Brussels, 12 February 2016 - The NGO Shipbreaking
Platform and Transport and Environment (T&E) denounce Maersk Group’s
decision to beach their end-of-life vessels in India [1]. The world’s leading
container ship owner was previously guided by a progressive policy on ship
recycling: its old vessels were dismantled in modern ship recycling facilities
in either China, Turkey or Europe. Maersk’s decision to resort to the low-cost
beaching method in India undermines European efforts to improve global conditions
and the company’s position as industry leader.
“Maersk estimates they can realise an additional 1-2
million USD per ship by onselling to dismantling companies in India. It is
hypocritical to see Maersk’s engagement in India presented proudly in the company’s
CSR Report as one that aims at promoting higher standards. The fact is that
they are already selling ships now to facilities that operate under conditions
that would not be allowed in Europe - they admit themselves that the decision
to go to India is primarily taken to make their financial report look better”,
says Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
The Platform had welcomed Maersk’s initial idea to set
up a long-term cooperation with stakeholders in India provided that the
objective was to set up a modern ship recycling facility in line with the
safety and environmental requirements set out by the European Ship Recycling
Regulation. However, the hasty decision to sell off end-of-life vessels to
Alang shows that the decision is merely driven by profits. In times of low
freight rates, Maersk intends to boost its profits by selling to yards that do
not comply with European standards.
All yards in Alang dismantle vessels in the intertidal
zone. This means that ships are broken in an unprotected marine environment – a
method which has been identified at the international level as one that needs
to be phased-out and that European law has banned. Environmental concerns
remain linked to the abrasion of toxic paints during the beaching process and
when cut-off blocks and hulls are winched further up the beach, oil spills and
the release of slag and paints chips into the water, and the debris created by
the gravity method when blocks crash down on the intertidal zone.
Moreover, working and living conditions in Alang remain
inadequate. The lack of decent accommodation will not be solved before the
first Maersk vessels arrives in Alang, nor will there be access to a proper
hospital specialised in accidents and burn wounds. Maersk seems also to ignore
the lacunae of proper downstream waste management in India: asbestos-containing
materials can and are re-sold freely and PCBs cannot be properly destroyed.
These issues are not dealt with by the Hong Kong Convention - for European
Union approval these problems will however need to be addressed.
“The situation in Alang is not ‘fantastic’ as stated by
Maersk. Similar conditions would not be accepted in Denmark, in any other
shipping nation in Europe, or in the shipping hubs in East Asia. By selling
ships to the Alang beach, Maersk is externalising costs for proper recycling
and undermining the standard set by the European Ship Recycling Regulation,”
states Patrizia Heidegger. “We expected visionary leadership from Maersk and
that their CSR report boasted support for the setting up of a truly modern ship
recycling facility in India. Instead they are rubberstamping practices that
they previously denounced.”
CONTACT
Patrizia Heidegger
Executive Director
NGO Shipbreaking Platform
+32 2 6094 419
NOTES
[1] Maersk has stated in Danish press that several of
their ships will be sold to the beach of Alang in the coming six months.
Source: Press release, NGO Shipbreaking. 12 February 2016
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