Brussels, 23 September 2015 - The NGO Shipbreaking Platform applauds US
shipping company Matson, Inc. for committing to recycle its old ships only in
responsible yards in the future. This decision is significant, as 23 vessels in
the Matson fleet have to be dismantled in the coming years.
This decision comes in the aftermath of the Platform’s US-based member
organisation Basel Action Network (BAN) having revealed and strongly criticized
the sale of the Matson owned HORIZON TRADER for substandard scrapping in India.
The vessel will soon be beached in Alang. The Platform and BAN call on All Star
Metals of Brownsville, Texas, the last holder of HORIZON TRADER, to return the
ship and ensure the clean and safe recycling of the vessel.
The HORIZON TRADER, a 42 year-old US flagged container ship was acquired
by Matson when they purchased Horizon Lines late last year. A decision was then
made to scrap the vessel and it was delivered to the All Star Metals ship
recycling facility in Brownsville, Texas in January 2015. BAN obtained the
original Horizon Lines Memorandum of Agreement for the sale of the HORIZON
TRADER, which stipulated that the buyer would responsibly recycle the vessel in
the U.S.
Shipbreaking yards in India operate under dangerous and polluting
conditions. Workers labor on tidal sands to dismantle the vessels, breathe in
toxic fumes and asbestos, and fall victim to accidents. They live in shacks
close to the yards often without basic sanitary facilities or supply with
drinking water. Asbestos removed from the vessels is freely traded in the local
marketplace. Recent satellite images show oil spills from beached vessels.
“The conditions in the shipbreaking yards are not line with international
standards for environmentally sound management, occupational health and safety
rules, and fundamental labor rights – if Indian shipbreakers want to be part of
a global industry providing services to international shipping companies that
are more and more conscious of environmental and social issues, they have to
live up to these standards”, says Patrizia Heidegger, Director of the NGO
Shipbreaking Platform.
"While the export of the Horizon Trader may be legal according to
U.S. law, it outsources pollution and U.S. jobs to Asia and is highly
irresponsible. We ask All Star Metals as a U.S. ship recycling company
purporting to be a green ship recycler, to turn the HORIZON TRADER back to
Texas for proper recycling," said Colby Self, green ship recycling
campaigner at the Basel Action Network.
The HORIZON TRADER was photographed on September 2nd being towed out of
the Port of Brownsville with fresh paint on the ship’s hull masking the true
identity of the vessel. BAN then notified Matson and asked the company to
recall the ship, and while they claimed they no longer had the authority to
recall the ship, they released the following statement:
"Because of concerns with recycling practices in South Asia, Matson
has decided to expressly prohibit recycling of its vessels in this region going
forward."
The statement is reflective of a growing consensus amongst ship owners.
Already in Europe, the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and its 160 members
recently voted to prohibit Norwegian-owned ships to be scrapped on South Asian
beaches. This move follows other large foreign ship owners that have also
adopted "off-the-beach" ship recycling policies, including Norwegian
ship owners Grieg, Wilhelmsen and Høegh, along with German Hapag-Lloyd, Danish
Maersk Lines, Royal Dutch Boskalis, Canadian CSL Group, and Singaporean China
Navigation Company.
"Matson’s off-the-beach commitment reflects a level of corporate
leadership which we hope will be echoed by other U.S. shipping companies,” said
Colby Self.
The U.S. government has likewise maintained a long-standing policy that
requires its own ships to be recycled domestically and off the beaches.
Ironically this stands in stark contrast to the fact that the U.S. government
allows private ship-owners to legally reflag their vessels for disposal on
foreign shipbreaking beaches.
CONTACT
Patrizia Heidegger
Executive Director
NGO Shipbreaking Platform
patrizia@shipbreakingplatform.org
+32 2 6094 419
Basel Action Network:
Colby Self
colby.self@gmail.com
+1 (206) 250-5652
Jim Puckett, Executive Director
jpuckett@ban.org
+1 (206) 652-5555
Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform. 23
September 2015
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