

Along with regional development agency One North East, the authority bought the yard for more than £9m in September.

Previous Ghost Ship stories

* Toxic ship court battle
* New twist in ships battle
* French carrier joins Ghost Ships in Hartlepool

The purchase was part of a larger strategy to turn the Tyne’s north bank into a world-leading centre of excellence in the offshore renewable energy sector.

A £500,000 study identified the future of Swans as a key component of that strategy and bosses as North Tyneside Council have previously signalled their intention to create a “learning village” on the site.

It is understood the council is talking to an environmental services firm currently bidding for the contract to dismantle the RFA Oakleaf, which was taken out of service by the Ministry of Defence last year.

If successful, the work would be done at Swans, creating around 40 jobs in the process, which North Tyneside mayor Linda Arkley says is something that “cannot be ignored.”

But critics have said the move hinders progress towards creating as many as 6,000 jobs through the green strategy.

North Tyneside Labour group leader Coun Jim Allan said: “This is not the kind of work we would have encouraged for Wallsend.

“We are interested in 6,000 jobs coming to the area in the renewable energy sector and we are concerned this will act as a deterrent to any new industry coming to the Tyne.

“We don’t want to be used as a scrap yard and I don’t think the people of Wallsend would want that.”

Around £50m of private and public money has been invested in turning the region into a hub for green energy.

Funding was given to American firm Clipper to locate in a new factory on the site of the former Neptune shipyard, on Walker Riverside, where they will make prototype turbine blades for giant wind farms set to be developed off the British coast.

Meanwhile, the New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) has secured a series of grants to test blades and full turbines at their site in Blyth.

Major players in the manufacturing of turbines – including Mitsubishi and Siemens – have signed agreements with the Government, stating their intention to bring their research and development and fabrication operations to the UK.

The North East is understood to be in competition with Humberside for the work and that has heightened fears that using Swan Hunter for dismantling a ghost ship could discourage investors from choosing the region.

Ms Arkley said: “We have very ambitious plans for the north bank of the Tyne.

“However, I believe it’s really important to consider any shorter term opportunities that could provide much-needed jobs for local people and a boost to the local economy.”

Any decision on the use of Swan Hunter must be agreed in writing by One North East.

A spokesman for the RDA said: “We are aware of potential interest in short-term uses for the site and will continue to discuss these with our partners at North Tyneside Council.”

Source:http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2010/07/21/worries-grow-over-shipbreaking-plan-61634-26894387/

Russian ship crew member goes missing
July 19, 2010

BHAVNAGAR: Officials of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and Alang police station have been put on alert ever since a Russian crew member of an international ship anchored at Alang ship breaking yard went missing on Saturday.

According to GMB and police officials, the crew member, identified as Vensiyevev Igwin, on board Summerset ship from Russia, was reported to have gone missing since Saturday night. "The ship was anchored at the yard on Saturday evening. At night, ship captain Keskoveserji had alerted GMB officials and police about one of his crew members having gone missing," said a GMB official.

The ship has the crew strength of 19. Igwin was serving as an electric engineer. Meanwhile, police have intensified the search for Igwin. When contacted, shipping agent JM Bakshi could not give a satisfactory answer. Police are also investigating whether the shipping agency had the idea about the missing crew and whether the information was deliberately concealed.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Russian-ship-crew-member-goes-missing/articleshow/6188739.cms

PSM wants law to ban rebars made from ship breaking plate cuttings
‎
SteelGuru - 18 Jul 2010
Some unscrupulous builders are using poor quality mild rods in buildings and bridges, extracted from ship breaking scrap and this may cause fatal accidents.

Mr Imtiaz Lodhi the acting CEO of the Pakistan Steel Mill said that the company has asked the government to introduce a law banning the use of substandard mild rods in the country.

Mr Lodhi said that “There are no standards of construction here. Some unscrupulous builders are using poor quality mild rods in buildings and bridges, extracted from ship breaking scrap and this may cause fatal accidents. We want the parliament to pass a bill making use of quality bars obligatory.”

However, Mr Shamoon Baker chairman Karachi Iron and Steel Merchants’ Association said that there was no reason to believe that the mild rods produced from scrap was substandard. He said that “The strength of these rods gets restored after reprocessing and rerolling. Have you ever heard that gold has become scrap? It remains gold forever.”

Mr Baker said that the only raw material available in abundance is plates of broken ships and scrap.

The demand of mild rods in Pakistan is roughly 2.5 million tonnes per year and broken ships make up for a major chunk of this requirement which hovers around 70% or 1.7 million tonnes. There are more than 350 re rolling mills in the country while only two dozens mills were producing mild rods from billets.

(Sourced from the News.com)

GFMS weekly report on ship breaking industry for WEEK 27
14 July 2010

A busier week on the sales front saw a number of large LDT and high profile units committed to buyers in both Pakistan and India. Following on from the sale of the TMT controlled VLCC FRONT SABANG last week for USD 415/LT LDT to Pakistan, the local buyers there bagged another large wet unit with the Thai owned Aframax tanker SRIRACHA ENERGY achieving an extremely firm USD 420/LT LDT. This is the highest we have seen for a standard tanker since the markets tumbled by about USD 100/LT LDT recently, a sign perhaps that improvement is starting to hold.

India continued with its acquisition of a variety of units as the buying continued at pace even though sentiment for the week was down about USD 10 per tonne. With China struggling to achieve any continuity or firmness in its levels and Bangladesh still no nearer to resolving issues with the High Court, tine West Coast India - Pakistan range remains the focus for most sales and deliveries.

Meanwhile, tine Bangladesh saga continues and local recvclers remained eager but unable to acquire any tonnage. There were rumors that in the week ahead, a critical meeting is set for July 12, which would be significant in deciding the immediate future of the local recycling industry.

China levels stuttered again for the week having tumbled sharply over the past month and local buyers there have become hesitant to commit to vessels. As a result, with very few-recent sales, it is becoming increasingly hard to peg the reality on price. Failed deals and levels far from the competition in Pakistan and India have seen many vessels diverted away from the clutches of Chinese buyers recently.

Country Market Sentiment GEN CARGO TANKER
India Unstable USD375/ltldt USD405/ltldt
Pakistan Unstable USD360/ltldt USD410/ltldt
China Unstable USD335/ltldt USD360/ltldt
Bangladesh Unstable N/A N/A

(Sourced from GMS Weekly)

Emerging Environmental Requirements for Foreign Transfers of U.S.-Flag Vessels
14 Jul 2010, Blank Rome LLP
US Shipping Law
Summary

In general, the transfer of a U.S.-flag vessel to another registry and/or to a non-U.S. citizen owner requires the prior approval of the Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) under 46 U.S.C. § 56101 (which is the current codification of Section 9 of the Shipping Act, 1916, as amended). Specifically, subject to certain exceptions, Section 56101 prohibits the sale, lease, charter, delivery, or other transfer (and any agreement to do so) to a non-U.S. citizen of any interest in, or control of, a U.S.-flag vessel owned by a U.S. citizen and the transfer of a U.S.-flag vessel to a foreign flag. In addition, the prohibitions of Section 56101 apply to vessels whose last documentation was the U.S. flag.

The Convention also requires that each member state ensure that ship recycling facilities within its borders conduct ship scrapping in an environmentally ...

Source: http://ca.linexlegal.com/index.php?cid=905215

Nexus in shipbreaking business: CBI begins probe in Alang

2010-07-18T05:16:00.000-07:00

AHMEDABAD: THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Gujarat unit, has started investigating the ship-breaking business in Alang in Bhavnagar for suspected undervaluation of ships brought to the state for scraping.

CBI has begun its probe after two ships were recently brought from the Gulf for dismantling.

Agency officers said three teams are questioning bank officials about documents prepared in connection with the payments and the valuation of the ships. The CBI team is also perusing documents of the ship-breaking firms and the sellers.

Sources said their inputs showed that ships brought to Alang for dismantling were not being valued properly.

The ships were being undervalued in order to evade Excise Duty to the Customs and the Excise Department. Besides, there are irregularities in the payment of Excise as well, they said.

Jul 08 2010
Indian Express

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/In-Brief/643771

Alang shipbreakers warned against dumping waste

2010-06-28T01:14:00.001-07:00

Following the finding of a high amount of hazardous industrial waste that was being dumped in a creek near Sisodiya Yard in Alang, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) held an emergency meeting with Alang Ship Breakers’ Association. They were also warned against dumping hazardous waste in the yard.

Despite a state government solid and hazard waste management plant that has been set up at the cost of more than Rs 3 crore, shipbreakers dump waste such as chemicals, plastic, iron and wooden scrap with impunity in the yard.

The recent case in point was the finding of the industrial waste dumped in the creek near Sisodiya Yard of Alang Ship Breaking Yard.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIA/2010/06/25&PageLabel=7&EntityId=Ar00703&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

By: Sandesh

Source: The Times of India, Ahmedabad, June 27, 2010

ALANG IN LETHAL COMPANY

2010-06-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

IN LETHAL COMPANY

TWO SHIPS LADEN WITH TOXIC CARGO ARE GIVING ENVIRONMENTALISTS THE JITTERS, REPORTS JYOTIRMOY CHAUDHURI

THE ARRIVAL of two ships of North Korean origin at the world’s largest ship-breaking yard in Alang, Gujarat, has sparked a major controversy because of their highly ‘toxic cargo.’ Environmentalists have petitioned the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to take a closer look at the two vessels — MV Theresa III and MV Theresa VIII — which will soon be dismantled by workers at the site.

“The state government needs to act immediately,” says Gopal Krishna of ToxicsWatch Alliance, a watchdog body active in Alang. Pressure from environmentalists had earlier forced the GMB to send back MT Mar, a Latvian vessel laden with asbestos and other toxic material.

Nearly 17,000 workers — unaware of the danger — slog for long hours exposed to the ships’ life-threatening cargo. The vessels, confirm India’s environment and steel ministries, carry tonnes of asbestos-laden material that are considered extremely hazardous. A recent independent study at Alang found 13 percent workers handling asbestos were exposed to carcinogenic substances. The report followed the visit last February of a factfinding UN team that tracked over 200 highly toxic vessels, in which men worked in the most appalling conditions.

Highly placed sources told TEHELKA that the two North Korean ships had been bought by one Kamal Kejriwal (a middleman) of Demo Shipping. GMB officials say there is nothing much to worry about because the ships will be brought regularly to Alang for dismantling. Disturbingly, though, it is difficult to trace the flag of the North Korean vessels, because almost 90 percent of such ships use flags of convenience by registering dead vessels in Liberia, Panama, St Vincent, landlocked Mongolia and Tuvalu. “We can only caution the workers,” says D Patel, a GMB official. According to port officials at Alang who chose not be identified, Theresa III is on the outer anchor of Alang and yet to be given a No Objection Certificate (NoC) to dock or berth there. The official said, "All ships that are wrecked at Alang are thoroughly scrutinised by a team of officials comprising the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, the Atomic Energy Regulation Board and the Department of Explosives before being allowed to be dismantled. The ship in question has not been issued an NoC to anchor at Alang."

Nearly 17,000 workers slog for long hours on IN LETHAL the unsafe ships
NoC to anchor at Alang." Gujarat Pollution Control Board officials could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

The Gujarat Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health has routinely received complaints about health violations at Alang, but their warnings have failed to deter the ship-breakers. Says Praveen Nagarseth, head of India’s largest shipbreaking association: “Reclamation and recycling is a highly lucrative business and the workers wait for ships from all parts of the world. You cannot stop them.”

The lure of lucre has indeed won over humanitarian considerations. For, the workers who remain in prolonged contact with asbestos fibre slowly become victims of mesothelioma, an incurable form of lung cancer.

“Toxic vessels at Alang must be banned,” says Dr George Karimundackal of the Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Hospital. But so far it would seem that only he is complaining.

WRITER’S EMAIL: jyotirmoy.chaudhuri@gmail.com

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 7, Issue 25, Dated June 26, 2010

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main45.asp?filename=Bu260610company.asp

New Toxic Ships in Alang

2010-06-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Kind Attention: Ministry of Shipping
Ministry of Environment & Forests
Ministry of Steel

MSC Arabia, a cargo built in 1972 has reached in the Indian waters and is on its way to Alang. It is carrying the flag of Malta. Its IMO no. is 7121671. Its last known port was Jebel Ali.

MT MAR (Chemical Tanker) Arrived at Alang Anchorage on 07.05.2010, Purchased by plot No.9, LDT 9652 Charter Party Claim is there, hence end buyer dropped the deal. Waiting for new buyer. (Agent Natraj Shipping Agency)

MT Theressa-III (Chemical Tanker) Arrived at Alang Anchorage on 14.06.2010, Purchased by Plot No.24-B, LDT 5665 (Agent Demo Shipping Agency). Suspected of Aetomic waste on Board. GPCB yet to clear the ship.

MT Theressa-VIII (Chemical Tanker) Arrived at Alang on 19.06.2010, Purchased by Plot No.05, LTD 6329 (Agent Demo Shipping Agency) Suspected of Atomic waste on Board. GPCB yet to clear the ship.

More details will be shared shortly.

Plunder of ‘Platinum-II' & maritime control and safety

2010-06-14T02:13:00.000-07:00

“Phet” helps thieves plunder ‘Platinum-II'

Even as cyclone “Phet” that finally hit Oman, deterred anyone from the Gujarat coastline to venture into the sea, some thieves had a heyday trying to take advantage of the fear of the storm to plunder the “Platinum-II,” the condemned ship anchored in the high seas off the Bhavnagar coast in the Saurashtra region.

Originally registered in the United States, “Platinum-II” changed hands and nomenclature several times before it was brought to the Alang ship-breaking yard for dismantling. Work on the ship was stalled due to complaints that it carried hazardous and toxic materials. It was plundered when the security personnel on the ship were withdrawn to the shore due to the cyclone threat last week.

Anchored for months

The ship had remained anchored in the high seas near Gopinath off the Saurashtra coast for the last few months after the Central government and the Gujarat Maritime Board failed to take a decision on permitting the vessel to berth at Alang for dismantling. The ship was being guarded by the security personnel in the high seas.

maritime control and safety

On 26th April, 2010, in Lok Sabha S.S. Ramasubbu asked the Union Minister of Shipping to inform whether the Government has taken any steps to improve the maritime control and safety also to clean the approaches and vicinity of the ports.

G K Vasan, the Shipping Minister replied: The Govt. has taken the following steps:-
(1) Administration carries out Port State Control and Flag State Inspection of foreign and Indian Ships with regard to their compliance of International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions for
safety, security and pollution prevention.
(2) Creation of Maritime Assistance Service (MAS) with Directorate General of Shipping as contact
point for ships in need of assistance through M.S. Notice dated 30th June’ 2008.
(3) Creation of National Data Centre (NDC) for Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system for all Indian ships above 300 GT anywhere in the world.
(4) Detection of ships above 100 GT by the land based Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers under the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) Code requirements through the ISPS circular dated 06th January’2009. (5) Tracking of all Indian Ships above 500 GT by communication centre located at DG Shipping through Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) under ISPS Code, located anywhere in the world.
(6) Compulsory ship reporting system for Indian ships and recommendatory reporting for foreign ships within Indian search and Rescue Regions for the purpose of Search and Rescue (SAR) Operation through M.S. Notice dated 30th June’ 2008.
(7) Issuance of (67) sixty seven two number of Casualty Circulars as part of sharing of lessons learnt from shipping casualties.
(8) Establishment of Safety fairways and recommended routes in the Arabian Sea to enhance safety of Maritime traffic, through M.S. Notice dated 30th June’ 2008.

Labourer dies due to gas leak in Alang ship-breaking yard

2010-06-14T02:09:00.000-07:00

One labourer died and another injured due to gas leak in the Alang ship-breaking yard, police said.

The incident took place Sunday at the plot 135 of the Sisodiya Ship-breaking yard in Alang where two labourers were cleaning a tank of a ship brought for scraping, they said.

According to police, while the labourers were cleaning a tank in the ship there was gas-leakage following which both of them fainted.

They were admitted to government hospital where one of them died during treatment and other's condition was stated as stable, police said.

The labourer who died has been identified as Jadulal Verma (32), they said, adding that a case has been registered in the matter and further investigation was on to find out the cause of leakage.

Daily News & Analysis
PTI
June 8, 2010

Dubious Ships in Alang & Scrap at Major Ports

2010-05-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sources reveal that based on Navel Intelligence, Ministry of Defence, Custom Authorities have detained two ships namely; Malak, a ship from Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. It has entered Alang at Plot No. 103 and LUNC-H at Plot 40.

Documents of all ships coming into India merit CBI investigation. Alang appears to have become a foreign territory where no rule of Indian laws apply.

Dubious Ship MT Traveller in Alang

Earlier MT Traveller arrived at Alang anchorage at 15.30 on 30th April. Immediately Caption informed Bhavnagar Radio for leakage in the ship, and water started coming inside. GMB had sent TUG Rose for assisting her.

GMB, Custom accepted the SOS message and allowed her to beach in plot no.24 Alang Auto Engineering Company on 1st May at 06.00 AM.

When MT Traveller had left last port Fujairah, United Arab Emirates on which ground she got sea worthy and port worthy certificate?

Why Traveller only informed Bhavnagar/Alang GMB after arriving in Bhavnagar that it has developed leakage as soon as it arrived

Why Caption ignored to inform any port about the leakage of ship between Fujairah and Alang?

GPCB had been not informed about beaching. If such types of vessels could touch Indian waters without Boarding formalities, checking anti social elements could land their ammunition etc. As they had landed at Gosabaara.

After the great issue of Platinium-II ship breakers/shipowners have adopted the method of controversial ship get in plot after declaring she is in danger. This is indeed wrong practice.

Many more points are there. GPCB's deafening silence is glaring.

Parliamentary Question on Scrap at Major Ports

LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6111
TO BE ANSWERED ON 3RD MAY, 2010
SCRAP AT MAJOR PORTS
6111. SHRI AHIR VIKRAMBHAI ARJANBHAI MAADAM:
Will the Minister of SHIPPING be pleased to state:
(a) whether large quantities of scrap are lying at major ports;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor, port-wise;
(c) whether due to this scrap the work of ports is being hampered; and
(d) if so, the details thereof alongwith the steps taken by the Government to
address the situation?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF SHIPPING
(SHRI G.K. VASAN)
(a) & (b): Port-wise details of scrap lying at Major Ports is enclosed at Annexure-A.
(c): No, Madam.
(d): Does not arise.
Annexure A
Name of Port Scrap lying at Ports
Kolkata At HDC approximately 165 MTS of scrap in seven load containers is
lying undelivered, the details of which are as under :
No. of
containers
Date of Landing Remarks
6x20 ft.
Load
13.2.2006 Detained by Customs on
18.8.2006
1x40 ft.
Load
25.4.2010 Recently landed. Awaiting
Delivery.
Paradip Nil
Chennai Only 36.349 Tonnes of scrap is lying. The same is also being moved
out gradually through trucks by road.
Jawaharlal
Nehru
Around 150 containers carrying heavy metal scrap destined for
Ludhiana are lying at the Port.
Mumbai Only 455.68 MTS of scrap is lying in one of the container Freight
stations away from the docks.
Details is as under:
‐ 376.23 MTS of Scrap ( 355.62 MTS in open area and 20.61 in
one container) is lying since December,2004 and is under
customs action as the scrap was found with arms &
ammunition and unserviceable shells.
‐ 20.57 MTS of scrap in one container lying since 2005 and is
under customs action.
‐ 58.88 MTS of scrap in three containers lying since April 2004
and is at customs action.
Tuticorin Nil
Cochin 16221 MTS of shredded scrap, an import cargo, is lying at the cargo
storage area inside Ernakulam wharf and will be taken delivery by
the consignee in due course. Cochin Port’s average annual import of
shredded scrap during the past three years has been less than one lakh
tonnes. Cargo is fully taken delivery by the importer within a period
of about 2 months from landing.
New
Mangalore
Nil
Mormugao Nil
Ennore Nil
Kandla At Kandla Port 49726 MTS of H.M.S./S.S. scrap is lying inside the
port in rented plot out of which about 1890 MTS is disputed and the
remaining is under delivery to the concerned.
Visakhapatnam Nil
*****

Alang Faces the Choice Between the Devil & the Deep Sea

2010-04-02T22:13:00.000-07:00

Note: Even as Alang faces the choice between the devil & the deep sea, it is noteworthy that the villagers sought help from the UN Special Rappartour on Toxic Wastes during his recent visit to be rescused from the threat of nuclear plants.
Politics could stonewall proposed N-Plant in Mithi Virdi
GANDHINAGAR: The BJP's opposition to the civil nuclear liability bill in Parliament, if continued for a longer period, may tell adversely on the Union government's decision to set up a 6,000 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant near Mithi Virdi on southern Saurashtra coast. Already bogged in political controversy in Delhi, its impact can be heard in Gujarat.

Even as Sachivalaya officials said, the Union Cabinet has sent a letter, giving its nod for the proposed N-plant, Union minister of state for energy Bharatsinh Solanki told TOI, "Opposition to the nuclear liability will delay setting up the plant near Mithi Virdi as it will only complicate the procedure for obtaining nuclear fuel."

While agreeing that the Gujarat government received a formal letter from the Prime Minister's office regarding Cabinet clearance to the N-plant about one-and-a-half month back, state energy minister Saurabh Patel told TOI, "Everything is at initial stage. The process is going to be long drawn. There is no clarity on fuel tie-up, cost of fuel and the role the state government should play in N-plant project."

The BJP at Centre is opposed to the compensation mechanism with a cap of Rs 500 crore and has had several rounds of talks with those involved in pushing for the bill, including the PM's national security advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, though without result.

Patel said, "We believe, higher compensation and better safety mechanism will be useful for those who surround the area where the N-plant is expected to be set up."

Soon after the Cabinet nod on N-plant, on the basis of an application from the National Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), the state revenue department has begun the process of earmarking 1,200 acres for the N-plant. "NPCIL officials have visited the site and taken with them copies of revenue records of the site in order to acquire the land," Bhavnagar MLA and Opposition leader Shaktisinh Gohil informed TOI.

Meanwhile, official sources said, the N-plant will mean uprooting five small villages in the area as also tens of ship-breaking units operating in Sosiya in the neighbourhood of Alang ship breaking yard. "Once a formal decision to start construction of N-plant is taken, their rehabilitation will also be taken up," a senior official said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Politics-could-stonewall-proposed-N-Plant-in-Mithi-Virdi/articleshow/5706996.cms

India's largest nuclear power plant to come up near Alang?

Gandhinagar: In what is certain to give a phenomenal boost to Gujarat's overall development, the prime minister's office (PMO) is learnt to have approved Gujarat's Mithivirdi (Chhaya) site in Bhavnagar district for an 8,000 MW nuclear power plant.

The 1,000 acre site, along with another in Andhra Pradesh, has been identified for the setting up of nuclear power plants. These power plants will use nuclear reactors to be purchased from the United States under the nuclear deal signed by the UPA government last year.
The main Opposition in the last Lok Sabha, the BJP, may have opposed the N-deal for political reasons, but the government of Narendra Modi, the saffron party's poster boy, is unlikely to desist from reaping its benefits.

As with the Nano project, Gujarat has beaten several other states in the race to bag this prestigious project. What makes it especially exciting is that 40% of the power generated by this plant is likely to be given to Gujarat.

State energy minister Saurabh Patel told DNA on Wednesday that full details are awaited. But DNA has learnt from highly placed sources that the PMO has communicated its approval for the Mithivirdi site to the state government.

"An informal approval for the Mithivirdi site in Bhavnagar, adjoining the ship-breaking yard at Alang, has been received from the PMO, but details are still awaited. As per the proposal submitted by us, it will be an 8,000 MW plant. We are also hoping that the Centre will accept our proposal that 40% of the power generated by the plant be given to Gujarat," the sources said.

Put in perspective, the scale of this project is massive. India's total power generation capacity from 17 operational nuclear power plants is currently just 4,120 MW.

The Mithivirdi plant may be set up on 1,000 acres of land on the coast, though details are yet to be finalised. "It is premature to estimate the total investment required, but it will run into several hundred crores," sources said.

Mithivirdi was selected by the Site Location Committee appointed by the central government's Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), headed by its CMD SK Jain. Six sites, including one in Ahmedabad, Junagadh and some others in Bhavnagar itself, were identified and short-listed by the committee.

Mithivirdi's proximity to the sea, and distance from a wildlife sanctuary and dense human habitat, are believed to have worked in its favour. In May, the NPCIL signed an MoU with Westinghouse Electric Company, a US company, to discuss the technical aspects of setting up multiple AP1000 reactors in India.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_india-s-largest-nuclear-power-plant-to-come-up-near-alang_1274699

Massive Fire Kills 6, Oil Spill Overwhelms Alang Beach

2010-04-01T01:52:00.000-07:00

Note:Environmental and labour groups demand probe by a central team because state agencies do not inspire any confidence in teh face of repeated death bu fire accidents.

Dindayal Paswan (42), Ram Ashish Yadav, Brij Bhushan (34) and Pappu Kumar Gaud, all migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh who were admitted to Dr DB Parekh Hospital in Bhavnagar have passed away. Alang Port Officer, C M Rathod have said, they were yet to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.

One person was found charred inside the ship while the other two died in Bhavnagar civil hospital, where the injured have also been admitted because which is some 50 KM from Alang. Alang does not have even a a hospital that can deal with alarmigngly high rate of accidental deaths.

Press Note

Massive Fire Kills 6, Oil Spill Overwhelms Alang Beach

Directorate General of Shipping Accountable for Deaths & Pollution on Alang Beach

Convicted US Ship Platinum II to get breaking permission?

New Delhi:Following huge oil spill in the sea waters at Alang beach, a major fire has broken out in the Plot No. 27 of Budha Patel around 1 O' clock in the after noon. Patel is the owner of Shantamani Enterprise. So far 6 workers are reported to be almost dead. There was too much oil in the sea that got leaked from the ship. The fire engulfed the whole ship. More casualties are expected as the search is still on. The fire and smoke is still visible from Sosiya village in Bhavnagar district. At least 100 labourers were dismantling the ship.

Alang Chief Fire officer P D Vyas has said that it’s a major fire. Gas cutting work was on when the fire started. The Fire Department has said that the exact cause will be known only after the fire is extinguished.

Of the six killed, two are muakadam (labour contractors) and 4 are workers. There casualty is expected to be higher because there were many workers engaged in dismantling when the ship was surrounded by fire. Efforts to control the fire are on.

The ship which caught fire is named MV Devsi. It arrived on 3rd February, 2010 and beached on 15 February. Its a motor tanker. Three people injured are: Ram Singh Yadav, Pappu Kumar Gaud, Bind Dayal Yadav. All of them admiteed at Dr.DB Parekh Hospital at Bhavnagar.

Alang coast has a tidal range of around 13 meters, making it easier to beach a condemned vessel directly onto the shoreline. This plot is one of some 130 plots are in use today. Till June 1983 the Alang beach was in its pristine state, which was been polluted by the hazardous wastes laden end of life ships of the industrialized countries under the supervision of Directorate General of Shipping.

In the meanwhile, sources reveal that Supreme Court's delay in the hearing of the matter regarding hazardous wastes related to shipbreaking in general and US ship Platinum II (MV Oceanic, SS Independence) that is lying illegally anchored at Bhavnagar Anchorage Point has created an atmosphere of non-regulation of the ship-breaking activity. Sources have informed that the permission to dismantle the US ship at its anchorage point itself appears to be have been given.

Rampant corruption and acts of omission and commission of Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is evident in the manner which the report of the channel blockage due to US toxic ship, Platinum II was sent to Union Environment Ministry. As of today the ship breaking plots at Alang in Gujarat has about 166 ships to dismantle. In the 2009 about 260 ships were recycled, several dozen ships came to Alang in the aftermath of the arrival of Platinum II. This ship which has been engulfed in fire too came after the anchoring of Platinum II. DV (Dead Vessel) Platinum II, Ocean Liner (IMO No 5160180) arrived Gujarat coast on October 8, 2009 for Anchoring, Beaching, Dismantling, Disposal and Recycling at Alang – Sosiya Ship Breaking yard, Gulf of Cambay near Bhavnagar.

A Central Technical Team constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government Of India (GOI) had assessed the hazardous materials/wastes contained in the ship, including Poly-Chlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Asbestos and Radioactive substances and on November 09, 2009 MoEF disallowed beaching and recycling of the ship at Alang for violating US Toxics Substances Control Act as the ship owners Global Shipping LLC and its affiliated company Global Marketing Systems, Inc. were fined a total of $518,500 to resolve Toxic Substances Control Act violations and because the vessel reached India with fake documents on national registry and flag.

Despite the above order, Directorate General of Shipping has not sent the ship back. In the face of such routine fires, oil spill, fake documents in sea waters near Alang, the silence of Directorate General of Shipping, Mumbai, the Ministry of Shipping is quite puzzling. This illustrates the lackadaisical approach of the Ministry.

It is because of such criminal dereliction of duty on the part of the officials from Ministry of Shipping in particular that over the years Alang has been turned into not only the graveyard of ships but also of workers. The ship breakers' yards stretch a full seven miles along the coastline of the Indian state of Gujarat, which has been contaminated with oil spill, hazardous wastes and micro-organisms due to the connivance of the Ministry of Shipping.

Even earlier Supreme Court had fixed 26 March to hear the matter concerning hazardous wastes and shipbreaking but it postponed the hearing for an unspecified date. The fire accidents like this, ironically even as International Maritime Organisation (IMO) continues to certify Alang beach as a safe place for hazardous industrial activity like ship dismantling

In the second week of March, 2010 too, one of the four persons who were injured in a fire that broke out in a ship while it was being dismantled at plot number 123 of Alang ship breaking yard has died.

In the Minutes of the meeting of the Inter-ministerial Committee (IMC) on ship breaking held on 04.02.2009 under the Chairmanship of B.S. Meena, Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser (AS&FA), Ministry of Steel, it is noted that the Coast Guard representative and the Naval HQ representative had "expressed apprehensions that the vessels coming in for beaching sometimes ply very close to the oil rigs, which could be a potential for accidents." The IMC must revise its position in the light of these accidents.

Earlier, six labourers were burnt alive in an engine room at Alang ship breaking yard on 4/8/2009 on plot no. 24 in the morning at Alang in the premises of Alang Auto & General Engineering Co. (P) Ltd were cutting down the engine portion of ship ‘M S Jesica’ in the world’s largest ship scrapping yard.

Such things happen in a routine manner in Alang. Union Environment Secretary headed Supreme Court-appointed committee in its report has revealed that the fatal accident rate in Alang is in the range of 2 per 1000 as opposed to 0.34 per 1000 in the mining industry (which is considered worst in the industrial sector).

Two fatal accidents have been reported from the world’s largest ship-breaking yard in May and June 2009. Evena earlier accident that occurred on the 1st June, 2009 on Plot 15 of the ship-breaking yard involved a labourer identified as Ayodhyasingh Rajput. Such fatal accident occurred at Plot 24 D in May, 2009 as well. Similar accidents were reported in earlier months and years as well.

The industrial activity must be taken off the Alang beach to protect these dying workers and the coastal environment. The currently practiced “beaching method” whereby obsolete ships are run aground on ocean beaches for cutting and breaking apart in the intertidal zone can never be accomplished in a manner which is environmentally sound or protective of human health.

No amount of prescriptive improvements or protections can remedy the four fatal characteristics of intertidal beaching operations required in the ship-breaking activity. First there is the impossibility of containing pollutants on a tidal beach where hulls of ships are often breached accidentally or by cutting, or toxic paints erode or are abraded sending persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals and oils onto the beach and into the seawater; Second, due to a shifting and soft wet tidal sand surface, there is the impossibility of rapidly bringing emergency response equipment, including fire-fighting equipment and vehicles, ambulances and cranes along side the ship, to assist or remove persons hurt inside the hull; Third, the impossibility of allowing cranes to work alongside to lift heavy cut sections of a ship and thereby preventing heavy cut sections from being subject to gravity, shifting or falling directly into workers or into the marine environment; and Finally, there is the absolute incompatibility of conducting hazardous waste management operations (which is what they are as long as ships contain hazardous wastes, in the ecologically delicate and vital coastal zone.

The end of life ships are never safe and ship owners know it but gullible ship breakers in their lust for profit make Indian workers and environment the sacrificial goat.

The older a ship is the more human and environmental costs are associated with it. Consequently, ship breaking is deemed a viable option by the ship owning countries like Europe and US who wish to escape such costs.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660
E-mail-krishna2777@gmail.com
Web: www.toxicswatch.com, Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com

End of life UK ship's possible arrival in Indian waters?

2010-03-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

To

Dr Dalip Singh
Joint Secretary
Inter-ministerial Committee on Shipbreaking
Union Ministry of Steel
Government of India

Subject-End of life UK ship's possible arrival in Indian waters

Dear Sir,

This is with reference to my earlier letters dated 24 February, 2010 and 4th March, 2010 in the matter of an end of life UK Ship that has changed name to avoid detection.

It is to draw your attention to the article below (Mystery surrounds future of impounded ship, 24th March 2010, Daily Echo), as per which the UK's Environment Agency has been in touch with the Indian authorities regarding UK ship Margaret Hill (now named Chill).

This ship has re-registered to the island of Comoros, off the eastern coast of Africa. Comoros is a well-known “flag of convenience” for ship owners to avoid national, EU and UN regulations. Chill (formerly Margaret Hill), a LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG).

I wish to know if you are aware of any information received from UK regarding this dead ship as has been claimed by the UK authorities in UK media.

I have checked with Mr L S Singh, in Steel Ministry and Dr Saroj, the Indian Basel focal point in Ministry of Environment & Forests India and Ms Jacinta Jose, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Shipping. I been told that they have not received such information.

Currently, the ownership of the ship is an enigma. Now UK claims helplessness saying that the vessel has left UK waters it was out of their jurisdiction and they have no power to take action.

What appears to be a ploy, on 26 March 2010, Lloyd’s List reported that it “understands” that although India was the initial destination, “Margaret Hill will shortly head to China for demolition. Where the ship ultimately ends its days is likely to remain uncertain until it actually arrives at a demolition site.”

Earlier, this vessel was barred from leaving Southampton on August 8, 2009 over suspicions it was heading abroad to be dismantled illegally. It was noted that the action to stop the Margaret Hill leaving the docks is the first time powers have been used to stop a ship from leaving a UK port. The 50,700-tonne liquid natural gas tanker was detained by the UK's Environment Agency. The ship contains hazardous materials such as asbestos.
The official statement of the Environment Agency of UK is available here: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/110207.aspx

This ship was granted permission to depart in October, 2009 after the ships’s owner, Fortress Credit, informed them that the ship would be converted into a floating treatment plant. As is usual in the shady business world of the shipping companies, Margaret Hill got permission to leave Southampton under the false premises that it is to be repaired for further operation. This fraudulent misrepresentation merits legal action from the UK environment authorities who apparently choose to be gullible and be taken for a ride.

ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) had written to Alison Gadsby of Environment Agency, UK, George Kiayias, European Commission - DG Environment, Dr Saroj, Basel Focal Point, Union Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India bringing to their urgent attention the case of dead and toxic vessel, Margaret Hill of UK that has been sold for 10.2 million USD to Alang's dismantling beach in India. The IMO Number of the vessel is 7368841.

On March 1, 2010, the European Commission official informed TWA saying, "we are investigating the matter and have been in contact with British officials who are closely watching the situation. An assessment on whether a violation of EU legislation has taken place is still ongoing. While the Commission's role is to ensure that Member States properly enforce and apply EU legislation, it is the obligation of the Member States to ensure that economic operators comply with this legislation."

The 36-year-old, 87,600-cbm Margaret Hill (ex- Hoegh Galleon , built 1974), which had been touted as a conversion candidate for a floating LNG (FLNG) project, has been sold to Dubai-based cash buyer Argo Systems for onward sale into India.

UK's Environment Agency detained the ship on the grounds that under European law, the vessel, which contains asbestos and other hazardous substances, could not be sold to a country outside the European Union (EU) for demolition.

The vessel finally left its berth at Southampton in the UK in December, 2010 where it had been effectively laid up for over a year. At the time, industry players voiced their concerns that the ship would eventually go for scrapping.

It is obvious that European Commission is duty bound to ask the UK of its obligations under the European Waste Shipment Regulation.

Taking cognisance of the violation of EU laws and Basel Convention, in a communication dated February 22, 2010, George Kiayias of European Commission - DG Environment, Unit C2 - Sustainable Production & Consumption, Brussels had reacted saying, "We have been in contact with officials from DEFRA on this who are closely watching the situation. Dubai officials have already been alerted by England's Environment Agency who are currently planning to contact the Indian authorities and alert them as well. We expect to be updated on this matter as more news become available."

Under the laws, waste ships containing hazardous materials can only be dismantled at properly authorised dismantling facilities in either the EU or an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country. They cannot be sent to dismantling facilities in countries outside the EU or OECD such as India.

In the light of the violation of the EU laws and possible violation of Indian laws, the concerned agencies in India ought to ensure that the obsolete and hazardous ship from UK does not enter Indian waters.

Thank you in advance for responding as soon as possible.

Kind regards

Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance
New Delhi
Mb: 9818089660
Website: www.toxicswatch.com
Blog:imowatch.blogpsot.com

Cc

Mr Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of Environment & Forests , Government of India

Mr G K Wasan , Union Minister of Shipping , Government of India

Dr Saroj, Basel Focal Point, Union Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India

Mr L S Singh, Union Ministry of Steel, Government of India

Mr George Kiayias, European Commission - DG Environment, Brussels, Belgium, Tel.: +32 2 29 97 792 - Fax.: +32 2 29 63 980, Email: george.kiayias@ec.europa.eu

Ms. Alison Gadsby, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), London
United Kingdom, Tel: (44 20) 72 38 43 33, E-mail-alison.gadsby@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Mr Andy Howarth, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), London
United Kingdom, Tel: (44 20) 72 38 43 33 E-mail-andy.howarth@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Mystery surrounds future of impounded ship

24th March 2010

By Peter Law

A SHIP stopped from leaving Southampton last year amid fears it would be illegally scrapped is at the centre of a major international row.

The Daily Echo can reveal the Margaret Hill, pictured below, a liquefied natural gas tanker, may soon be bound for India to be broken up in dangerous conditions.

The Environment Agency (EA) has warned the Indian authorities that the ship could be destined for their shores.

The 249-metre vessel’s name has been changed to “Chill” and it has been re-registered to the island of Comoros, off the eastern coast of Africa.

Anti-shipbreaking campaigners claimed Comoros was a well-known “flag of convenience” for shipowners to avoid regulations and all the evidence points to the tanker being scrapped.

Last year, the EA stopped the ship from leaving Southampton after receiving a tip-off that it could be scrapped in Asia.

After three months of talks, it was granted permission to depart in October, but only after the vessel’s owners, Fortress Credit, promised to put it back into use as a floating treatment plant.

An EA spokesman last night confirmed the conversion plan had collapsed and admitted there were fears it could now be scrapped.

She said ownership of the vessel was now a mystery, but it’s thought the New York investment fund still had some financial interest in it.

“We know that she has been re-registered. What we do not know is where she is going,” the spokesman said.

“We have contacted the authorities in India to make them aware that she may be destined for India for breaking, but there is no confirmation of that.”

Over the past two weeks EA officials lobbied Fortress Credit “to do the right thing”, but the spokesman said the agency was powerless to act.

“As soon as the vessel left UK waters it was out of our jurisdiction,” she said. “We do not have any powers to take action.”

Ingvild Jenssen, director of NGO Platform on Shipbreaking, in Brussels, Belgium, said the ship should have never been allowed to leave the city.

“We clearly warned them from the beginning that there is no market for such a vessel. Everything pointed to it being sold for breaking,” Ms Jenssen said.

Fortress Credit has refused several requests from the Echo to comment on the future of the ship.

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/5081678.print/