Brussels, 28 April 2016 - Tomorrow, European ship owners,
government representatives of France, Germany and Belgium, and the European
Commission will visit the Alang shipbreaking yards. Despite several indications
that NGOs, including the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, would be part of the
delegation, no NGO was invited to join in the end.
“We were clearly not welcome to join this visit. Critical civil
society voices are not wanted in Alang – neither by ship owners, nor by the
yards – this confirms the lack of transparency under which the yards in Alang
operate,” said Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO Shipbreaking
Platform.
The delegation will also not meet trade union representatives or
workers, and will only visit a selection of very few yards. The visit is
organised by industry association ECSA (European Community Shipowners’ Association)
that represents the interests of European ship owners. It is an attempt by both
ship owners and certain yards in India to convince European policy makers that
yards in Alang should be approved for the upcoming EU list of accepted ship
recycling facilities. However, under the European Ship Recycling Regulation and
the recently published technical guidelines on the requirements for ship
recycling facilities, it is clear that beaching facilities do not qualify for
the EU list.
With regards to tomorrow’s visit, local environmental groups
have raised several concerns related to the deplorable working conditions, poor
downstream waste management and continued pollution of the coastal waters in
Alang.
“We share the Gujarat-based NGOs’ concerns and demand that
European ship owners do not settle for double standards. European ship owners
should only use facilities that operate at a level which is accepted in the
European Union. The low-cost method of beaching will not feature on the EU
list,” said Heidegger.
CONTACT
Patrizia Heidegger
Executive Director
NGO Shipbreaking Platform
patrizia@shipbreakingplatform.org
+32 2 609 44 19
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