INDIAN RECYCLING YARD TO RECEIVE ENVIRONMENTAL UPGRADE

The Government of India has signed a loan deal worth US $76 million with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), for a project to upgrade the environment management systems at the Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards. The total cost of the project will be US$ 111 million, out of which $76 million will be provided as soft loan from JICA. For the remaining amount, US $25 million will come through various elements of support by the Government of Gujarat and the balance of $10 million will be shared by Ministry of Shipping and the Government of Gujarat. The project will be executed by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and is likely to be completed by 2022.

This project will help the Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards to comply with international safety and environmental regulations. This project is expected to help attract more business to the recycling facilities at Alang, thereby further consolidating India’s share in the global ship recycling industry.

This project will also help to safeguard the region’s marine and coastal environment, through the use of advanced decontamination technology. Furthermore the investment is expected to result in an increase in direct employment in the yards from 50,000 to 92,000 people, once the upgrades have been completed.

Source: the maritime standard. 01 October 2017

http://www.themaritimestandard.com/indian-recycling-yard-receive-environmental-upgrade/

Indian authority shuts NGOs out from Alang yards

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform expresses dismay over the continued failure of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to be transparent and to grant civil society access to see the working and environmental conditions at the shipbreaking yards in Alang. For the past two months, the GMB has turned a cold shoulder to repeated requests by the Platform, via the Indian member organisation Toxics Link, to visit the shipbreaking yards on the tidal beach of Alang, where toxic vessels are broken without containment or stable platforms that other recycling methods provide. By refusing to reply to the requests to visit the yards, the GMB has opted to keep the negative environmental and labour impacts of the operations at Alang out of sight.

Last year, also the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) and the Danish shipping line Maersk excluded the Platform from joining field visits they organised to Alang. Maersk recently reversed its ship recycling policy and began breaking ships on the Indian tidal shore. The return to the beach by Maersk has had the devastating effect of legitimising across the industry the beaching method, which inherently pollutes coastal areas and exposes communities to toxins, conditions that the GMB wants to conceal.

“In dismissing the Platform’s request to visit Alang, the GMB has chosen to protect industry attempts to green-wash the dirty and dangerous breaking of ships on beaches. This lack of openness is disappointing and represents a decision by the GMB to keep Indian ship recycling in the dark ages”, says Ingvild Jenssen, Director and Founder of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

The European Commission is anticipated to prohibit the recycling of EU-flagged ships in beaching yards when it publishes its upcoming list of approved ship recycling facilities in non-EU countries. The EU list represents an important turning point for sustainable ship recycling by setting a benchmark for an industry in which standards have been historically absent.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 27 October 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/indian-authority-shuts-ngos-out-from-alang-yards/

Investigations ongoing after Norwegian authorities press charges against owners of Harrier

Brussels, 21 September 2017 - The HARRIER is still under arrest in Norway after its owners failed to illegally set sail for the dangerous and dirty scrapping yards in Gadani, Pakistan, last February. The owners are now forced to find a safe and environmentally sound recycling destination. In parallel, investigations are still ongoing following the charges pressed by the Norwegian environmental authorities against the owners of the TIDE CARRIER for having attempted to breach existing waste trade laws [1].

At the edge of bankruptcy, Eide Group sold the previously named EIDE CARRIER, which had been laid up for 10 years, to cash buyer Wirana, a scrap dealer specialized in trading toxic ships to dirty and dangerous scrapping yards in South Asia. Wirana registered the vessel under an anonymous Saint Kitts and Nevis post box company called Julia Shipping Inc. The ship was renamed TIDE CARRIER and supposedly changed registry to the Paris MoU black-listed flag of Comoros. Based on fraudulent information that the vessel was heading for repair works in Oman, Norwegian authorities allowed the ship to leave the west coast of Norway on 22 February 2017.

Had Wirana disclosed that the true destination was the beach of Gadani in Pakistan the vessel would not have been allowed to depart: exporting ships for dirty and dangerous scrapping is illegal under international waste trade laws. All ships contain many toxic materials within their structure and in their paints, and the law requires that these should be managed in a way that protects people and the environment from harm. Extremely low operating standards at the beaching yards enable them to offer higher prices for the ships than facilities that operate in line with safety and environmental norms. Wirana knows this and the law very well, and for the sake of extra profits they therefore presented a fake contract for repairs in Oman.

However, the ship’s deteriorating condition caused the engine to stop only hours after its departure. Despite stormy weather, the vessel’s new captain from Nabeel Ship Management did not call for help. The risk of oil spill and grounding close to one of the most known beaches in Norway was high and was only dodged thanks to the Norwegian coastguard’s decision to trigger a salvage operation. An environmental disaster in Norway was avoided, and with the arrest of the ship in April the Norwegian authorities effectively averted another environmental injustice on the Gadani beach, where it was actually destined for scrap. Less than a year ago Gadani saw the worst shipbreaking catastrophe of the industry’s history [2].

Already in the summer of 2015, the Platform was informed that the vessel had been sold for breaking. Confronted with the illegality of exporting the ship to South Asia, Eide Group denied that the vessel would be scrapped at the time. One and a half years later, after the ship had been salvaged and was laid up in Gismarvik, the Environment Agency and the police found evidence that the vessel was under a “break up voyage” insurance from Norway to Gadani, Pakistan. That, and the fact that the contact person for Julia Shipping Inc in the sales contract that dated from summer 2015 is Keyur J. Dave, Chief Financial Officer at Wirana, are clear indicators that the vessel was headed to a scrap yard in Pakistan when it left Norway. All vessels broken in South Asia pass via the hands of a cash buyer. Singapore-based Wirana and US-based GMS are the two largest cash buyers, both of which are inherently entangled with the South Asian breakers.

Consequently, it became clear that the repair contract in Oman which had been provided to the Norwegian authorities as a way to escape checks for the illegal export of the vessel was false. The Norwegian Environment Ministry therefore rejected the complaint of Julia Shipping Inc, represented by law firm Wikborg Rein, for the arrest order. The post-box company Julia Shipping Inc refuses to reveal its ownership structure. To further point to the lack of accountability, the Norwegian newspaper, Bergens Tidende, revealed in a longer article, published in August, that when the Norwegian authorities had contacted the Comoros registry regarding the TIDE CARRIER, the Comoros registry answered that they did not have any information about the ship being registered under their flag. Only days later the vessel changed name again to HARRIER and swapped flags again to that of another Paris MoU black-listed flag: Palau. Both Comoros and Palau are popular end-of-life flags. In 2016, out of 668 ships that were beached, 42 had the flag of Palau and 47 were beached under the flag of Comoros. The now-called HARRIER is not allowed to leave Norway unless it is to sail to a ship recycling destination in line with international and European hazardous waste laws.

In the meantime the owners of the HARRIER owe the private port of Gismarvik and GMC Maritime several million NOK as port fees. The vessel left Gismarvik in June and is now anchored off the coast of Farsund where two crew members remain confined onboard the ship and the continuous use of the ship’s engine is creating unneglectable nuisance to local inhabitants.

This is not the first time that cash buyers seek to circumvent environmental protection laws by providing fake sales or repair contracts. The Norwegian owned CITY OF TOKYO was allowed to leave the port of Antwerp under the pretense of repair work in Dubai – instead it sailed directly to the infamous beaching yards in Bangladesh. The FPSO NORTH SEA PRODUCER was also illegally exported from the UK to Bangladesh under the pretense of further operational use in Nigeria. Cash buyer GMS used grey- and black listed Paris MoU flags and established anonymous post box companies in both cases.

The TIDE CARRIER reveals the typical business practices of ship owners and cash buyers, and adds to several other cases where authorities have been lied to and provided false information as a way to escape checks for the illegal export of end-of-life ships. At least in the TIDE CARRIER case, the Norwegian authorities have so far not been gullible to fall for the well-known tricks of the game.  

Source: NGO Shipbreaking Platform. 21 September 2017

Alang to benefit from loan

The Indian Government has signed a $76 mill loan agreement for a project to upgrade the environment management plan at Alang-Sosiya ship recycling yards.

The total cost of the project will be $111 mill, out of which the $76 mill will be provided as soft loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), local sources said.

Out of the remainder, $25 mill as taxes and fees will be borne by Government of Gujarat and the balance of $10 mill will be shared by Ministry of Shipping and the Government of Gujarat.

The project, which would be undertaken by Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), is likely to be completed by 2022, the sources said.

The Indian government reportedly said that the project would also help safeguard the marine and coastal environment. The use of advanced de-contamination technology would rule out the possibility of fire accidents in oil and chemical tankers, the authorities claimed.

In the recycling market, brokers reported that the 1993-built Suezmax ‘Nataly’ had been sold to Bangladesh recyclers for $405 per ldt and that the 1995-built Aframax ‘M Spirit’ was also sold to Bangladesh interests for $385 per ldt.

Source: tanker operator. 22 September 2017

http://www.tankeroperator.com/news/alang-to-benefit-from-loan/9011.aspx

‘Govt, employers to blame for labourers’ deaths in accidents’

Owing to the absence of health and safety measures at workplaces, over a dozen labourers have been killed in separate industrial incidents reported in Karachi and parts of Balochistan in September alone.

This was observed by National Trade Union Federation’s deputy secretary general, Nasir Mansoor, on Tuesday at a presser held to express concern over a series of accidents reported in the city in just one week.

There has been an increase in casualties since the employers and the authorities have turned a blind eye towards implementation of labour laws, he said. “They are not concerned with providing safety to workers despite witnessing two of the deadliest disasters to have occurred in the country - the Baldia factory fire and the Gadani oil tanker tragedy,” Mansoor added.

He observed that eight miners were killed in three incidents reported in Quetta and Harnai in Balochistan in the first week of September. Followed by this incident, a watchman was burnt to death as a cosmetics factory located in Karachi’s PECHS area caught fire on September 20, while on the same day five more labourers were injured in a similar incident reported in Patel Para.

Two days later, three more workers died after falling into an underground chemical tank of a fish processing unit in Ibrahim Hyderi, while on the 24th of this month, a 14-storey building as well as a cardboard factory caught fire in Boat Basin and Shafiq Morr areas respectively.

“We had been highlighting the issue of lack of safety and health measures at workplaces since a long time and more intensely after the Baldia factory fire that claimed lives of over 260 workers. But the government pays no need. Our factories have become gas chambers where workers risk their lives day in and day out to earn a livelihood,” the labour rights’ activist stated.

The criminal negligence of the authorities and employers has many a times proved dangerous as on November 1, last year, 26 workers died while several others were wounded in an oil tanker explosion in the Gadani ship-breaking yard, said Mansoor.

He said the decommissioned tanker was being dismantled without the required equipment supposed to ensure workers’ safety.  “We hold the government, employers and authorities responsible for these killings and injuries, as it is them who have formed a criminal nexus to protect and continue with their wrongdoings while workers continue to suffer.

We believe that if adequate safety measures were taken and laws implemented, these casualties could have been avoided. Moreover, the government-run rescue service i.e. the fire department, is not competent enough to deal with such incidents,” Mansoor further observed. 

He criticised public representatives for whom labourers’ plight was the least of their concerns. They only make verbal, and that also false, pledges to better the situation. A draft of health and safety bill is pending before the provincial cabinet for approval for over a year now but has still not been tabled in the assembly.

The NTUF demand that those killed in these incidents are immediately paid Rs3 million and those injured Rs1.5 million as compensation; government ensures implementation of labour laws and compliance of health and safety measures by owners of all workplaces.

The organisation also called for training workers on how to react when such an incident occurs, whereas private social auditing system is abolished and labour inspection are carried out. The labour organisation also called for the fire department to be provided with resources.

NTUF Sindh President Gul Rahman, Ali Enterprises Fire Affectees Association’s chairperson, Saeeda Khatoon, Home Based Women Workers Federation general secretary, Zehra Khan, Ship-breaking Workers Union Gadani President, Bashir Ahmed Mahmodani, Sindh Agriculture General Workers Union information secretary Mushtaq Ali Shan, Abdul Aziz and others were also present at the press conference.

Source: the news. 27 September 2017

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/232819-Govt-employers-to-blame-for-labourers-deaths-in-accidents

End-of-life vessels illegally exported to South Asia, while authorities are inert

Brussels — During the summer, the Swedish-flagged Atlantic Cartier and Atlantic Conveyor, operated by the Italian Grimaldi Group’s subsidiary Atlantic Container Line (ACL), were sold for demolition. The German competent authorities were alerted about the imminent illegal export of the ships from the port of Hamburg and prompted to take action to stop the vessels from departing. Despite the warnings and the clear signs that the ships were destined for scrap, the authorities did not halt the ships. The ships hit the beach in Alang, India, on the 20th of September and on the 7th of October.

International waste laws and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation are usually circumvented by ship owners who falsely declare that end-of-life ships are in continued operational use when leaving a port, thereby concealing the fact that they are destined for scrapping and have, therefore, become a waste. The cases of the Atlantic Cartier and the Atlantic Conveyor are no exception.

The German authorities were not the only ones that have been contacted before the vessels’ final voyage. Also authorities from Canada and the UK, countries through which the Atlantic Cartier and the Atlantic Conveyor sailed before arriving in Hamburg for their last EU port call, knew that the ships had been sold to the beach; yet, when questioned, ACL did not reveal that the ships were sold for breaking. Once having left the EU, both vessels operated for a short while in South-Eastern Africa – still under the same name, flag and ownership – waiting for the attention on them to fade.

During that time, ACL contacted the Swedish authorities asking for advice on which steps should be taken if the company decided to recycle the ships. Despite the recommendations of Sweden to scrap the vessels in the EU or in an OECD country, there was no way to ensure that these recommendations would be followed, since at that point the ships were no longer in the EU. Rather, it is clear that this communication was a way for ACL to make it seem like the company had acted diligently by seeking advice from the flag-state, as well as to fraudulently make it seem as the decision to dispose of the container carriers was only taken once outside of EU waters.

End-of-life sales to South Asian yards are done with the help of a cash-buyer, a company specialised in trading end-of-life vessels to the dirty and dangerous beaching yards. It is not the first time that Grimaldi Group sends its ships to be broken on the beaches: the Atlantic Concert and Atlantic Compass were beached in Alang last year. In 2016, during an official meeting in Rome, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform raised serious concerns regarding the more than 90 Italian-owned end-of-life vessels that had been sent to dirty and dangerous scrapping yards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in the last seven years. The Platform advised the Italian Ship Owners Association, including representatives of Grimaldi Group, to stop selling their end-of-life vessels to unscrupulous cash buyers, and urged the Italian ship owners to ensure the safe and environmentally sound recycling of their ships.

Source: recycling portal. 12 October 2017

http://recyclingportal.eu/Archive/35559

Denmark must extend toxic substance protection standards

Denmark must extend toxic substance protection standards beyond its borders – UN expert

GENEVA / COPENHAGEN (13 October 2017) – Denmark provides solid examples on the protection of people from toxic substances, but companies must ensure these standards are observed when operating overseas, the UN Special Rapporteur on hazardous substances and wastes has concluded after an official mission.

“Danish authorities, working in close partnership with the private sector and civil society, have illustrated time and time again the ability to minimize the exposure of children and women of reproductive age to harmful chemicals, while promoting economic growth,” said Baskut Tuncak in a statement ending his 10-day visit to Denmark and Greenland.

“Yet Denmark must extend its best-in-class protections from toxic threats at home to operations of all its companies’ activities abroad.

“The export of practices and products prohibited in Europe by some Danish companies operating in countries with far weaker standards of protection, simply for economic gain, is disappointing and raises a number of human rights concerns.

“Some firms are selling hazardous pesticides to developing countries even though their use in the EU is banned, while others are sending ships to be dismantled on foreign beaches, creating serious health hazards for impoverished workers,” continued Mr. Tuncak.

“The recent scandal around the shipbreaking of the North Sea Producer in Chittagong Bay is another deplorable example of the chronic lack of openness of the shipping sector to fully accept its responsibilities,” said the expert, referring to the dismantling in Bangladesh of a vessel owned and operated by a joint venture by Maersk of Denmark and Odebrecht of Brazil.

“Maersk’s recent reversal of its position against the dismantling of ships on beaches in South East Asia is a regrettable step in the wrong direction.”

The UN expert took note of industry commitments to raise standards in shipbreaking practices globally and the specific efforts by Maersk to improve the standards of a few shipyards in Alang Bay. Yet, he noted that the absence to date of independent environmental monitoring data, and the avoidance of safer alternative facilities in Europe and elsewhere, were deeply problematic.

“It seems totally unacceptable that these yards cannot be scrutinized by independent organizations,” concluded Mr. Tuncak.

The Special Rapporteur said his visit to Greenland had underlined several issues including the obligation to clear military debris.

“The disposal of contaminated military debris, unexploded ordnance and military equipment in a manner consistent with international standards is an obligation for all States,” said Mr. Tuncak, welcoming Danish plans to help clean up the debris and continue researching the potential impact of radioactive materials.

“The total exclusion of the local population in past decisions over the US military presence in Greenland has fuelled serious tensions and resulted in recognized past violations, such as the removal of the population originally living in the area where Thule Airbase was built,” the expert added.

“Still today, the lack of transparency by US forces on the nature of all hazardous materials deployed in Greenland is a source of concern.”

The Special Rapporteur also stressed the need for fully informing and consulting communities on the potential impacts of mining, although he acknowledged that informing residents and monitoring activities in remote areas were “hugely challenging” tasks.

The expert also underlined the vulnerability of the Arctic population to pollution and the potential impacts of climate change on Greenland’s delicate environment.

“The expansion of extractive industries, fishing activities and transportation in the Arctic must be carefully monitored to avoid compromising the lives of indigenous communities in the area,” said Mr. Tuncak.

During his mission, the UN Special Rapporteur met multiple Government authorities in Copenhagen and Nuuk, members of the business community and NGOs. He will present a comprehensive report with his findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2018.

Source: scoop world. 14 October 2017

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO1710/S00156/denmark-must-extend-toxic-substance-protection-standards.htm

Scrapping of dredger Hansita begins

It had been lying anchored 3 nautical miles off Kollam coast since November 2013

The dredger that broke loose from its moorings and washed up near the Mundakkal beach in Kollam city in June last is now being scrapped by a Kannur-based private firm under a ₹2-crore contract tendered by the Metal Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC), a Central government enterprise.

The MSTC awarded the contract following a no-objection from the Kollam Port authorities. After being washed near the beach, it created panic in the area when sea erosion activity got triggered. Some families living close to the area were shifted to safer locations.

The virtually beached ship also briefly became a tourist attraction of sorts. The dredger, Hansita, caught in a legal tangle, had been lying anchored 3 nautical miles off the Kollam coast since November 2013.

It was on March 26, 2013, that the dredger Hansita, owned by Mumbai-based Megha Dredging Private Ltd., docked at Kollam Port for repairs on developing engine trouble en route to Karwar.

Clearance denied

After repairs, the port authorities did not give clearance for the vessel to sail as the owners failed to pay port charges of ₹40 lakh. For facilitating the launch of the State government’s coastal shipping programme from Kollam Port in November 2013, the port authorities moved the ship three nautical miles away.

Several attempts were made in vain to tow the ship back into the waters from the beach area. Residents of the area said the decision to scrap the ship had brought relief but it should also be ensured that all scrapped materials were removed from the area, they added.

Source: the hindu. 19 October 2017

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/scrapping-of-dredger-hansita-begins/article19883501.ece

Hapag-Lloyd to recycle three of UASC’s oldest container ships

As it seeks greater efficiencies and consolidation of the fleet following its acquisition of United Arab Shipping Company (UASC), Hapag-Lloyd has announced that it will send three of UASC’s oldest ships for ‘green scrapping’ in China and Turkey.

The three container ships, Deira, Najran and Sakaka, have been part of the Hapag-Lloyd fleet since its merger with UASC at the end of May, but were delivered to UASC from Japanese shipyards in 1997 and 1998.

With a TEU capacity of 4,101, the ships are too small to remain viable in the mainline shipping sector, and a little too large to be effectively operated as feeder vessels.

Hapag-Lloyd, since 2004, has been pursuing its internal Ship Recycling Policy whereby ships which are no longer needed must be recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.

Hapag-Lloyd said the ships are being taken from the market as they no longer fit with its portfolio.

“As one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies, we are aware of our ecological and social responsibilities,” said Anthony Firmin, chief operating officer (COO) of Hapag-Lloyd.

Hapag-Lloyd in 2015 sold 16 of its fleet’s older units, which were also disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

Source: arabian supply chain. 28 September 2017

http://www.arabiansupplychain.com/article-13530-hapag-lloyd-to-recycle-three-of-uascs-oldest-container-ships/

Green Team Initiatives Reach over 20 Recycling Yards in Alang

September found our Green team reaching new heights. For the past six months, GMS’s Green team has been voluntarily conducting a number of training programmes at over 20 recycling yards in Alang, India. The demand for these training programmes has grown so rapidly, the Green Team eventually designed a first of its kind “Train-the-Trainer” programme in collaboration with the Indian Registry of Shipping (IRCLASS) in an effort to reach out to a larger audience / groups of work force under the supervision of Dr. Anand Hiremath, Lead Co-ordinator of the GMS Green Team and the Responsible Ship Recycling program.

This is the first time that such a high caliber training programme has been launched in the Indian ship recycling sector as an increasing number of ship recycling yards have been attaining the standards set by the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe & Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. As such, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The training programme launched with 20 safety officers from twenty different recycling yards who will go on to train over 100 workers in each plot.

This means that through a single training seminar, GMS’s Green team is indirectly reaching out to more than 2000 workers in Alang! The first train-the-trainer programme was conducted on the 21st of September at the Training Conference room of Sarvag Shipping Services Pvt. Ltd, Plot No. 84D at Alang. The topic for this first GMS – IRCLASS, “Train-the-Trainer” programme was “Working in Confined Space”. The safety officers were made aware of the potential hazards associated with confined spaces on-board vessels, safe entry into such spaces, emergency preparedness and generating a response plan, importance of gas level measurements in tanks, proper use of multi detector gas meters and self-contained breathing apparatus, importance of work permits etc. Safety officers also had a hands-on experience with all of the necessary equipment.

Upon conclusion of the training seminar, an animated video was shown for a better visual representation of the necessary work flows and processes. We are certainly excited for this novel training programme and we hope to continue it in the coming months with another batch of safety officers joining from another group of recycling yards.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 10 October 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/gms-green-team-initiatives-reach-over-20-recycling-yards-in-alang/

Gov’t green agenda pushed:

Bacolod City– An environment group urged the local and provincial government to present a clear Green Agenda in the next three years to ensure the protection of the environment and communities that are vulnerable to calamities.

In the Palupad-lupad Declaration of Green Alert Network-Negros Island Region released September 27, the group urged the government to protect and advance the right of the people to have healthy ecology.

There should also be improved coordination and partnerships for more efficient delivery of services for environmental protection and sustainable development, the group said.

The declaration was drafted during their Palupad-Lupad kite flying event at Bacolod’s New Government Center September 16 to 17.

It said that greed, corruption, malgovernance and monopoly brought remaining natural resources to its current state and put communities at risk to disaster events.

They also called on the government to resolve the root cause of disasters like irresponsible mining practices, illegal logging and dynamite fishing.

The statement condemned the operations of the Energy Development Corporation, Ship Recycling Project in Hinobaan and Coal-Fired power plant in the mountains and coastal areas of Negros without following laws and regulations.

To empower rural communities, the group called for creating community-managed tourism programs to “channel the economic benefits.”

Disaster readiness for fisherfolk and farmers should also be pushed by the government to mitigate the effects of calamities, it added.

Source: Manilla bulletin. 02 October 2017

https://news.mb.com.ph/2017/10/02/govt-green-agenda-pushed/

Lomar set to scrap Kea Trader

Lomar Shipping has decided to scrap damaged 2017-built container ship Kea Trader after salvage experts inspected the stranded vessel. Ardent was still removing containers from the 2,194 TEU capacity container ship wreck on 30 September and was considering refloating procedures.

Bad weather had delayed container removal, but Lomar said 532 containers have been discharged and delivered ashore in Noumea, New Caledonia. This still leaves 224 containers on the ship. Kea Trader, which was only delivered in January this year, remains on Durand Reef while Ardent progresses multiple plans for refloating the Malta-flagged ship.

Salvors will ensure the marine environment is protected during the refloat and will then tow the damaged vessel to a demolition yard. Ardent was removing most of the rest of the containers. A Lomar spokesman told Riviera Maritime Media that the majority of the containers were removed and the remainder will be removed following the vessel's re-floating.

After significant storms crashed through the salvage site in the South Pacific, Lomar was able to get specialists on board for detailed analysis and underwater inspections. These “identified extensive damage to the hull, rudder and propeller,” Lomar said.

It also explained that “most double bottom tanks have been affected” by the hard grounding. “There is water ingress in all five cargo holds, which is being controlled by portable pumps where possible to protect cargo.”

There has been further structural damage within the vessel and additional deterioration while it remained on the rock reef during rough swells.

Lomar said it spoke with the lead underwriter, Norwegian Hull Club, and P&I Club Skuld, then decided that the vessel cannot be repaired and will need to be recycled.

Kea Trader was launched in January 2017 at the Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard in China. The 25,293 DWT vessel was sailing from Papeete, in French Polynesia, to Noumea in New Caledonia, loaded with 756 container units, when it ran aground on 12 July. It is expected to be one of the most costly and complex salvage projects in 2017.

Source: tug technology and business. 02 October 2017

http://www.tugtechnologyandbusiness.com/news/view,update-lomar-set-to-scrap-ikea-traderi_49329.htm

Hariyana Ship Breakers: Outcome of AGM

The Thirty Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Company was held today i.e., Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 9.30 a.m. at 156 Maker Chambers VI, 220 Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021( 'said AGM'). The said AGM concluded at 10:00 a.m.

The Company had provided the E-voting facility to the Members whereby they could cast their votes from place other than the venue of the said AGM i.e. Remote E-voting.

Mr. Dilip Bharadiya, Proprietor of M/s Dilip Bharadiya & Associates, Company Secretaries was appointed as the Scrutinizer to scrutinize the entire voting process (i.e., Remote e-voting and Ballot voting at the said AGM).

All resolutions as set out in the Notice of the AGM have been duly approved by the shareholders with requisite majority.

Source: money control. 02 October 2017

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/announcements/hariyana-ship-outcome-of-agm-2402583.cms

Pakistani Workers in danger

Workplace safety has remained a low priority across Pakistan despite the occurrence of major industrial accidents every year, the most brutal being the Baldia Town factory fire in Karachi in 2012. Activists and workers had hoped that the death of over 250 workers in a single incident would be the moment when the government makes the pledge: never again! The facts on the ground remained different. The incident occurred at a time when industrial inspections had been effectively stopped for around a decade. However terrible the labour department may be perceived to be, the drastic increase in the number and seriousness of industrial accidents has increased since inspections were halted.

Over a hundred workers were killed in both the Gadani ship-breaking yard and the Sundar Estate factory collapse in Lahore. These were further wake-up calls for authorities who could have chosen to declare public and open labour inspections throughout the country as a response to fact that the next big industrial disaster always appears a matter of when, not if. Such wake-up calls are served every other day, but no one seems to be listening. In the last few weeks, there were four industrial mishaps in Karachi alone in which four workers died. Three of the incidents were fire-related while one involved three workers falling to their death into a fish-processing tank. Over a dozen workers have been killed in accidents since September.

The fish tank incident is particularly gruesome as once again workers had been working on a tight deadline with the required equipment to conduct their work simply not working. Here, there is a need for legal reform. If any workers suffer injuries or die in the workplace in the absence of basic safety equipment, criminal liability should be imposed on the factory owners. Without the threat of jail time and heavy fines, there is little chance that change will initiated by the owners. The irony of the lack of fireproofing is that it is factory owners themselves who share in the losses incurred. The recent incidents are not an anomaly. 

Similar numbers could be obtained from any other week about the number of industrial accidents. Workers at the Gadani ship-breaking yard still report that at least one worker suffers serious injuries every day. The most underreported part of worker injuries is in the agrarian sector where at least 48 percent of workers are exposed to occupational injury or disease each year. Almost 16 percent of the industrial workers in the country also remain at risk of accidents. Many promises have been made to strengthen labour inspections in Pakistan – but this is not an issue that can be tackled without a public campaign led by the highest officials in the country.

Source: the news. 03 October 2017

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/234176-Workers-in-danger

GMS in Alang training program

For the past six months, GMS’ green team has been conducting a number of voluntary training programmes at over 20 recycling sites in Alang.

GMS said that due to high demand, the green team has designed a ‘train the trainer’ programme in co-operation with the Indian Registry of Shipping (IRClass) in an effort to reach a larger audience.

This programme was held under the supervision of Dr Anand Hiremath, lead co-ordinator of the green team and the ‘responsible ship recycling programme’.

This was the first time that such a high calibre training programme has been held in the Indian recycling sector, as an increasing number of yards have been attaining the standards, as set out by the Hong Kong Convention, GMS claimed.

The first ‘train the trainer’ programme was conducted on 21st September at Sarvag Shipping Services, plot No 84D with a topic of ‘Working in a Confined Space’.

Safety officers were instructed on the potential hazards of confined spaces on board ship, the safe entry into confined spaces, emergency preparedness and generating a response plan, the importance of tank gas level measurements, the proper use of multi-detector gas meters, self-contained breathing apparatus, importance of work permits, etc.     

The aim is to have 20 safety officers from 20 different recycling yards train more than 100 workers in each plot. As a result, the GMS training initiative is indirectly reaching out to over 2,000 workers in Alang, the company claimed.

GMS said that it hoped to conduct another series of safety programmes with safety officers from different recycling yards in the near future.

As for the current recycling market, the Indian sub-continent buyers resisted the firming prices last week and started to offer lower levels for vessels, GMS reported.

The average price was around $400 per ldt. While Bangladesh and Pakistan fundamentals remained much the same, the Indian rupee and local steel plate prices in Turkey weakened considerably last week.

Turkish ship prices fell below those of China, rendering the country in 5th place in market rankings, GMS said.

The holiday period this week is expected to keep the Chinese recycling market sluggish.

Elsewhere, brokers reported that the 1999-built Aframax ‘Silver Bridge’ had been taken by Indian interests for $430 per ldt. 

Source: tanker operator. 06 October 2017

http://www.tankeroperator.com/news/gms-in-alang-training-programme/9044.aspx

German authorities urged to hold ACL accountable for breaching European waste laws

NGO Shipbreaking Platform has urged the German authorities to hold Italy's Grimaldi Group subsidiary Atlantic Container Line (ACL) accountable for allegedly violating European waste laws.

The Platform has accused ACL of deliberately selling two of its G3 vessels, including Swedish-flagged Atlantic Cartier and Atlantic Conveyor, for scrapping in South Asian yards.

The organisation has also blamed ACL for illegally exporting toxic waste to South Asia.

Shipbreaking Platform said in a statement: “The German competent authorities were alerted about the imminent illegal export of the ships from the port of Hamburg and prompted to take action to stop the vessels from departing.

“Despite the warnings and the clear signs that the ships were destined for scrap, the authorities did not halt the ships.”

In addition, the Platform alleged that German port authorities had ignored the issue by stating that there was no evidence for the arrest of the vessels, despite the fact that logos of both the ships had been painted over before the final voyage.

The organisation has also blamed ACL for not disclosing truth about the vessels to the Canadian and UK authorities, despite the ships sailing through these countries before arriving in Hamburg, Germany, for their last EU port call.

The authorities also knew that the ships were intended for scrapping but did not halt the vessels, noted the Platform.

Shipbreaking Platform further added: “The Atlantic Cartier arrived in Alang, India, on 20 September and the Atlantic Conveyor hit the beach on 7 October, after vessel tracking providers curiously indicated that the container carrier was ‘Steaming 4 Sunshine’.”

It also noted that international waste laws and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation are regularly circumvented by ship owners to falsely declare the continued operations of end-of-life ships during departure from ports.

Source: ship-technology. 13 October 2017

http://www.ship-technology.com/news/newsgerman-authorities-urged-to-hold-acl-accountable-for-breaching-european-waste-laws-5948303

Atlantic Container Line steaming for sunshine

During the summer, the Swedish-flagged ATLANTIC CARTIER and ATLANTIC CONVEYOR, the two last G3 vessels operated by the Italian Grimaldi Group’s subsidiary Atlantic Container Line (ACL), were sold for demolition. The German competent authorities were alerted about the imminent illegal export of the ships from the port of Hamburg and prompted to take action to stop the vessels from departing. Despite the warnings and the clear signs that the ships were destined for scrap, the authorities did not halt the ships. The ATLANTIC CARTIER arrived in Alang, India, on the 20th of September, and the ATLANTIC CONVEYOR hit the beach on the 7th of October, after vessel tracking providers curiously indicated that the container carrier was “Steaming 4 Sunshine”.

International waste laws and the EU Waste Shipment Regulation are usually circumvented by ship owners who falsely declare that end-of-life ships are in continued operational use when leaving a port, thereby concealing the fact that they are destined for scrapping and have, therefore, become a waste. The cases of the CARTIER and the CONVEYOR are no exception.

The German authorities were not the only ones that have been contacted before the vessels’ final voyage. Also authorities from Canada and the UK, countries through which the CARTIER and the CONVEYOR sailed before arriving in Hamburg for their last EU port call, knew that the ships had been sold to the beach; yet, when questioned, ACL did not reveal that the ships were sold for breaking. Once having left the EU, both vessels operated for a short while in South-Eastern Africa – still under the same name, flag and ownership – waiting for the attention on them to fade. During that time, ACL contacted the Swedish authorities asking for advice on which steps should be taken if the company decided to recycle the ships. Despite the recommendations of Sweden to scrap the vessels in the EU or in an OECD country, there was no way to ensure that these recommendations would be followed, since at that point the ships were no longer in the EU. Rather, it is clear that this communication was a way for ACL to make it seem like the company had acted diligently by seeking advice from the flag-state, as well as to fraudulently make it seem as the decision to dispose of the container carriers was only taken once outside of EU waters.

According to the German port authorities, there was no evidence base for the arrest of the vessels, even though the logos of both the CARTIER and the CONVEYOR had been painted over before the final voyage. Moreover, it was well-known within the industry that these two sister ships would be sold for breaking in the summer, as ACL itself indicated that the ships would be scrapped on the cash-buyer GMS’ website last year. In light of this, the Platform has recently sent a letter to the German authorities asking them to hold Grimaldi Group’s ACL accountable for having breached European waste laws.

End-of-life sales to South Asian yards are done with the help of a cash-buyer, a company specialised in trading end-of-life vessels to the dirty and dangerous beaching yards. It is not the first time that Grimaldi Group sends its ships to be broken on the beaches: the ATLANTIC CONCERT and ATLANTIC COMPASS were beached in Alang last year. In 2016, during an official meeting in Rome, the Platform raised serious concerns regarding the more than 90 Italian-owned end-of-life vessels that had been sent to dirty and dangerous scrapping yards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in the last seven years. The Platform advised the Italian Ship Owners Association, including representatives of Grimaldi Group, to stop selling their end-of-life vessels to unscrupulous cash buyers, and urged the Italian ship owners to ensure the safe and environmentally sound recycling of their ships. Hence, it is clear that the Platform’s message has not been taken into consideration.

Source: hellenic shipping news. 12 October 2017

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/atlantic-container-line-steaming-for-sunshine/

SC bans scrapping toxic ship

It is internationally recognised that such oil-tankers like North Sea Producer carry NORM (Natural Occurring Radioactive Materials)

An overhead view of the North Sea Producer beached at a shipbreaking yard in Sitakunda 

The Supreme Court has imposed a ban on wrecking or removing parts of a radioactive-waste carrying ship named North Sea Producer.

A two-member bench of the High Court division headed by Justice Syed Refaat Ahmed and Justice Md Selim announced the verdict on Monday.

Chittagong’s Shitakunda-based ship breaking industry MS Janata Steel Corporation imported the ship for wrecking in August 2016. According to NGO Shipbreaking Platform, a Brussels-based international environmental agency, the ship is likely to be carrying a plenty of toxic wastes and a serious accident may take place during the shipwreck. The breaking of the ship off the coast of our country might pose a severe threat to health and environment.

It is internationally recognised that such oil-tankers like North Sea Producer carry NORM (Natural Occurring Radioactive Materials) including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), ozone-depleting substances (ODS), led, mercury, chromium, zinc and other radioactive substances.

Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) filed a public interest litigation demanding a ban on the import, coasting and wreck of North Sea producer as the Janata Steel Corporation imported the ship violating country’s conventional law and the order of the court.

After the primary hearing on June 8, the court ordered Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, Bangladesh Atomic Energy Regulatory Authority and mega port initiative of Bangladesh Customs to submit a report within 10 weeks about the radioactivity of the ship.

Moreover, the court issued a rule asking why the previously issued clearances in favour of importing the vessel would not be declared illegal. It issued another rule asking the importer that why it should not appoint a foreign expert to ensure the safe wrecking of the ship.

Leading environmental lawyer Syeda Rizwana Hasan has been arguing the case in favour of BELA. Senior lawyer Barrister Rokonuddin Mahmud, Ehsanul Karim and Momtaz Uddin Mehedi participated the hearing from the defendant’s side.

Source: Dhaka tribune. 09 October 2017

http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/court/2017/10/09/sc-bans-toxic-ship/

Waste Management to ship recycling to Spokane after Chinese rule change

Waste Management Inc. will be transporting its recycled materials to Spokane following a change to Chinese import laws.

In July, the Chinese government notified the World Trade Organization that it plans to stop importing 24 kinds of materials, including types of unsorted paper and plastic typically sent from the U.S.

“It includes yogurt containers to pizza boxes as contamination because there’s no use for it when they’re greasy,” said County Solid Waste Director Patti Johnson. “The change will affect Seattle more than us.”

Right now, recycled materials that are brought to the Kittitas County stations are trucked by Waste Management to Woodinville in King County. That waste is then transported to Seattle for final shipment to Chinese markets.

Waste Management will be shipping recycling to Spokane by the end of the year. Johnson said there will be no discernible change in cost to the county.

NEW SITE UNDER DISCUSSION

Meanwhile, the county is looking for a new location for the Ellensburg transfer station on Industrial Way. The lower county site, which serves people from Elk Heights to Vantage, has had problems with flooding and limited space while struggling to keep up with increasing demand.

The county is evaluating proposed sites at a cement plant site off of I-90, a site at Bowers Field Airport, and a site west of Berry Road near Tjossem Road.

No decision has been made. The county has been accepting input from the public online and during public meetings.

SEPTIC WASTE

Meanwhile, the county is having difficulties improving the screening process for accepting septic waste, Johnson said.

The county currently takes in about about 1.2 million gallons of septic waste a year, Johnson said.

Cleaning the bar screen that the septic waste flows through can be difficult. The screen's holes are only 3/8 inches wide, Johnson said, and dumping septic waste through the screen can take a long time without adequate water.

The county commissioners have requested an investigation into developing a nearby water supply.

Kittitas County Commissioner Obie O'Brien suggested said that the county has a number of options, from trucking in water from neighboring counties to drilling a new well.

The estimated cost for either options are unknown, but the latter might risk contamination from the nearby Ryegrass landfill, according to Johnson.

“I don’t want to puncture rock,” Johnson said. “I’m not gonna tell you that contamination wouldn’t run down hill.”

O’Brien agreed, saying that the move could be more trouble than it would be worth in the long term.

“I’m reluctant to puncture granite and risk any chance of leakage,” O’Brien said.

Source: 12 October 2017

https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/waste-management-to-ship-recycling-to-spokane-after-chinese-rule/article_d8ac903c-3895-5511-80fd-fa60ad441e66.html