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Horizon Trader being towed out of Brownsville (Foto: © Basel Action
Network)
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Seattle, USA — Shipping company Matson, Inc. has agreed to prohibit
scrapping its vessels on the beaches of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan in the
future. While the decision does not address the „Horizon Trader“,– an old Matson vessel now on its way to India, it is significant, as
23 vessels in the Matson fleet will require scrapping in the next few years.
Meanwhile, Basel Action Network and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform in Brussels,
call on All Star Metals of Brownsville, Texas, the last holder of Horizon
Trader, to return the ship to the U.S. for proper recycling in their
Brownsville ship recycling yard.
„While we regret that one more US ship is likely to end up on the killing
beaches of South Asia, we recognize the important commitment Matson has made
for future recycling contracts“, says Colby Self from Basel Action Network
(BAN). „Ship owners today can no longer claim ignorance. They know very well
the environmental and human health impacts of their ship recycling decisions,
which for too long have been ignored to maximize profits. Matson’s off-the-beach commitment reflects a level of corporate leadership
which we hope will be echoed by other U.S. shipping companies.“
In the Caribean Sea instead of Texas
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.
However, instead of being recycled in accordance with U.S. environmental
health and safety laws, creating local jobs, 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. The U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency confirmed to BAN that the Horizon Trader was authorized for
export to the shipbreaking yards in India. The ship is now in the Caribbean
Sea. 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.
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.“
Growing consensus of US ship owners
The statement is reflective of a growing consensus of 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.
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. „While the export may be legal according to U.S.
law, it outsources pollution and U.S. jobs to Asia,“ said Self Colby. „It 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.“
Source: recycling portal. 23 September
2015
http://recyclingportal.eu/Archive/17485
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