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Victory - Toxic ship export controlled

Worker scrapping ship at Alang scrap yard Enlarge Image

US plans to dump toxic navy ships on poor countries

It's a logical premise - industrialised nations should not dump their waste on developing countries. Developing countries have enough problems, they don't need toxic and hazardous wastes dumped on them as well. But logic is not a word that is often associated with the US government these days.

Ship being scrapped, Alang, Gujarat, India. Enlarge Image

Nature reserve or scrap yard?

The little known west African state of Guinea Bissau, sandwiched between Senegal and Guinea, includes the Bijagos Archipelagos. The islands are home to a huge range of wildlife and are an internationally recognised wildlife reserve and important local fisheries. Sounds like a fabulous place to dump toxic ships, doesn't it?

Unilever agrees to clean up its toxic mercury mess in south India. Enlarge Image

Bon voyage, mercury waste

A container ship currently heading from southern India to the US represents a small victory in the fight against corporate crime across the globe. The ship is carrying 320 tonnes of toxic mercury contaminated waste which comes from a closed plant owned by the Indian subsidiary of consumer products giant Unilever.

Workers at Alang shipbreaking yard Enlarge Image

Tricks of the trade

The ship breaking industry provides one of the clearest examples of exploiting the environment and workers for profit. But thanks to the exposure of this toxic trade and public pressure, the industry is slowly realising it must clean up its act. Help us maintain the pressure.

Greenpeace activists scale the EU building 'Berlaymont' and display a giant banner stating "Clean toxic ships now". Enlarge Image

Deadly asbestos exported to Asia

Asbestos is cleaned from buildings in Europe because of the hazards to human health. But Europe still exports asbestos to Asia in the form of old ships full of hazardous waste which are scrapped on beaches by unprotected workers. We are acting to put an end to this practice.

Greenpeace activists deliver a sculpture, 2 by 5 metres, made from the remains of ships taken from Indian shipbreaking yards to delegates attending the International Maritime Organisation in London. Enlarge Image

Deadly cost of shipbreaking

Politicians deciding on rules for scrapping old ships got a timely reminder when a sculpture, made from the remains of ships taken from Indian shipbreaking yards, was delivered to delegates attending the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meeting in London.

View of ship breaking yard where hazardous materials onboard ships cause pollution and endanger workers. Enlarge Image

France reclaims toxic ship

After being caught illegally exporting ships containing hazardous waste to Turkey, the French military has seized a former french aircraft carrier they had sold for scrapping. This high seas tale exposes again the underhand tactics and cost cutting of some sections of the shipping industry at the expense of the environment and workers' health.

Obsolete vessels from the US National Defense Reserve Fleet, or ghost fleet, anchored in the James River, near Norfol, VA. Thirteen of the vessels contain toxic materials and are slated to be towed to the UK for shipbreaking. Enlarge Image

Toxic ghost fleet

Two former US Navy ships are now crossing the Atlantic for scrapping in the UK. Contaminated with toxic waste, the failure of the US to clean them up at home has caused outrage in Europe. But have a closer look at the issue of shipbreaking: putting toxic vessels out of sight and out of mind is the rule rather than the exception -- and the recipients are usually developing countries.

Activists protest in front of two UK ships being broken in India. The export of toxic chemicals to other countries is illegal under the Basel Convention. Enlarge Image

UK's own ghost ship in India

There's outrage in the UK! The US is sending its "ghost fleet," complete with asbestos and toxic chemicals, for dismantling in England. The UK government has said the ships will have to go back. A British court has put a halt to any dismantling. Permits have been revoked. But meanwhile, in India, guess what Greenpeace's ghost-busting toxic patrol has found?

Rainbow Warrior on toxic patrol in India Enlarge Image

Greenpeace on Toxic Patrol in India

The Greenpeace sailing vessel the Rainbow Warrior is currently anchored off the coast of Alang, India. Alang is the site of the world's largest shipbreaking yard. Greenpeace is planning to conduct "toxic patrols" of ships which are here waiting for scrapping. A team of experts will do a survey and take samples to determine what type of toxic materials are on board before the ships are beached and the actual scrapping starts. Shipbreaking is an enormous danger for people and the environment. Greenpeace is the only organization in the world fighting for the 100,000 people working in this industry and for the environment they live in.

IMO rejects proposal to evict Greenpeace from the UN body responsible for governance of the oceans. Enlarge Image

Victory! Greenpeace stays in IMO

The International Maritime Organisation, which was considering expulsion of Greenpeace for "unsafe seamanship" has accepted Greenpeace's arguments and bowed to pressure from cyberactivists the world over -- Greenpeace will continue to speak for the oceans in a body dominated by the interests of the oil and shipping industries.

Rainbow Warrior on toxic patrol in India Enlarge Image

The front line of environmental crime

While we were battling in the rarefied, elite corridors of power at a UN meeting to maintain a voice for protection rather than exploitation of the oceans, our flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, was at the sharp end of environmental exploitation - the ship breaking beaches of India. Discover what it is like to be onboard the Rainbow Warrior for the first time and confronting environmental crimes first hand.

Projecting images of poor conditions at shipbreaking sites, on a ship headed for one. Enlarge Image

ItÂ’s no longer a ship.

It’s no longer a ship. It used to be a car ferry, but then there was a fire. The fire burned for a week. Then the ship, the Greek owned Silver Ray, was declared a “construction total loss”. In other words, now it’s not a ship. It’s a 200 metre long floating toxic waste site bound for a scrap yard.

Ship being scrapped at Alang shipbreaking yard Enlarge Image

Exposing toxic trade in disguise

During June four representatives from ship breaking yards in India and Bangladesh are touring through Europe. They aim to present the impact of the current polluting practices at the breaking yards to ship owners and discuss working towards a real solution to these problems. Bells from the shipbreaking yards in Alang, India, accompany them to remind ship owners of the dramatic effects of breaking ships on Asian beaches. The sound of each bell echoes the calls of the people in Asia for a cleaner environment and safer work. Here are personal stories from the trip in Europe:

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Latest Update

More good news! Thanks to over 12,000 emails from our concerned online activists and pressure from a coalition of local and international organisations, a UN biosphere reserve in West Africa has been saved from becoming a new ship breaking location! Discover more online campaigns.