Taking a serious view of the
allegations that an ailing and contaminated US ship ‘Oriental Nicety’ has
entered Indian shores to get its last rites done at Gujarat’s shipbreaking
grave yard, the Supreme Court has issued notices to the Union government and the
shipping ministry to inform it about the steps they have taken to cut short her
voyage midway.
According to a PIL filed by Research
and Science Foundation, Oriental Nicety had few more names earlier such as
Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, Sea River Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean,
Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean. She has been bought by Best Oasis Company,
(a subsidiary of Priya Blue Industries Pvt Ltd) based in Bhavnagar, Gujarat.
Having apprehensions based on its past
experiences relating to the authorities’ indifference to complying with norms
laid down in the Basel Convention regarding the shipbreaking too, RSF lawyer
Sanjay Parikh said on Friday that the ship is a trespasser as she “doesn’t have
the sanction to berth” at any of the shipbreaking yards.
“Though it has not yet been allowed to
berth in any of the ports, the ship, which is alleged to be contaminated, has
entered Indian waters without taking proper steps for decontamination in the
port of export,” Parikh said.
A bench headed by Justice Altamas
Kabir noted on Friday that the copies of the RSF lawsuit have been handed over
to the shipping ministry’s counsel TS Doabia and environment ministry’s lawyer
Ashok Bhan. They have been directed to get the instructions from the ministries
concerned and file replies.
India is a signatory to the Basel
Convention that provides for ensuring minimization of the “generation of
hazardous wastes in terms of quantity and hazardousness’’ and such toxic wastes
are disposed “as close to the source of generation as possible”. In its
judgment in October 2007, the top court had laid down some statutory conditions
for allowing a damned ship to anchor in Indian waters. Before a ship arrives at
the port, she should be armed with “proper consent” from the authority
concerned or the state maritime board that she is hazardous-free and not
carrying any radioactive substances.
She should be properly decontaminated
by the ship owner prior to the breaking. This should be ensured by the state
pollution control boards.
According to Toxicswatch, Oriental
Nicety is the second ship that has her origin in the US and that is “outwitting
Indian laws”.
A report from New Orleans on March 23
last said the `Exxon Valdez’ has been sold for scrap 23 years after causing the
worst tanker spill in the US history, which led to new designs for oil
carriers. Now called the `Oriental Nicety’, the vessel was sold for about $16
million, said a report of Maryland-based Global Marketing Systems Inc., the
world’s biggest cash buyer of ships for demolition.
Source: DNA. By Rakesh Bhatnagar. 7 May
2012
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_stop-toxic-ship-mid-way-sc_1685362
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