Greenpeace demands

1. Shipowners operators must present a complete inventory of all hazardous material on board the vessel, making a register of the pollutants and an analysis of the dangers from the ships. A list of hazardous materials which may be found on board ships can be downloaded from www.marisec.org/recycling.

2. The polluter (shipowner/operators) must decontaminate the ships-for-scrap prior to export. Asian shipbreakers support this demand.

3. Shipbreaking should be conducted without risk to workers' health or to the environment.

4. Tankers must be made gas-free for hot works prior to export for breaking.

5. Shipowners/operators must operate in a fully transparent way. They should no longer hide behind brokers and middlemen. They should disclose the selected shipbreaking facility and the assessment done on hazardous substances onboard. In that way they can ensure the delivery of clean ships-for-scraps which will lead to safer working conditions on the yards and less environmental damage.

6. Shipowners and shipbreakers must carry out extensive consultations on the breaking plan and put in place systems of monitoring by independent experts.

7. Shipbreaking facilities should be freely accessible to citizen groups, environmental NGO 's and workers trade unions.

8. Shipbreaking should be subject to a global regulatory regime, rather than be subject only to unilateral measures by various parties.

Looking ahead, Greenpeace demands that:

1. Existing ships should be made progressively cleaner. Toxic and hazardous substances should be systematically removed and replaced. This can be done during maintenance, repair, refitting and rebuilding programmes.

2. The 'next generation' of ships should be 'clean ships' that are designed and constructed with a view to eliminating their environmental, health and safety hazards upon decommissioning.

3. Shipowners must accept their pivotal role in the chain of responsibility for the safe and clean dismantling of ships. They should be held accountable for the environmental and health damage caused by sending toxic ships to Asian beaches. The details of ownership and management of ships should be fully transparent. Effective liability arrangements should be put in place. In that way shipowners can be held responsible for the consequences of poor standards and practices.

Greenpeace does not call for the closure of the Asian shipbreaking industry. But it calls on the shipping industry and international organisations to take responsibility for their actions. Shipbreaking should be subject to a global regulatory system and not just to unilateral measures by individual countries or shipowners.