Brussels, 8 September 2015 - Environmental, human and labour rights
organisations denounce Polish government-owned shipping company POLSTEAM for
its poor shipbreaking practices and call upon POLSTEAM to take the necessary
action concerning its ship recycling practices as a matter of urgency. The NGO
Shipbreaking Platform and the European Environmental Bureau, and the more than
160 environmental, human and labour rights organisations they represent,
together with Polish NGOs Fundacja Instytut na rzecz Ekorozwoju and Towarzystwo
na Rzecz Ziemi, have sent a letter to POLSTEAM asking the company, and the
government, to change its practices. [1]
“As an EU Member State owned shipping company, POLSTEAM should set an
example and adhere to a ship recycling policy that is in line with EU standards
and legislation. It is a disgrace to have a Polish state owned company listed
amongst the top dumpers of toxic end-of-life ships on the beaches of developing
countries,” said Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking
Platform. [2]
Whilst new European Union legislation clearly disqualifies shipbreaking
on tidal beaches as environmentally sound and safe and more ship owners join
the group of those that do not want to be associated with dangerous and
polluting practices [3], POLSTEAM has already this year sold three end-of-life
vessels to South Asian beaching yards. The bulk carriers ARMIA LUDOWA and
POLSKA WALCZACA were sold to Bangladesh breakers where shipbreaking is globally
acknowledged not to respect even minimum human rights and environmental
standards.
“Yet another gas cylinder explosion severely injured at least eight
workers in Chittagong this weekend. I am wondering how many more accidents we
have to document before the authorities in Bangladesh decide to hold a yard
manager accountable for putting peoples' lives in danger - and for how long
European ship owners, such as POLSTEAM, still want to profit from this dirty
business?" said Patrizia Heidegger.
POLSTEAM is undergoing a fleet replacement and investment programme for
the years 2015 to 2020 and still owns at least 15 vessels built in the 1990s
that are likely candidates for scrapping in the next couple of years.
“The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has constructively consulted with many
responsible owners of vessels and has together with these companies identified
sustainable solutions for clean and safe ship recycling. We would be glad to
exchange with POLSTEAM about available solutions. Poland has lots of dormant
capacity for ship recycling, its laid-down shipbuilding industry could be
converted to modern ship recycling facilities ”, said Patrizia Heidegger.
NOTES
[1] Letters to Polsteam in English and in Polish; letters to the Polish
government in English and in Polish
[2] Since 2009, POLSTEAM has sold 13 end-of-life vessels for dirty and
dangerous shipbreaking in South Asia. In India, Bangladesh and Pakistan,
end-of-life vessels are demolished in the intertidal zone. This practice would
never be allowed in the EU and has been banned in other ship recycling
countries such as China, Taiwan and Turkey. The beaching of vessels does not
allow for the containment and safe removal of hazardous waste from the
structure of the vessel and cannot prevent the pollution of the coastal
environment. Moreover, beaching cannot guarantee the protection of workers’
health and safety. In particular the shipbreakers of Bangladesh employ children
and young boys, which is illegal under international law as well as the
Bangladesh Labor Act. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) considers
shipbreaking as one of the most hazardous jobs in the world. None of the South
Asian yards meet the requirements of the new EU Regulation on Ship Recycling.
[3] Thirteen large shipping companies already follow sustainable ship
recycling policies. In addition to several Norwegian ship owners such as Grieg,
Wilhelmsen and Høegh, also German Hapag-Lloyd, Danish Maersk Lines, Royal Dutch
Boskalis, Canadian CSL Group and Singapore-based China Navigation Company, have
committed to ensuring the proper end-of-life management of their fleet. They do
so on principle, even if they have to compromise on their profits – they simply
do not want to be responsible for polluting sensitive coastal zones and putting
workers lives at risk during dirty and dangerous shipbreaking on tidal beaches.
The recent announcement of the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association adds many more
shipping companies to the list of responsible stakeholders.
Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform
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