The Maersk Group’s
plan to avoid European environmental law on ship recycling by flagging ships to
non-EU flags seriously undermines its credibility as a responsible ship
operator, the Clean Shipping Coalition has said.
The Danish shipping
giant said it will need to scrap more vessels in the coming years due to
oversupply and low freight rates in the container market, and it estimates it
can earn an additional USD 1-2 million per ship by using beaching yards in
Alang, India.
John Maggs, senior
policy advisor at Seas At Risk and president of the Clean Shipping Coalition,
said: "Maersk is a European company and should abide by European laws.
Suggesting that it might use a flag of convenience to escape EU ship breaking
rules designed to protect the environment and worker safety is scandalous, and
will seriously undermine its credibility as a responsible ship owner and
operator."
Until recently,
Maersk followed a progressive policy on ship recycling, including a ‘cradle to
grave’ approach which committed to ‘total vessel recycling’. Maersk’s decision
to resort to the low-cost method of beaching and to flagging out its ships
beforehand undermines not only the company’s position as a responsible industry
leader, but also European efforts to improve global conditions, the Clean
Shipping Coalition said.
Recent technical
guidelines for ship recycling facilities issued by the European Commission make
it clear that a beach is not an appropriate place for a high-risk heavy
industry involving hazardous waste management. While only vessels sailing under
an EU flag will be legally obliged to use an EU approved facility, the NGOs
have called for all shipping companies around the world with a responsible
policy to use EU-approved facilities to show that they are recycling vessels
responsibly.
For his part,
Sotiris Raptis, shipping officer at Transport & Environment, said: “While
Maersk supports innovation on reducing air polluting emissions, this move shows
a cavalier attitude towards the environmental impacts of dismantling ships in
the intertidal zone. Maersk needs to reverse course on practices that it
previously denounced and that would never be allowed in Europe.”
Source: 8 June 2016
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