A total of 40 ships previously owned or controlled by Norwegian
interests were recycled in 2013, of which 21 were beached in Pakistan, India or
Bangladesh, areas that are characterized by extremely dangerous working
conditions and significant environmental exposure to asbestos, heavy metals and
Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.
The
number of Norwegian controlled ships dumped in these Southeast Asian countries,
however, did fall from the previous year’s figure of 37
“It
is long overdue for the Norwegian Shipowners Association to tighten their
recommendations to members,” says Svend Soeyland, Senior Advisor with the
Bellona Foundation. “Today, members are advised to avoid Bangladesh and are
encouraged to use breaking yards in China. The logical next step is to also shy
away from beaching in Pakistan and India.”
Globally,
1,213 ships were recycled in 2013. Slightly less than half of these (645) were
beached in India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. The overall number of recycled ship
is fairly stable, but there has been a 24 percent reduction in beaching from
850 to 645.
“We
are encouraged by this trend,” says Soeyland.
Forty
percent of the beached ships belonged to EU ship owners. New EU regulations
that entered into force on January 1, 2014 outlaw this activity. Unless a
robust and predictable incentive or refund mechanism accompany the regulation,
it is almost certain that an increasing volume end-of-life ships will fly flags
of convenience as a mean to blur the line of responsibility and chain of
ownership.
Ships
destined for recycling contain toxic substances such as asbestos, heavy metals,
oil residues and PCBs. Asia – due to it proximity to growing trade – has been a
preferred recycling region. Several ship owners put profit before environmental
stewardship when choosing beaching. Beaching exposes workers to working
conditions that break the very core of UN conventions and also expose the
environment to irreparable damage.
A silver lining?
Twenty-one
out of 40 ships previously owned or controlled by Norwegian interests ended up
on beaches, according to data from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and The
Bellona Foundation. Nineteen ships were recycled in China, Turkey or Denmark in
much safer conditions for workers and proper attention to pollution prevention.
The most alarming finding is that seven ships ended up in the worst possible
location – Chittagong in Bangladesh. The table below provide a full list of
recycled ships, their beneficial owners and where the recycling occurred.
“We
applaud ship owners such as Grieg Star Shipping, Høegh and Wilh. Wilhelmsen for
doing ship recycling in a responsible manner,” says Soeyland. “Additional ship
owners have changed their policies and there was a 46 percent drop in beaching
from 2012 to 2013,”
Unscrupulous ship owners deny responsibility
Some
of the ship owners close their eyes when a cash buyer decides to scrap their
ships. It is widely known what buyers pretend to put a ship into further trade,
but normally ships are sold for recycling shortly before certificates expire.
The
most glaring example of such wilful blindness this year is Teekay Corporation
which sent four ships going to Chittagong. This completely contradicts the
environmental credentials presented on the company’s website. To make matters
worse, their Norwegian subsidiary, Teekay Norway, is a member of the Norwegian
Ship Owners Association (NR). NR has expressly asked their members not to break
ships in Chittagong.
Legal
obligations, OECD guidelines and UN guiding principles
The
Hong Kong Convention was negotiated to promote responsible recycling of ships.
It is far from being ratified and suffers from watered-down compromises to
accommodate continued beaching. Ship owners are, nevertheless, bound by the
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Corporations, UN Guiding Principles for human
rights and business. Some ship owners have also committed themselves to signing
the UN Global Compact.
New EU-regulations and flag of convenience
Once
applicable, the new EU ship recycling regulation will ban the breaking of ships
registered under the flag of an EU Member State in beaching yards and demand
proper recycling in facilities that meet the requirements set out in the
Regulation.
However,
the Regulation runs the risk of becoming mere tissue paper: More than two
thirds of the European ships dismantled in 2013 did not sail under the flag of
an EU Member State when heading for a dismantling yard, and would therefore not
have been covered by the new Regulation.
In
addition to the ships already sailing under non-European flags during
operational use, another 55 ships were flagged out from European registries
just before scrapping outside the EU. Flags of convenience such as Comoros,
Tuvalu, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Togo and Sierra Leone, that are less favored
during operational use, were all the rage for the end-of-life vessels broken on
beaches in 2013.
“Reflagging
has always been a convenient way for ship owners to circumvent rules enforced
by the flag states,” says Patrizia Heidegger, Executive Director of the NGO
Shipbreaking platform. “The Platform and its members have been calling upon the
EU to introduce an economic incentive to promote clean and safe ship recycling,
because a Regulation based only on the voluntary registration under a European
flag will not have the promised impact.”
[1]
The criteria used is beneficial ownership within the last 6 months leading up
to ship recycling. Norwegian ownership or interest refer to companies that have
significant presence in Norway, managed from Norway, listed on the Oslo Stock
Exchange or owned by Norwegians with registered domicile outside of Norway.
Source: Bellona. 6 February 2014
