According
to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform 239 end-of-life ships were sold for breaking
in the first quarter of 2016. Seventy-nine per cent of end-of-life ships ended up
on South Asian beaches, making this quarter one of the worst ones in the last
years for non-beaching yards around the world.
Out
of 189 vessels that reached the shores of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, 127
were bulk carriers. As opposed to 2015 trends, India has again become the
favorite final destination.
68
ships sold to South Asia in the first quarter of 2016 were owned by EU owners.
Greek owners topped the list with 40 ships sold to South Asian breakers. German
owners followed with 16 ships. Also Chinese, South Korean and Monaco owners
rank high on the list – all selling several vessels to Bangladesh where
conditions are known to be the worst when comparing all three South Asian
shipbreaking countries.
Monaco
Zodiac Group, and Germans Konig & Cie GmbH & Company KG and Rickmers
Reederei GmbH & Cie KG top the list of worst dumpers this quarter. These
companies have previously been criticised by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform for
their substandard end-of-life management.
Whilst
grey- and black listed flags, such as Comoros and St Kitts and Nevis, continue
to be particularly popular for endof-life ships, also ships registered under
the flags of Cyprus and Malta ended up on the South Asian beaches. A new EU
Regulation on ship recycling will prohibit the dismantling of EU-flagged ships
in substandard yards.
However,
by simply flagging out to a non-EU flag before selling the ship for scrap, ship
owners can easily circumvent the EU laws. 35 ships, including two Greek flagged
ships, one Belgian flagged ship and one Malta flagged ship, changed their flag
just weeks before hitting the beach.
Source: marine link. 28 April 2016
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