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.
Greenpeace today delivered 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. The sculpture was made from the funnels of five old ships,
one of which, the Greek owned Amina,[1] exploded in the yard,
killing 9 people and causing over a dozen serious injuries. The
sculpture serves as a reminder of the human and environmental toll
caused by current shipbreaking practices.
The Marine Environmental Protection Committee of the IMO will
this week address the current practice of dealing with end-of- life
vessels. Even today old ships are being sent to Asia and to other
developing countries containing hazardous substances which
routinely risk the lives and health of local people and destroy
their environment.
With this sculpture we want to make clear that this lethal
business of sending toxic ships to Asia and elsewhere without
cleaning them first is a lethal business that needs to stop.
Currently voluntary measures proposed by the IMO will not protect
the people or the environment in Asia. Some ship owners and others
in the shipping industry have told Greenpeace that they too want
mandatory rules to provide a level playing field. We call on the
IMO to establish a legally binding regime to deal with this
business, which is a form of waste trade said Ramapati Kumar, from
Greenpeace India.
The ships sent for scrapping often contain substances such as
asbestos, PCB s and oil known to damage human health and the
environment. In addition the presence of other substances, such as
fuel or gases in tanks increases the risk of explosion and other
accidents putting the safety of workers at risk.
The ship owners currently continue to send vessels for breaking
as is . This means full of hazardous substances, which would
normally not allowed to be traded according to the international
waste trade laws established under the Basel Convention. Greenpeace
believes that unless the ships are decontaminated prior to their
arrival at shipbreaking yards, the shipping industry is, in
practice, breaking established principles of international law.
According to Greenpeace, current voluntary proposals are not
enough to prevent pollution or to improve the dangerous working
conditions in shipbreaking yards. Effective prevention of pollution
takes place only when hazardous substances are removed from
end-of-life vessels, which needs to be mandatory and consistent
with international waste trade laws.
Instead of trying to throw Greenpeace out of the IMO [2],
delegates should get down to the real business at hand to protect
of life and the environment from the worst impacts of the shipping
industry , added Paul Horsman, Head of the Greenpeace delegation to
IMO.
VVPR info: Photos and video of the action available from Greenpeace International, Photo desk John Novis Mob: +31653819121; Video Hester van Meurs, Mob: +31629001135
Notes: (1) Amina exploded in Alang on February 2003 killing 9 workers and injuring more than a dozen people. The ship contained hazardous gas and other toxic substances. The Greek owner, Chandris, still refuses to take any responsibility for the way the ship was delivered. (2) At the most recent meeting of the Council in April the IMO announced it was revoking the Greenpeace consultative status, however, following a procedural question, this decision has been deferred to the full Assembly meeting in November 2003.