Victories

1. The June 2003 Impact Tour- Out of sight is often out of mind. What would force health and safety violations of poor workers far away into the consciousness of the public, governments and industries in Europe? Greenpeace brought workers from Asian shipyards to many cities in Europe, to share their stories and make an appeal to stop criminal companies from destroying their lives. We exposed the criminal practices of selected companies like MSC, Stolt Neilson etc and demanded that hazardous waste ships would be returned to the senders. (RTS) Due to our high voltage pressure these companies agreed shipping industry agreed to implement certain best practices. They also signed the "statement of intention". This is basically a "Right to Know" document which speaks about sharing information and handing over inventories of toxics materials on board to ship breakers. It also put a responsibility on shipowners to decontaminate the ships prior to export.

2. Greenpeace was able to move the shipping industry on the issues of ship recycling. The whole industry got divided on this issue. For instance ECSA (European community for shipowners association) agreed with Greenpeace for best practices on ship recycling and asked IMO to make such guidelines. This is a major milestone because ECSA accounts for 55% of the total world fleet.

3. Greenpeace moved IMO for mandatory guidelines on ship recycling. IMO for first time in its history discussed on the issue of ship recycling. An important beginning was made during the IMO AGM when two ship-breaking countries (Turkey and India) took the initiative and were supported by several countries to propose a decision for a mandatory regime. It did not get through but this is ongoing and we are continuing our efforts to get an agreement by the IMO parties for mandatory guidelines in 2004/2005.

4. Basel loophole: In 2003 - An important breakthrough was reached during the latest Basel Convention: end-of-life ships are now finally considered as waste. We achieved a general agreement by the Basel parties that ships can become waste but this has yet to be hammered into suitable language in the upcoming COP 7 (end 2004).

5. The Supreme Court Order on hazardous waste including shipbreaking: -This was a major victory because the apex court clearly instructed that "Ship-breaking operation(s)… cannot be permitted to be continued without strictly adhering to all precautionary principles and taking requisite safeguards…(including) the aspect of the working conditions of the workers." The order clearly mandates the Government of India to take the necessary steps at an international level. This order put the onus on ship-owners and ship-owning countries to clean up toxic wastes on board ships before sending them to India. This development has brought new hope for the campaign in India. The court has called for the setting up an inter-ministerial committee that should include representatives from environmental and labour organizations. Greenpeace will maintain its traditional role as a watchdog for the environment, and we will ensure that the Supreme Court ruling is followed not just to the letter, but also in spirit.

6. UK shipping company exposed - The Greenpeace flagship, `Rainbow Warrior', during its tour to India has tracked the end-of-life vessel `Genova Bridge' in Alang in Gujarat. This ship is owned by the V-ships of London. This is a classic case of double standards. This is because the U.K. authorities didn't give permission to break US Ghost ships, but are happy to illegally dump their own toxic ships elsewhere. They failed to ensure safe removal of hazardous substances and safe conditions for the workers in the developing world. Greenpeace further demanded that the U.K. Government should apply the same international rules to their illegal export of toxic ships to India, that they applied to the illegal import of the `ghost fleet' to the U.K.


7. Greenpeace asked the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) to inspect Genova Bridge. A directive to inspect the ship was issued by the central ministry of environment following a campaign by Greenpeace against the ship. Asbestos was found during an inspection by the GPCB. The Gujarat government has decided to order cleaning up of the UK owned ship to free it of asbestos, before it is broken up at Alang. This action has forced the GPCB authorities to check all the ships on regular basis and to open an office in Bhavnagar.

8. General Consensus among the Stakeholders for Real change: Greenpeace got major breakthrough towards the end of the year 2003 when all stakeholders including shipbreakers, GMB (Gujarat Maritime Board, GPCB, the state and central governments agreed for drastic changes in the yards. New projects on drinking water, hospital and training for workers are now underway. The shipbreakers have got part of their act together and have begun to provide PPEs (Personal Protective Equipments) to workers. They have also brought social security schemes like insurance cover and medical attention to workers.

9. Greenpeace in the beginning of year 2004 has convinced the GMB not to install incinerators in Alang, that would seriously incresure concentrations of toxic fumes in the atmosphere in the region. GMB is now pushing this issue with the Central Pollution Control Board.