Pakistan's shipbreaking yard at
Gadani may be severely hit by the new European Union ship recycling
regulations.
It is also facing tough
competition from China and Turkey which receive maximum number of ships for recycling
because of their advanced setups for dismantling.
At present, 68 plots are
operational in the Gadani shipbreaking yard, which are run by 38 operators and
employ more than 12,000 workers. In the year 2012, the yard had 133 ships to
dismantle.
These facts were revealed in a
research report, ‘Pakistan shipbreaking Outlook: The Way Forward for a Green
Ship-recycling Industry’. The research was jointly conducted by Islamabad-based
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and Brussels-based Non-Governmental
Organisation Shipbreaking Platform.
The report alerts Islamabad to
take corrective measures to save the industry, which also provides raw
materials to the domestic steel industry, from a complete collapse. The new EU
regulations strongly discourage its citizens from breaking ships at beaches of
those countries that do not have advanced methods for dismantling.
The findings of the report are
based on the physical observation of shipbreaking yards, unsatisfactory workers
rights, waste handling, storage, disposal and environmental impact. All these
issues will turn out to be major irritants in the attraction of ships for
breaking at Gadani, especially from Europe, in case the government does not
take corrective measures.
To comply with these standards,
Patrizia Heidegger, a co-author of the report, suggested that Pakistan
introduce standard operating procedures (SOPs) to deal with hazardous waste.
Thousands of tonnes of hazardous
waste are piling up in the Gadani area. There is an urgent need to put in place
facilities to take care of this waste, which endangers the environment and
threatens the health of workers.
Ms Patrizia quoted an example
from different shipbreaking nations like China and India, which, she said,
should be considered in formulating rules and regulations for shipbreaking in
the country, which was only recently formally recognised as an industry.
Unfortunately, much of the documentation is still non-existent.
In this context, Pakistan has
ratified the Basel Convention. However, a compliance instrument is yet to be
established. Furthermore, the enforcement of laws like the Pakistan Environment
Protection Act 1997, the Factories Act 1934 and the Pakistan Penal Code, which
are already in place, is very weak.
With Pakistan, the issue is not
with the formulation of new rules, but the implementation of existing rules to
comply with the EU’s standards to save shipbreaking from complete collapse. The
industry pays around Rs5 billion in taxes annually.
The report made 20 recommendations
for a green ship recycling strategy and sector-specific regulations. As the
investment needed for compliance with international standards is beyond the
financial capacity of the local shipbreaking industry, development banks or the
Global Environment Facility (GEF) could assist Pakistan in the upgrading of its
shipbreaking yards.
After the 18th amendment, the
government needs to remove the overlapping responsibilities between the
national and provincial governments, and ensure the implementation of the regulations.
The recommendations vary from training and awareness to a roadmap for
investment in the technical infrastructure of the shipbreaking yards.
The report also recommends that
the State Bank of Pakistan issue a directive to commercial banks for compliance
with social and environmental safeguard policies and legislation with regards
to loans given to the shipbreaking sector.
In short, the establishment of
state of the art infrastructure at Gadani will attract more ships for
dismantling in the future.
Source:
The Dawn.
http://dawn.com/news/1053903/gadani-shipbreaking-yard-under-threat
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