The Danish
Shipowners' Association has denied accusations that it, along with other
lobbyists, lied about factual matters in their opposition of a proposed ship
scrapping levy, industry news site ShippingWatch reports.
The European
Parliament recently voted down a proposal by Swedish member Carl Schlyter to
stop unsafe scrapping practices, which included plans for a scrapping fund that
would be paid for through a levy on ships using European ports.
After the
plan was defeated, Schlyter filed a complaint accusing ship owners' groups of
using false arguments in lobbying against it, but the industry says it used the
same data that Schlyter did in calculating the costs of the fund to shipping
companies.
"We
used the numbers that formed the basis of Schlyter's own consequence analysis
for this area, as well as for the final proposal, which was 0.05 Euros per GT
per port call," said Maria Bruun Skipper, chief consultant at the Danish
Shipowners' Association.
"We've
calculated specific examples based on his numbers and, for instance, we've
looked at the expenses for a RoRo ship sailing between European ports, a large
ocean going container carrier, and a ferry."
The
shipowners and ports lobying against the port levy believed it would mean
substantial additional expenses, something which Schlyter denied, and argued
that the fund would help stop unsafe scrapping practices.
"Hopefully,
we can put a stop to the absolute majority of vessels being scrapped on beaches
in Bangladesh, which is damaging to both humans and the environment," he
was quoted last month as saying before the vote.
But ship
owners' groups, including the Asian Shipowners' Forum (ASF) responded that the
proposal might undermine the Hong Kong convention, an effort to address
scrapping issues on a global basis that has not yet been ratified.
"The
global implementation of the Hong Kong Convention is the only way to overcome
problems of the recycling industry," the ASF said.
The European
Parliament is still considering other proposals for scrapping requirements.
Source: EMEA News. 26 April 2013
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