Maersk Line has
responded to criticism from an environmental group accusing it of using flags
of convenience to bypass EC guidelines on ship scrapping.
The world’s largest
container shipping line this year announced it would continue to send vessels
earmarked for recycling to the Indian beaches of Alang – long a favoured
scrapping destination for shipowners.
However it has come
under fire from environmental campaigners claiming the waste management
efforts at Alang are lax, and that it is
outside the list of EU-approved ship-scrapping sites – currently comprising “a
limited number of yards in China and Turkey”.
Recycling a ship at
these yards costs between $1million and $2m more per vessel, Maersk has
calculated. And the guidelines only apply to vessels sailing under an EU flag.
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 shipowner and operator.”
However, Maersk
yesterday told The Loadstar that some scrapping facilities in Alang had raised
standards, with four now certified to new standards outlined under the recent
Hong Kong Convention.
Maersk Group’s head
of group sustainability, Annette Stube, said: “Maersk Group has had a
responsible ship recycling policy since 2009 – and we have not lowered our
standards or changed our policy following our engagement in Alang.
“Developments in
recent years in Alang have seen a number of certified yards capable of
recycling to our standards. In our view, it is essential to support this
development – and we do that most effectively by bringing our ships to be
recycled responsibly in Alang.
“We consider our
engagement an opportunity to change the industry for the better,” she said.
The Clean Shipping
Coalition argues that Maersk’s decision to go to Alang “undermines not only the
company’s position as a responsible industry leader, but also European efforts
to improve global conditions”, and added that it represented a reversal on its
“progressive policy on ship recycling, including a ‘cradle-to-grave’ approach
of ‘total vessel recycling’”.
Sotiris Raptis,
shipping officer at Transport & Environment, added: “While Maersk supports
innovation in 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.”
The Clean Shipping
Coalition said recent guidelines issued by the EC “make it clear that a beach
is not an appropriate place for a high-risk heavy industry involving hazardous
waste management”.
Vessels sailing
under an EU flag will be legally obliged to use an EU approved facility, but
pressure groups have called for shipping companies around the world “with a
responsible policy to use EU-approved facilities”.
However, Maersk
pointed out that 768 ships were scrapped last year, with 469 – 74% of this
total gross tonnage – sold to facilities on beaches in India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh.
Ms Stubbe suggested
the EC could develop its guidelines with greater reference to current reality.
“The aim of the EU
legislation should be to raise the standards where the vast majority of the
world fleet is recycled. This is by no means accomplished by the suggested
legislation, as it fails to support the development and improvement we have
witnessed in Alang” she said.
“We strongly
encourage the commission to reconsider its position, as an unfortunate
consequence of the suggested legislation is the exclusion of the yards where
more than 70% of the world’s fleet is recycled,” she added.
Source:
the
loadstar. 8 June 2016
