Alang needs better health infrastructure:

GANDHINAGAR: The 10-member Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) on shipbreaking has called for strengthening of regulatory mechanism in Alang to prevent casualties from taking place in accidents at Asia's biggest shipbreaking yard.

The IMC visited various shipbreaking plots and inspected the dismantling of ships being done by workers on Friday. The visit came in the backdrop of six workers dying while dismantling an oil tanker earlier this month. They had interactions with shipbreakers, workers and officials. "They were satisfied with the improvements being made in terms of infrastructure at the shipbreaking yard," an official said.

In an interaction with Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) officials on Thursday, the IMC had called for improving the health infrastructure in Alang and said that a hospital capable of handling emergencies must be built in Alang at the earliest. In a recent development, GMB, which is the port regulator, has signed a memorandum of understanding with GVK EMRI for providing 108 basic life support ambulance in Alang. It has also taken steps for getting employees of shipbreaking firms registered by Employees' State Insurance Corporation. In its action taken report submitted to IMC, it gave details on efforts being made for getting an ESIC hospital functional in Alang.

Sources said another issue raised by IMC team was providing clean dormitory accommodation to the workers employed. The GMB has plans to come up with a housing project of 1,000 units for which approval has been granted by the government and a detailed proposal for availing a financial assistance of Rs 13.13 crore has been submitted.

To the issues related to treatment of waste raised by IMC during its two-day visit to Gandhinagar and Alang, the GMB has conveyed that landfill cells for an additional 1,00,000 cubic meters waste disposal has been made ready last month. GMB has stated that it plans to install an incinerator also in Alang for which environmental clearance is awaited.

Source: times of india. 19 October 2012

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Alang-needs-better-health-infrastructure/articleshow/16882663.cms

Gujarat maritime board to take call on dismantling of ‘toxic’ ship at Alang: Centre to SC

NEW DELHI: The Union environment and forests ministry has stepped into the controversy over beaching rights and breaking of the ship, Exxon Valdez (rechristened as Oriental Nicety), at India's biggest ship-breaking yard at Alang by leaving the decision to the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB).

Responding to environment activist Gopal Krishna's application in the Supreme Court for decontamination of the vessel before permission to beach at Alang, the ministry in its affidavit said: "The local authority concerned, GMB, may take a decision for anchoring and subsequent beaching and breaking of the ship in strict compliance of the apex court's September 6, 2009, directions."

The ship is standing outside India's maritime boundary waiting for permission to beach at Alang for breaking. Exxon Valdez had been on the red radar of environmentalists since March 24, 1989, when it ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The vessel spilled approximately 10.9 million gallons of its 53 million gallon cargo of Prudhoe Bay crude oil, making it the largest oil spill in US waters.

ExxonMobil Company took immediate responsibility for the spill, cleaned it up, and voluntarily compensated those who claimed direct damages. ExxonMobil paid $300 million immediately and voluntarily to more than 11,000 Alaskans and businesses affected by the Valdez spill. In addition, it also paid $2.2 billion on the cleanup of Prince William Sound, staying with the cleanup from 1989 till its completion in 1992. ExxonMobil also had paid $1 billion in settlements with the state and federal governments.

Krishna had requested the Supreme Court to direct the Union government to ensure that no end-of-life ship be allowed into the country's coast without prior decontamination in the country of its origin.

He had also sought an inquiry into the manner in which more than 5,000 dead ships were brought into Indian waters for breaking allegedly without following the norms laid down by the Supreme Court.

The ship's owner, Best Oasis Ltd; had replied to Krishna's application through counsel Gaurav Goel, and also told the apex court that the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and the GMB were permitting the ship to beach without even verifying whether there was any hazardous waste on the vessel.

The owners said the notice issued by the SC on Krishna's application was being understood by the authorities as an order restraining the ship from entering the Indian territorial waters.

"Exxon Valdez does not have any hazardous material," the owner declared and promised to abide by the apex court's 2009 directions in both letter and spirit. "The only allegation made by Gopal Krishna is to the effect that at one point of time the ship was an oil carrying vessel and due to an accident it polluted the sea. The ship was repaired after the accident, and had been in use for all these years as an ore-carrying vessel," they said.

Source: Times of India. 24 June 2012

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-24/pollution/32392870_1_alang-dead-ships-gmb

US ship with toxic past gets GPCB nod:

The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), one of the 3 government agencies with jurisdiction over the Alang Shipbreaking Yard, has said that it has no objections in allowing the controversial US ship MV Oriental N, formerly known as Exxon Valdez, to anchor off Bhavnagar for an inspection.

With the nod from the GPCB, the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) is awaiting the Customs Department’s opinion on the issue, and will thereafter take a final decision on whether to allow the ship to anchor according to government sources. The development comes two days after the Ministry of Shipping told the Supreme Court that “it is the GMB which has to take a decision as to whether the ship concerned should be allowed into the concerned port for ship breaking.”

The ministry was responding to a case filed by Delhi-based activist Gopal Krishna who asked that the Basel Convention, an international agreement ratified by India, be upheld and the dismantling of MV Oriental N not be allowed because it had not been decontaminated.

Rules framed in 2007 under the SC’s orders makes it mandatory for a consensus from all three agencies for a vessel to be allowed to anchored off Alang. These decisions are taken after a ‘desk review’, in which the ship owners submit a declaration of possible hazardous materials present on board.

In case of the Oriental N, desk review documents showed that there is no hazardous material on board the vessel in loose form, although asbestos, glasswool, ply and asbestos containing material (ACM) are present as insulating material in the ship’s engine, boiler areas and some cabins and walls. Such in-built materials are allowed by the Indian authorities as per the 2007 rules.

If the ship is allowed to be anchored, officials from the GPCB and the Customs department along with experts from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Explosives Department would inspect the ship to verify the desk review documents. If not hazardous waste is found in a loose form, the GMB would allow for the ship to be anchored and dismantled. The MV Oriental N attained it’s controversial status in 1989 when the ship spilled an estimated 2.5 lakh barrels of crude oil off the Alaskan coast. The 27-year-old ship changed its name at least seven times and hoisted at least four flags and is reported to have been transporting ore since September 2008.

The vessel is currently reported to be near the coast of Mumbai.

Source: Indian Express. 28 June 2012

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-ship-with-toxic-past-gets-gpcb-nod/967699/

Gujarat HC issues interim direction to stop shipbreaking activity at Sachana port:

The Gujarat high court has issued an interim direction to stop shipbreaking activity at Sachana port of Jamnagar district on the ground of lack of proper environment clearance. Justice SR Brambhatt granted stay after the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) could not answer relevant query of the court. The state forest department had claimed that the GMB extended three yards of shipbreaking activity without getting environment clearance as required.

The single judge bench has also issued notice to the Gujarat state chief secretary and others in the matter.

The GMB which added the overall area for shipbreaking activity attracted the attention of the forest department which claimed that the additional area fell within the limit of a Marine National Park.

The Forest authority thereafter issued a directive to stop shipbreaking activity at Sachana port in Jamnagar. Challenging this, the shipbreakers association approached the Gujarat high court for relief.

Advocate Premal Nanavati who appeared for GMB informed, “We have opposed the move of forest department as the business of shipbreaking has been running since 1977and nobody objected to it. The forest department notification which defines the port and shipbreaking areas was issued before the declaration of forest area. The forest department has not even given any substantial proofs like map of the area.”

Advocate Kirtikant Nanavati who appeared for the forest department claimed that the shipbreaking activity was being conducted over forest land. The shipbreakers did not even have environment clearance, he added.

The matter will come up for hearing next on June 18.

Source: Law Et Al News. By Ashishsingh Chauhan. 16 May 2012

http://www.lawetalnews.com/article/552/Gujarat-HC-issues-interim-direction-to-stop-ship-breaking-activity-at-Sachana-port.htm

High Court stays dismantling of ships at Sachana yard:

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court has stayed shipbreaking activity at the Sachana in Jamnagar district over the state forest department's objection that the yards do not have environment clearance.

Justice S R Brahmbhatt ordered after the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) failed to satisfactorily reply to certain queries posed by the forest department regarding the location of the yard. The foresters have been maintaining that the shipbreaking activities are taking place not only on forest land, but the newly added three yards fall in the Marine National Park.

The shipbreaking business at Sachana port has been going on since 1977. Till 1984, there were only 6 yards, but thereafter it became15. Recently, it has increased to 18. Addition of these 3 yards alarmed the forest authorities and they ordered all shipbreakers to stop the activity with immediate effect in absence of environment clearance.

As the issue reached to the high court, the GMB supported shipbreakers and disputed forest department's claims about the limit of the marine park. It also argued that the notification declaring the port limit and shipbreaking yards was issued prior to the declaration of forest area. It also contended that the forest department's claims were not even substantiated by any map, but activities in the three new plots were stopped after the forest department's directives.

However, during the proceeding, Justice Brahmbhatt inquired as to why shipbreaking activity was not stopped in all plots. The HC pulled up the GMB officials and took undertaking from the shipbreakers that they would stay all work till further orders.

Following the dispute between two departments of state government, the HC has also issued notice to the chief secretary to look into the matter, and kept further hearing on the issue on June 18.

Source: Times of India. 13 May 2012

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/HC-stays-ship-breaking-activity-at-Sachana-yard/articleshow/13114543.cms

Asia's Largest Shipbreaking Yard Opposes State Plan:

Gujarat government's plan to upgrade the Alang Ship Recycling Yard opposed by the operators

The Japan-backed ambitious $22-million plan of the Gujarat government to upgrade the Alang Ship Recycling Yard, which is the largest in Asia, has run into rough weather with recyclers finding the project environmentally and financially non-viablle, reports 'The Indian Express'.

Alang Ship Recyclers Association has made it clear to the Gujarat Maritime Board that they are not in a position to go for the project that involves construction of a dry dock, improvement of existing plots and creating other facilities.

Recylcers say the upgrade plan may bring 30-odd more ships to Alang for dismantling, but it will also mean financial stress by way of increased debt, besides a new set of rules and regulations by International Maritime Organisation convention to contend with.

The project was proposed to Chief Minister Narendra Modi by a Japanese delegation comprising leading ship builders from Japan in February this year. The delegation had twice visited Alang in Bhavnagar district.

Located in Bay of Khambhat, Alang has an ideal environment for ship-breaking because of extreme high and low tides. On an average 425 ships are recycled here on annually on over 100 plots using a methodology called beaching.

Source: MarineLink (Sourced from The Indian Express). 2 May 2012

http://www.marinelink.com/news/shipbreaking-largest344324.aspx