Seven people are dead, six others are injured, and more than 10
people are 'missing' as another ship-breaking explosion rocks Alang
on the 19th of May. But as Greenpeace has been reiterating for the
past many years, death should be no surprise at Alang. The abysmal
working conditions, the high levels of toxicity, the blatant
violation of all rules and regulations have combined to make the
workers of ship-breaking yards one of the most vulnerable
communities - so much so that death is almost casually treated as
another 'occupational hazard.'
The most recent explosion in yard no 5 of Arya Ship-breaking
yard on 19th of May involved the ship INVALLE, an oil tanker
originally from Belgium. What is more noteworthy, is that this is
the fourth major accident in the last two and a half months. Each
of these accidents leaves behind several dead, and many others so
severely maimed and disfigured that even veteran war-photographers
would cringe to see their gory images.
The explosion on the INVALLE was a typical example of
ship-breaking accidents, yet particularly ironical. The accident
occurred when workers were trying to cut a pipe in the erstwhile
engine room. According to one source, this basement-level engine
room had one big tank full of oil that caught fire, generating
gaseous fumes that resulted in the explosion. This accident proves
that the INVALLE (like so many other ships brought to Alang) was
not delivered in "Gas free for hot works" condition - even though
that is mandatory according to the regulations of the Gujarat
Maritime Board (GMB). But even though the ship-owners recover
millions of dollars in selling their decrepit vessels to breakers'
yards, they do not invest the little amount of money it would take
to make their ships "Gas free for hot work".
As with every accident in Alang, the next-of-kin of the dead
place the blame on the ship-owners and on the GMB. The GMB seems to
have inadequate regulatory systems to monitor the lack of safety
procedures in place at the yards. The ship-owners pay no attention
to removal of toxic waste from the ships, and transfer their
responsibilities to Ship-breaking countries.
Although discussion of the liability for decontaminating ships
before sending them to the yards has been going on for several
years, this year, according to Greenpeace, will be "crucial". There
is commitment at the IMO to have guidelines on ship recycling
adopted by the end of this year. Greenpeace will urge the IMO to go
for mandatory rules on ships for scrap and oblige owners to clean
their ships before exporting them, and ensure that tanks are
delivered gas-free for hot work. Until the time that ship owners
are held legally responsible for their end-of-life vessels,
hazardous old ships will continue to go to the countries where
regulation of environmental laws is at its weakest.
Greenpeace would like to see binding international legislation
that will force the shipping industry to deal with hazardous waste
in ships. But the proposed moratorium on exporting ships for scrap
has seen setbacks - especially with the United States plan to back
out of it.
Towards the end of last year, Greenpeace, BAN, Toxics Link, the
National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM), the All India Trade
Union Congress (CITU AITUC, Indian National Trade Union Congress
(INTUC) and the Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) wrote to
the Consul of the US in New Delhi, making plain their views about
the Bush administration's plan to break out of the moratorium on
exporting ships for scrap.
In the letter the organizations said: "We would like to bring to
your attention the implications of recent deliberations in the US
to dispose of more than 300 ships without decontamination in… Asian
shipbreaking yards."
"You may recall that the then US vice president Al Gore placed a
moratorium on the sale of US government-owned ships for scrap…
after Indian trade unions and environmental organisations protested
outside the US embassy in New Delhi in January 1998."
"While we are in no way opposed to the reclamation of steel for
reuse… we have repeatedly indicated our opposition to the export to
any country… of any form of hazardous waste. Ships for scrap,
unless decontaminated, are hazardous waste by virtue of the fact
that most, if not all, ships contain a range of hazardous material
in their structure."
" Various legal precedents exist to confirm that ships for scrap
(unless decontaminated) should be treated as hazardous wastes,"
said the letter. "Furthermore," it claimed, "such an export is
illegal under… international law and would, if exported to India,
violate the May 5, 1997, Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the
import of hazardous wastes."
"The ships in question are too old… to travel on their own
steam. They would need to be towed to the shipbreaking yard. There
is no reason why the ships cannot be decontaminated prior to towing
to the shipbreaking yard," concluded the authors of the letter.
The astonishing regularity with which fatal accidents occur in
Alang, clearly indicate that a strong and mandatory framework must
be set up by the IMO to make sure that the same rules apply to
every ship for scrap. Greenpeace is demanding:
1. That all ships brought to the Asian shipbreaking yards be
thoroughly decontaminated and be made gas- free for hot works and
man entry before arrival.
2. That the International Maritime Organisation develops a
strong and mandatory framework to make sure that the same rule
apply to all ships and that shipowners are held accountable and
liable for their End of Life Vessels and for any hazardous
materials they contain.
3. That the Basel Convention be strictly adhered to, and
transboundary movement and disposal of hazardous wastes be
regulated as per international law.
For more information:Ramapati Kumar, Ship-Breaking Campaigner -
080 51154860
Email id:
For more information:Namrata Chowdhary, Media Officer -
9810850092
Email id:
For more information:Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director -
9841091424
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