Improvements at three yards in Alang have
been so big, that they now represent a real alternative to China and Turkey,
says Maersk CEO Søren Skou. However, the group acknowledges that there is still
uncertainty with regard to the marine environment and problems with access to
medical aid.
So much progress has now been made at a
handful of yards in Alang, that they are either of equal quality or even better
than their more well-reputed competitors in China and Turkey, says Maersk CEO
Søren Skou in the group's new sustainability report. The report details how
Maersk believes that many of the problems have been solved at the three yards
where six vessels have been scrapped in the last two and half years since the
company decided to start using
"We're very aware that companies can no
longer stay on the sidelines when it comes to global issues, and I'm very
satisfied with the level of our sustainability ambitions," Skou says in
the report, highlighting ship recycling as an example.
"More specifically,
I'm impressed with what has been achieved over such a relatively short period
of time in the ship recycling project," says the CEO.
Maersk has received
severe criticism on numerous fronts for using the beaching facilities in India
where vessels are sailed directly onto the beach and dismantled in the
tidewater zone.
According to some critics, the method is so dangerous for
workers and the environment that it should be completely forbidden. But in the
group's sustainability report, Maersk describes an industry in the midst of
change and describes Alang as a viable alternative to China and Turkey.
However, the report also notes that there are still uncertainties concerning
water pollution and unresolved issues with access to acute medical assistance.
Six ships scrapped
The first two Maersk vessels arrived at the Shree Ram yard
in Alang in June 2016 and have since been followed by another four vessels at
two neighboring yards.
The decision to use the severely criticized yards was
made on the grounds that improvements can better be achieved by making demands,
rather than by avoidance all together. But it is not just a matter of creating
better conditions for the environment and the workers.
Indian yards typically
pay USD 1-2 million per ship more than what they pay in China and Turkey, where
experts say standards are higher. As such, there is also an economic reward for
carriers when selling vessels for shipbreaking in India.
Maersk has been open
about this aspect. In February 2016, the group wrote in a sustainability report
that it expected to make additional amount of up to USD 150 million over five
years by scrapping vessels in India.
However, the group has since distanced itself
from this number. In the new report, Maersk writes that it actually would have
been more profitable to continue as before with a few ships sent to be scrapped
every year in China and other old vessels sold on to new owners.
Instead,
Maersk stresses that the group wanted to use its position as the world's
largest container carrier to create better conditions at the yards in Alang,
which have historically been massive polluters and experienced several fatal
accidents.
Oils, metals and ship coating
And according to Maersk, many of the
problems have already been solved at the three yards which have been used so
far.
During the breaking of the six vessels, external consultants have
continuously monitored whether the process has lived up to the group's
standards. According to the report, the only remaining problem at the three
yards, is that there is too much overtime work.
Maersk has also commissioned an environmental
report which tested for 18 hazardous substances in the waters around the
beaching yards. The report was finished in November 2017 and shows that 15 of
18 substances were at a level, which is deemed not dangerous for the
environment.
However, oil, metals and remains from anti-fouling coating were
all above the limit. According to Maersk, the oil does not stem from the actual
cutting of the vessels, but from ship parts and engines which have been dragged
across the sand. However, there have been no leaks in 2017.The group further
highlights that it does not use toxic ship coating and that tests show that the
remains came from other sources.
The picture is less clear when it comes to
high levels of metals in the water. Maersk writes that the study's method does
not make it possible to decide how much of the pollution happened as a
consequence of the activities at the yards. It is further assessed that the
level is the same as in China and Turkey.
The release of toxic substances in
the ocean typically happens when the vessel is cut up and the parts are allowed
to fall into the tidewater zone. This method is still used in the primary
cutting at one of the yards used by Maersk, while the two others now have a
crane which can lift the parts directly onto an impermeable floor, Maersk
notes.
One hospital with 20 beds
While Maersk believes progress has been made,
there are still problems in Alang that extend beyond the individual yards.
In
April 2016, the European Community Shipowners' Association (ECSA) developed a
report after an unannounced visit to the Indian coastal area where two
representatives from Maersk Group also participated.
The report shows that
despite the hazardous work, there was only one hospital in Alang with room for
around 20 people. Furthermore, there were two ambulances to drive injured
workers to the hospital in the city Bhavnagar, which is around one hour's drive
from the area.
The number of employees in Alang fluctuates, but during peak
periods there can be 30,000 to 40,000 workers.
Maersk stresses in the report
that all workers at the three yards which the company uses have been trained in
safety and live under approved conditions. But the group further notes that
lack of access to acute medical care is the biggest problem in Alang which has
not been resolved.
The carrier is therefore working to establish a mobile
health care station and will further investigate other possibilities along with
the Red Cross.
Getting others on board
Despite the lack of access to medical
care and the dangerous concentration of oils, metals and coating remains in the
water, Maersk still finds that the development is proof that standards can be
lifted in Alang.
"After 20 months, three yards in Alang, India, are
performing at the same level or better than yards in China and Turkey, which
used to be the only options for economically viable and responsible ship recycling,"
says CEO Skou in the new sustainability report.
He thus thinks that other
carriers should follow the example set by Maersk.
"The door to changing an
otherwise gridlocked situation has been opened, and we now need to accelerate
this development," he says.
This Thursday, ShippingWatch requested access
to the environmental and safety reports which Maersk had commissioned, but had
not received a response by the deadline for this article.
Around 85 percent of
the world's merchant fleet is scrapped in India, Bangladesh or Pakistan. The
IMO's rules for responsible ship recycling in the Hong Kong Convention have not
yet been ratified but are used as a standard by both yards and carriers.
At the
end of 2018, the EU's regulations in the area will take effect. Depending on
who you ask, the EU rules do not allow beaching in practice.
Source:
shipping
watch. 16 February 2018
