PROBLEMS:
Each year, approximately 800 ocean ships reach the
end of their service life and are broken down to recover steel. Yet only a
fraction is handled in a safe, sustainable manner. More than 80% of all
end-of-life ships are simply run ashore on tidal beaches in developing
countries such as Bangladesh ,
India and Pakistan
On the beaches of South Asia ,
poor and unskilled migrant workers are deployed by the thousands to break down
the ships manually. The ships are full of toxics such as asbestos, lead, PCBs
and heavy metals and little care is given to worker safety or protection of the
environment. The toxic wastes sicken the workers and ravage coastal ecosystems,
and because the muddy sand and shifting grounds of tidal beaches cannot support
heavy lifting equipment or safety gear, accidents injure or kill hundreds of
workers each year.
The statistics are alarming. The European Commission
estimates that 40.000 to 1.3 million tonnes toxics (including 3.000 tonnes of
asbestos) on board end-of-life vessels are exported each year to South Asia from the EU alone. In Bangladesh
A cemetery for ships and men
Causes of death at the shipbreaking yards in South Asia include explosions, fire, suffocation and accidents
caused by extremely heavy steel beams and plates which fall and crush workers
under their weight. Also, the constant exposure to toxic materials and fumes is
the source of many diseases, including cancer. Asbestos dust, lead, organotins,
such as the extremely toxic organic tin compound tributyltin (TBT) used in
anti-fouling paints, polychlorinated organic compounds (PCBs), by-products of
combustion such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins and
furans, and other harmful substances are found both on the yards and in the
workers’ sleeping quarters located close by.
Some cancer types and asbestos related diseases
will only occur 15 to 20 years later, making many more casualties among former
shipbreaking workers as well. The average life span of a South Asian
shipbreaking worker is alarmingly low: 40 years old.
Exploitation and economic dumping
Workers’ wages in South Asia
are less than 2 Euros per day. The workers barely have enough money to eat, let
alone send to their families. Sometimes they are not paid at all. No contracts
are signed on the shipbreaking yards, against the workers’ will. If there is an
accident, the yard owners often refuse to recognize the injured person as a
worker from their yard and do not pay compensation, nor any medical fees. To
further disempower the workers, trade unions are forbidden at the shipbreaking
yards in Bangladesh
The considerable profits made in the shipbreaking
industry are not being used to improve working conditions or to protect the
coastal environment and local communities from pollution. Ship owners currently
exploit workers and weak enforcement of environmental regulations in developing
countries to get rid of their end-of-life vessels in the cheapest way. By
selling their ships to South Asian yards ship owners are prioritizing high
scrap prices at the detriment of human lives and the environment.
Breaking the law when breaking ships
The shipping industry is in most cases not being
held accountable for the human rights abuses and pollution caused by
shipbreaking practices in South Asia today. It
is extremely easy for a ship owner to circumvent existing laws that aim to
protect developing countries from the dumping of toxic wastes. The shipbreaking
and shipping industry have systematically opposed the litigation initiated by
Platform member BELA in Bangladesh
In 2009 the International Maritime Organization
adopted the Hong Kong Convention on Ship Recycling. This convention does little
to deal with the issues at stake. Amongst the many weaknesses of the Hong Kong
Convention is the lack of putting the responsibility for proper ship
dismantling on the polluter – in this case the ship owner – and the acceptance
of the beaching method. To this date no countries have ratified the Hong Kong
Convention.
SOLUTIONS:
Prompt and sustained action, both in the marketplace
and in the courts, is required. The need is especially urgent because the
global phase-out of single hulled oil tankers and current backlog of old
vessels still in operation mean that the number of retired ships sold for
breaking is about to spike. The shipping industry and policy makers must
urgently ensure the following:
Off The Beach !
Ships should be dismantled in contained areas where
safe use of heavy lifting gear and emergency access for fire fighting equipment
and ambulances can be ensured.
Workers Rights
Existing international labour rights should be
respected. Workers should have the right to assemble, to bargain collectively
for better conditions and have access to occupational health clinics.
Stop Dumping of Toxic Ships
Enforcement of existing laws on exports of toxic
ships must be improved. Loopholes the shipping industry is currently exploiting
must be closed and responsibility for implementing the law must be borne by
countries with jurisdiction over the beneficial owners of ships.
The polluter pays
A ship dismantling fund fed by the shipping
industry must be created in order to internalize costs currently borne by the
environment and the health of impoverished communities in developing countries.
Eco Ship Design and Recycling
Ship owners should, together with shipbuilders and
classification societies, commit to the building of clean ships to avoid future
disposal problems and Green Ship Recycling Yards should be identified and
rewarded.
Corporate Responsibility
The shipping industry should take immediate
measures such as replacing hazardous materials with clean alternatives during
maintenance and survey stops and gas-freeing their ship-for-scrap before export
to developing countries to ensure the safe and environmentally sound dismantling
of their vessels.
Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform.
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