Feature story - March 30, 2005
KAKINADA, India — The beautiful beach of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) may soon turn into a scrapyard for old, toxic ships, threatening the lives of local people and the nearby Coringa nature reserve.
The beautiful beach at Kakinada may soon turn into a shipbreaking yard.
ACT
NOW: Save Kakinada Beach in India! Local fishing families need your
help.
The beautiful beach of Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh) may soon turn
into a scrapyard for old, toxic ships, threatening the lives of
local people and the nearby Coringa nature reserve. Kakinada
fishing families need your help to save Kakinada beach. Let the
governments of Andra Pradesh and the European Union know they
should protect nature and the livelihood of Kakinada families.
The white sandy beaches of Kakinada, India could be turned into
polluting scrapyards. With the compliments of the European Union.
Europe decided to ban all single hull oil tankers. The
International Maritime Organisation followed and turned this
decision into a worldwide ban. This comes into effect on 5 April
2005. But where should these end-of-life vessels go? There are
hardly any clean and safe shipbreaking facilities. So most ships
with toxic and oil waste onboard will sail their last journey to
the shipbreaking yards of Asia, where they are scrapped under
appalling circumstances.
Horrifying example
For shipbreakers it is a very profitable time to establish a new
shipbreaking yard on an Asian beach. In Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh)
they can hardly wait to start building. But many fisherman's
families live and work along the Bay of Kakinada. Around 200.000
people depend on clean seas for their livelihoods. The fishermen
desperately try to stop the arrival of the ships for scrap. Their
horrifying example are the shipbreaking yards of Alang. In Alang
the sea is heavily polluted and many workers die because of
exploding oil residues, toxic substances and asbestos.
Mangrove forests
The shallow Bay of Kakinada is an ecologically sensitive area.
Some 20 km south of this port town is located one of the last big
united mangrove area of South East Asia. In the coastal zone the
mangrove forests act as a barrier against erosion and high tidal
waves. The mangrove also protects the inlands against cyclones: the
area is cyclone prone during October and November. They provide
food and shelter to numerous species of fish and birds, sea otters
and monkeys. The mangrove trees breath from the roots that grow in
the saline water. So they are very vulnerable to oil pollution by
the ships for scrap.
Hope Island
'Hope Island' is the name of the 16 km long sand spit that has
created the Bay of Kakinada. But there remains little hope for the
pristine island if the shipbreaking plans are realized. On Hope
Island we find several species of turtles. The inhabitants of
Kakinada are convinced that Hope Island protects them against
cyclones and other natural disasters. Parts of the narrow sandy
formation are already flooded due to the construction of a deep sea
port. People now are afraid their beautiful island will be
submerged if the end-of-life vessels arrive and industrial activity
extends further.
EU responsibility
Through court procedures the fishermen succeeded in temporarily
stopping the shipbreaking yards. But now they fear that the state
government will give a go-ahead to the shipbreaking plans.
Greenpeace supports the fishermen in their call against a new
shipbreaking beach. Not only the Indian authorities are
responsible, the European Union as well. Europe protects itself
against future oil disasters by banning single hull oil tankers.
But the EU should not export its toxic and oil problems to Asia.
Very rightly the EU together with 163 countries to the Basel
Convention acknowledges ships for scrap as hazardous waste that are
not simply allowed to be exported to developing countries. But now
the EU should also ensure clean shipbreaking facilities. It's the
only way to prevent an ecological disaster in Kakinada.
Act now: send an email together with
the Kakinada fishermen!
You can help save the beaches and mangroves of Kakinada.
Read the testimonies of the fisherman's families and join them in
protesting against the shipbreaking plans. Send an e-mail to
the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and to the transport ministers
of the European Union!
Links:
Kakinada,facts and figures
Shipbreaking in Kakinada
Mangrove forests
Read the testimonies of the fishermans's families