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| Chittagong ship breaking yard (Photo courtesy - Tridib Ghose) |
Belgium: The NGO
Shipbreaking Platform addressed the shortcomings of the EU's ship dismantling
policies - part of the 'Blue Growth Strategy' - at the EU Maritime Day which
was hosted last week in Brussels. Current legislation 'does not tackle the real
threats to the world's oceans and seas', the group told delegates.
Together with leading
environmental and labour rights organisations such as Greenpeace, the World
Wide Fund for Nature and the International Transport Workers Federation, the
NGO stressed the need for 'a sustainable marine economy'. Besides ship owners
using 'flags of convenience', the shipbreaking industry is still battling
sub-standard scrapping, pollution and a disregard for ship yard workers' labour
rights, noted its executive director Patrizia Heidegger.
She called on the
International Maritime Organization, the UNEP/Basel Secretariat and the
International Labour Organization to work together on phasing out current
beaching practices in South Asia and on helping to develop modern ship recycling
facilities off the beach that 'guarantee a clean and safe dismantling of all
end-of-life vessels'. Green ship design must also become a reality so hazardous
materials no longer end up in ships, Heidegger argued.
'It is shameful that
most ship owners continue to reject responsibility for their end-of-life
vessels,' she said. While best price is still at the top of the list of
priorities for most of them, an increasing number of 'progressive' ship owners
are refusing to sell their end-of-life ships to sub-standard beaching yards.
The EU Ship Recycling Regulation has set 'a clear standard' for safer
practices, Heidegger added. 'So sooner or later, safe and clean ship recycling
will be unavoidable for all.'
Source:
recycling international. 29 May 2014
http://www.recyclinginternational.com/recycling-news/7937/research-and-legislation/belgium/slow-progress-towards-more-responsible-shipbreaking
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