The French toxic ship "Sea Beirut", that attempted to enter
Turkey illegally for scrap because it contained toxic waste, is to
be sent back to France after a court decision ordered CEMSAN, the
importing company in this illicit enterprise, to ensure that the
ship should be returned to the country of origin.
Last May, Greenpeace intercepted the "Sea Beirut" as it neared
Aliaga shipbreaking yards in Turkey because it was concerned that
the ship contained hazardous waste, such as asbestos (1). The
environmental organisation alerted the Turkish authorities and
warned that this was a case of illegal waste trade as defined by
Turkish legislation. This led to its return for cleaning to France,
the country of origin (2), after the Turkish Ministry of
Environment conducted its own investigations that confirmed the
ship contains hazardous wastes as Greenpeace suspected. (3)
"This case confirms that the national bans restricting the
importation of such hazardous waste into shipbreaking countries are
not being observed. In order to protect themselves, shipbreaking
countries must systematically demand an inventory of all hazardous
substances on board all ships for scrap before the ships are
exported. They must ensure that these ships are cleaned before they
are exported to Turkey or Asian shipbreaking yards," said Erdem
Vardar, Greenpeace Toxic Waste Trade Campaigner in Turkey.
Based on this new court decision in Turkey, the French
government must take back the "Sea Beirut" and clean it of all the
hazardous materials before re-exporting it for scrap. "Until now,
the French government has been refusing to take the toxic ship back
(4) and as a consequence the ship has been beached at the Aliaga
shipbreaking yards ever since," said Yannick Vicaire, Greenpeace
Toxics Campaigner in France. CEMSAN had asked the court to suspend
the Turkish Ministerial decision of May 2002 but the Turkish
administrative court now rejected this request.
This case illustrates the urgent need for the new international
ship recycling regulations which are on the agenda of several
United Nations institutions such as the Basel Convention. The
shipping industry refuses to accept the Basel Convention regime for
their 'End of Life Vessels' for purely financial reasons (5).
Greenpeace is calling on all Parties that will attend the Basel
Convention Conference of the Parties (COP6) meeting in Geneva in a
few weeks (9-12 December) to agree on a final clarification of the
legal status of toxic ships for scrap. Through that clarification,
the shipping industry and some Parties should no longer be able to
use Turkey and other Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan,
India and China as their dumping ground for toxic materials such as
asbestos, PCBs and organotins that are in their End of Life
Vessels.
"The International community should give a clear signal that the
export of toxic ships for scrap must be recognised by all world
governments as a form of hazardous waste trade under the Basel
Convention. All world governments should agree that new strong
international ship recycling regulations with a strong liability
regime must be enforced in order to close the loopholes of the
Basel Convention", Vardar concluded.
Notes: (1) Asbestos was often used in ships because of the non-burning quality, isolation power and because it is chemically neutral. When ships are scrapped, asbestos is released. Even low concentrations of asbestos dust causes formation of scar-like tissues resulting in permanent breathing difficulties (asbestosis); it is also carcinogenic.(2) The decision of the Turkish Minister of Environment: "As known Turkey became a party to "Basel Convention" on 15.05.1994. With the "Regulation on the Control of Hazardous Wastes" based on this convention the importation of all kinds of wastes has been banned. In this context because the equipment of the ship for scrap Sea Beirut contains high levels of asbestos and this material is in the list of hazardous materials of our national legislation, the importation process should be stopped and the ship should be returned to its origin country. Do what is needed." (Unofficial translation of Ministerial letter of 18 May 2002 to all parties concerned)(3) The "Sea Beirut" was abandoned in France two years ago and became the responsibility of the French port authorities. The French authorities are refusing to accept liability for the ship because the ship is still under Liberian flag. However, when they sold it, they illegally gave permission to its new, Turkish owner `Cemsan` to export it even though the vessel contained asbestos. Although aware of and informed about the presence of asbestos they failed to classify the vessel as hazardous waste and did not notify the Turkish authorities of the waste on board in violation of European regulations on waste trade. France has to take the toxic ship back under the Basel Convention, to which both countries are parties. (4) Greenpeace also took legal action against the French government in July to make sure it takes back a toxic ship it illegally exported to Turkey for scrap. Greenpeace has appealed to the French courts to suspend the decision of export, granted to the 'Sea Beirut' even though it contained hazardous asbestos. The environmental organisation had launched a separate appeal against the French maritime administration for abuse of power.(5) See Greenpeace report "Continuous evasion of the "polluter pays principle" - A breakdown of financial profits and environmental health costs in relation to the shipbreaking industry -, September 2002 (www.greenpeaceweb.org/shipbreak)