Environmentally Safe-Shipbreaking:

Shipbreaking is a process of dismantling a vessel’s structure for scrapping and disposal whether conducted at a breach, pier, dry dock or dismantling slip. It includes a wide range of activities, from removing all gears and equipments to cutting down and recycling the ships’ infrastructure. Shipbreaking is a challenging process, due to structural complexity of the ships and many environmental, safety and health issues involved. While ship scrapping in dry docks of industrialized countries is regulated, shipbreaking on beaches, alongside piers is less subject to control and inspection.

Breaking old or redundant ships rather than scuttling or using them as artificial riffs, enables steel and other parts of the ships to be recycled at a much lower cost than importing and processing iron ore. Less energy is also needed. It also provides for timely removing of outdated tonnage from international waters. Hundreds of vessels are scrapped each year, a trend which will continue with the phasing out of single hull vessels.

Problems of industry:

Shipbreaking is one of the most hazardous occupations. This over the last decade, has been concentrated in a few developing Asian countries- India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Turkey on account of low wages and a lower level of compliance with international standards on safety, health and poor working and environmental conditions.

Although many of the hazardous material used to build a ship -asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, toxic paint such as tri-butylitin and heavy metals are mostly restricted or banned today. But a ship built 20-30 years ago still contains these materials. It also carries hazardous and flammable chemicals used for paints, repairs and maintenance etc. Electrical cables and other control systems contain hazardous material. The paint coat can contaminate soil and water when torched or scrapped. This is hazardous for human beings and the environment. The protection and safety and health of workers handling the hazardous waste is of crucial importance.

The issue of ship recycling is being deliberated for the past several years at International fora namely International Labour Organisation, Maritime Organisation & the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans Boundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

Under the Basel Convention, till date there is no consensus on the question of treating ships destined for scrapping as hazardous wastes. The issue of legal aspects of shipbreaking was first discussed in Conference of the Parties of the Convention (COP-5) in December 1989. In spite of a number of meetings of technical and legal working groups, several issues are still pending on dismantling and recycling within the framework of the Basel Convention. The Convention has developed technical guidelines for the partial and full dismantling of ships.

Many European countries and NGOs like Basel Action Network and Green Peace advocate that the PIC procedure followed under the Basel Convention for Tran-boundary movement of hazardous wastes must be applied to ships destined for breaking. However, under Maritime Law, a ship is a separate entity and has several financial and other claims due to which it can not be classified as a hazardous waste even when it is destined for scrapping. IMO has accepted that a ship that can propel under its own powers is not a waste. The issues relating to ship breaking are still under consideration of the joint working group of IMO, ILO and Basel Convention.

Alang Shipbreaking Yard:

Recognizing shipbreaking as a potential source of raw material for the re-rolling mills in early 80’s, import of ships for breaking was accelerated. Prior to 1979 the Shipbreaking activity in India was limited to breaking of barges, small sized ships and casualty ships. It was concentrated in two major ports namely Mumbai and Calcutta. Every year 600-700 sea vessels are brought to the once pristine beaches of Asia for scrapping.

At Alang in Gujarat, ships are beached up to the yard because of its peculiar marine conditions and high tide. In other shipbreaking countries, the ship does not come up to the yard, but is tightened on the sea bed and the pieces are pulled to the yard. Lightening of the ship on the sea bed is dangerous as far as oil pollution is concerned in case of tankers. Beaching method in shipbreaking has to be continued as it is most economical and practical. All the major shipbreaking countries presently follow this method. The beaching method depends on skilful harnessing of zero cost tidal energy at sheltered coastal locations and warrants the least capital investment. Considering the favorable parameters for beaching method like high tidal range, firm seabed, gentle seaward slope etc., it was decided to set-up a shipbreaking yard on the western coast of Gulf of Cambay near Alang village. The first vessel – MV KOTA TENJONG was beached at Alang on February 13, 1983. Since then, the yard has witnessed spectacular growth and has emerged as a leading shipbreaking yard in the world.

This once beautiful beach has emerged as one of the choicest ship-scrapping destinations for the ship owners around the world. There are 173 plots to carry out the ship-recycling activities. This activity forms an industry by itself, as it provides around 30,000 jobs in Alang itself and generates steel totaling to millions of tons every year. That too, with minimum consumption of electricity. It amounts to saving of huge amount of non-cyclic and precious mineral reserves like coal, petroleum etc. Shipbreaking activities are also undertaken in the States of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra.

Ships are mobile structures of comprehensive size and consist mostly of steel. At the end of their active life, they become a sought-after source of ferrous scrap. This acts as an alternative to the non-renewable resource of ore and is particularly suited for the production of simple steel products. Obsolete vessels available for scrapping may also represent a useful source of supply for second hand equipment and components.

Breaking of ships on such a large scale necessitate extensive care on issues like physical and social infrastructure, worker safety and welfare, environment management, establishment of down stream and ancillary industries etc. These involve not only the financial resources but also many others influencing factors viz. proper knowledge base, compatibility of mindset between workers and the ship recyclers, availability of land and negotiation skills for legal issues.

Gujarat Maritime Board:

Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) as a regulator has put in sincere efforts to accelerate the growth of this industry. The procedure presently being followed is cutting the pipes from the engine section on which Asbetstos Containing Materials (ACMs) are present and bringing the same to the yard, where it is removed by wetting with water and scrapped to remove ACMs.

The ACMs are then solidified by mixing with cement which is subsequently disposed of in Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF). This method ensures safe removal of ACMs from the workers health point of view and also environment protection. GMB has developed a TSDF for treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes. The TSDF has 50,000 tonnes capacity for disposal of hazardous waste.

Millions of tonnes of steel is recycled by re-rolling mills. Many mechanical spares find their applications in one-way or other. Various electrical components hold special value for fixed set of customers. A truly strong platform to promote re-usability of products, which are otherwise considered to be scrap.

The present recycling facilities in the world are sufficient to take care of the world recycling requirements today. The capacity available for breaking ships in the world was estimated in 2005 at around 12 m.ldt (million light displacement tonnes) whereas ships coming to the ship demolition market have drastically come down to around 2 m.ldt. Since 2002, the availability of ships for demolition reduced from the level of 28.0 m.dwt (million dead weight tonnes) to 4.5 m.dwt.

Shipbreaking Business Booming:

India’s share which slipped from 10.8 m.dwt in 2002 to about 1.0 m.dwt is having boom time at present though shipping companies world wide are bleeding due to present trends of the market. Prices of ships coming for demolition at about US$350/ldt, as against the melting steel scrap price of about US$230/tonne have been lowered by 40 to 50% today. In terms of weight in Light Displacement Tonnage (ldt), India’s share of 7 m.ldt during 2002 is expected to help in crossing its capacity to sell 4 million tones of steel by the year 2009.

The 1992 Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal, controls and regulates the import of hazardous wastes into the country. India is a party to the Basel Convention. It signed the Convention on 15.3.1990, ratified it on 24.6.1992, and acceded to the Convention on 22.9.1992. Import of such wastes may be allowed for processing or re-use as raw material, after each case has been examined on merit by the State Pollution Control Board.

Source: Prativad.com. By Kalpana Palkhiwala

http://prativad.com/articles/Environmentally-Safe-Ship-Breaking.htm

French Aircraft Carrier Clemenceau:

Clemenceau: the ship nobody wants

12 December 2005

Asbestos Sparks Controversy at Rotterdam Convention:

Delegates at the first Conference of the Parties of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, meeting from 20-24 September in Geneva, agreed to add 14 new toxic chemicals, including a lead additive for petrol, to the PIC list. However, chrysotile asbestos — which accounts for 94 percent of the commercial asbestos production and is known to cause cancer — was again blocked from the list by a number of producing countries, including Canada and Russia (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 28 November 2003). 

Blue and brown asbestos had already been added to the list previously. Chrysotile asbestos is the first chemical to face significant opposition at the Rotterdam Convention. Many observers raised concerns that this decision might set a precedent for future discussions on economically important chemicals, fearing that economic and trade interests would override environmental and health concerns. “Canada and Russia’s objections to listing chrysotile asbestos are embarrassingly self-interested, protecting domestic exporters interested in selling this dangerous chemical abroad,” said Clifton Curtis, director of WWF’s Global Toxics Programme. The Canadian government defended its action, saying “If added to (the list), that might be perceived by some countries as a signal to ban chrysotile”.

In 2001Canada lost a WTO dispute that it had brought against France’s ban on chrysotile (see BRIDGES Weekly, 13 March 2001). The appellate body for the case found that France’s ban was justified under Article XX(b) of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which provides a general exception to WTO rules for measures considered necessary to protect human health, and in their ruling said that “carcinogenicity, or toxicity, constitutes, as we see it, a defining aspect of the physical properties of chrysotile asbestos fibres”.

The Rotterdam Convention, which entered into force on 24 February this year, enables member countries to add chemicals to the Convention’s list of toxic chemicals by consensus voting. Chemicals on the list can only be exported from one country to another with the permission of the government of the importing state.

“Treaty Curbs Trade in More Dangerous Chemicals,” REUTERS, 22 September 2004; “Canada blocks asbestos type from global toxic list,” REUTERS, 22 September 2004; “Up to 15 hazardous chemicals and pesticides to be added to trade watch list,” PIC ROTTERDAM CONVENTION, 16 September 2004.

Source: International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). 23 September 2004

http://ictsd.org/i/news/biores/63592/ 

STOP. Talking on the proposed Green Recycling Yard in Eemshaven

Tanker and Platform Dismantling Foundation, (Stichting Tanker Ontmanteling Platforms) - STOP. Talking on the proposed Green Recycling Yard in Eemshaven

Summary:

This was the first IMIF buffet luncheon to be held outside the United Kingdom and it continued the IMIF "Green" ship recycling discussions entered into with the Chinese Shipscrapping Association in September. The UK based delegation travelled by Eurostar from Waterloo to Lille and then by road courtesy of Vroon to the Vroon offices at Breskens.

Peter Vroon welcomed the assembled delegates to Breskens and began by giving a brief introduction to the Vroon group which comprised cattle ships, petrol tankers, chemical tankers, car carriers, reefers and offshore supply vessels. He added that he was proud to be a long term member of IMIF.

Jim Davis responded thanking Peter for "the honour of being here in the centre of the shipping universe". He referred to the wide spread of the IMIF membership throughout the maritime industries. He recalled IMIF's original suggestions for Scrap and Build, the problems of oversupply of tonnage, the dangers of buying 'cheap' unnecessarily and the 'dear' consequences. He talked of the predictable life of a ship, say 20 years? - and its residual lwt value. "We need to find an end to a ship's life" he said. He referred to a visit to a breaking yard in Taiwan "it was a shade of hell" with people perched on the fo'c'sle of the ship, cutting away the plate they were actually standing on - and little women chipping away asbestos with a copper pipe.

Greenpeace and the ecologists are very critical - 'You are killing people' they say while the breakers themselves say 'We need the work to survive'. Jim reminded everyone that the Dutch had been the first to bring in a 'scrapping premium' built into the purchase price of new cars to cover the cost of their eventual disposal. Jim asked, "Why not the same for ships!"

Mr Mulder and STOP say it can be done. IMIF should listen to STOP and promote their ideas. We have recently met and talked to the Chinese Shipscrapping Association which is thinking along the same lines. And of course events are now unfolding at Hartlepool in the UK with the US reserve fleet. IMIF is observing all of it very carefully.

Doebren Mulder, Chairman of STOP reminded us that until the 1970's most ships were broken up in Europe. But with stricter regulations concerning the environment, health and safety dismantling became expensive and the industry moved away to the Third World, with many ships ending their lives in India, Bangladesh, China, Pakistan and Turkey and today 90% of all vessels from the richer countries finish up on these beaches where no proper standards are enforceable.

Over 100,000 men, women and children work in ship demolition, breaking ships with no protective clothing and with their bare hands. Referring to Alang he added that many workers are injured or killed through fire, explosions, failing steel plates and poison gasses. They are exposed daily to noxious substances, mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, asbestos with significant damage to their health and many of these noxious substances find their way into the immediate environment including soil, rivers and the sea itself. Pollution is worldwide and the seas are all connected. The number of ships requiring demolition is predicted to rise rapidly now with the phasing out of some 1300 singlehull tankers - most of them expected to end up on the same third-world beaches. Greenpeace, the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners and IMO are all making efforts to bring about the global regulation of ship recycling.

The Basel Convention, set up in 1989 and signed by over 100 countries with the intention of restricting the production and export of dangerous substances is issuing guidelines on the environmentfriendly recycling of old ships. Mr Mulder reminded the group that the Netherlands actually detained 'Sandrien' in 2001 under the Basel Convention when the tanker, containing asbestos, was on its way to Asia for demolition. STOP suggests that 'dirty' ships could perhaps be cleaned up during maintenance work, with poisonous materials being replaced by safer alternatives - and where the use of dangerous materials is unavoidable they should be registered. To be fully 'green' any demolition centre would need to have a watertight dry dock, highly skilled workers with protective clothing, specialist equipment and responsible waste disposal management. China is halfway there. And in Holland we have begun to talk.

On 20 November 2002 the Stichting Tanker Ontmanteling Platforms (Tanker and Platform Dismantling Foundation) STOP was set up to create just such a yard at Eemshaven, a location bordering on the vulnerable natural environment of the Wadden Sea. The Foundation is therefore undertaking a 'zero pollution strategy'. It is initially estimated that the yard will require 75 workers to process between 10 and 12 tankers a year. The yard will take two years to build. STOP approached Greenpeace. They were very positive about it. Mr Mulder reminded the delegates that Dutch labour is not cheap and that Holland has the toughest legislation in the world with regard to health and safety.

Participants in the scheme will include Barn nbm infra; Isotechniek; P&O Nedlloyd; Steenhuis Recycling; BGP engineers (who own the land to be used for the project);Groningen Seaports and various local councils. STOP's aim is to set and apply the necessary standards that could and should be developed globally - at present there are none. It should lead to worldwide certification and education. Mr Mulder contemplated a future scenario with up to 400 workers. All the best environmental factors were present including the railway and a harbour 12 metres in depth so everything was in place. He too was following the saga of the US 'ghost ships' including the possibility of 'building' suitably 'green' ships for the US navy. Certainly the potential for scrapping was there.

Apart from 700 regular ships coming up to scrapping age there were the 1300 single-hull tankers due for demolition before 2007. There were the 119 US 'ghost' ships, 270 drilling platforms in the North Sea and, in Europe 32 'problem' ships including 'Sandrien'. STOP proposed three drydocks initially, 310 metres x 55 metres (Panamax) and the development of 'green' energy using wind farms. Mr Mulder regarded cooperation between STOP and IMIF as an important step forward.

The meeting then adjourned to a most delightful restaurant set within a farm complex, the Restaurant de Vijverhoeve at Sluis where the discussions continued with Peter Vroon, Ravi Mehrotra and Jean Richards putting present day shipowners' viewpoints in contrast to the proposed ideal future scenario. Ravi emphasised that the world is governed by economics, with books to balance and that the scrap endprice was brought about by the demand for steel - it was not set by the breakers. Current prices are up simply because China needs 120 million tonnes of steel and at present there is a shortfall. Jim Davis summarized by saying that STOP should limit itself initially to specialist demolition of e.g. rigs and US Sealift vessels to test the practical methods of STOP and to demonstrate how eco-friendly demolition can be done. STOP should also concentrate on consulting / joint venturing with eg the Chinese once their methods are proven.

IMIF would like to thank our extremely generous host Peter Vroon, our guest speaker Doebren Mulder and his team and all the IMIF delegates for participating. It is very much appreciated.

Participants:

Jim Davis CBE -   Chairman, IMIF

Maria Dixon - Shipping Consultant Panamanian Consulate General

John Faraclas - Shipping International Monthly Review

Ravi K Mehrotra - Chairman Foresight Group

Struan Robertson - Partner Stephenson Harwood & Deputy Chairman IMIF

Jean Richards - Managing Director Fairwind Shipping

Veronica Vallarino - Consul- General of the Republic of Panama

Ian Bouskill - Secretary IMIF

Dutch Delegates:

Peter Vroon - Host Vroon B.V.

Doebren Mulder - Guest speaker Chairman STOP

Pieter Baan - ING Bank

Peter Buijs - Secretary & co-founder STOP

Remeo Jongkind  - Fortis Bank

Casper Kroon - ING Bank

Albert Lenting - Advisor STOP

Herman Marks - Commercial Director Vroon B.V.

Paul van Baasbank - Vice President Shipping ABN Amro

Bertjan Volbeda - Director Transport & Energy Division NIB Capital Bank

Venue: Vroon B.V.,Haven Westzijde 21, 4510 AA Breskens, The Netherlands and the Restaurant de Vijverhoeve, Sluis, The Netherlands

Hosted by: Peter Vroon

Guest Speaker: Mr Doebren Mulder, Chairman,

Source: IMIF. Monday, 8 September 2004

http://www.imif.org/200403/buffet.htm

Safer shipbreaking could boost Bangladesh industry :UNDP

Media Release:

ATTENTION: NEWS EDITORS

For immediate release   

29 June 2004

Safer shipbreaking could boost Bangladesh industry

People involved in ship breaking, from workers’ representatives to shipyard owners, agreed that the industry, which makes a vital contribution to the national economy, needed support to improve safety and environmental standards. The consensus was voiced during a workshop organized by the United Nations in Dhaka earlier today.

“Ship recycling in its current state is under scrutiny,” said Mr. Aage Bjorn Andersen, an international shipping expert who participated in the workshop. In recent years ship recycling in South Asia has come under a lot of criticism mainly because the public has become more aware of the difficult conditions workers experience, he said.

The huge task of dismantling ships is done manually in Bangladesh, with basic protection like helmets, gloves or goggles not provided to the workers. Each year many workers are injured, disabled or die. Despite the danger faced by them, their wages, hours of work and overtime payments, fail to meet minimum labour standards. Moreover, the improper disposal of harmful chemicals around shipbreaking yards is hazardous for the workers and a serious source of pollution in the surrounding environment.

Until now this industry has never been regulated and falls short of national and international standards. 

However, it is an industry that Bangladesh can ill afford to lose.  The nation has no domestic sources of iron ore and is faced with high prices for “new” steel in the international markets. Shipbreaking produces 80% of the steel Bangladesh needs. The industry also provides an important source of revenue for the Government, and generates much-needed employment. 

Vice President of the Bangladesh Ship Breakers Association, Mr. Yasin Ali said during the worksh hop that shipyard owners had already drawn up a number of recommendations for improving practices. However, until now, there had been little support for introducing change to this vital industry. Therefore, he welcomed the proposed activities to be undertaken by the Government’s Safe and Environment Friendly Ship Recycling project (SEFSR), supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).  

The 3-year initiative is ultimately aimed at regulating shipbreaking in Bangladesh. It seeks to achieve this by bringing together all concerned parties -- the relevant ministries, the Bangladesh Navy, importers, the Ship Breakers Association, survey companies, banks, traders, related industries, and workers. The workshop earlier today was the first activity under this project.

“I hope through this project we would be able to reach a consensus between the Government, employers and workers to strengthen the shipbreaking industry, so that safer jobs and more jobs could be created,” said Mr. Ashikul Alam Chowdhury of the National Coordination Committee of Workers Education. 

Experts believe if the industry can meet agreed standards the nation could benefit greatly. Mr. Andersen explained that the International Maritime Organization is closely monitoring shipbreaking practices in South Asia.  “Bangladesh could attract an increasing number of vessels for disposal if the industry here demonstrates better environmental and occupational safety standards,” he said.

The next activities under the project will include the establishment of an office in Chittagong, a national workshop to involve an even broader group of stakeholders, and some initial safety training for workers.

Project details in brief:

Title: Safe and Environment-friendly Ship-Recycling

Start Date: November 2003

Estimated end date: June 2006

National Implementing Agency: Department of Inspections for Factories and Establishments

Implementing Agencies: The International Labour Organization (ILO)

Executing Agency: Ministry of Labour and Employment

Budget: USD 1. 29 million

Source: UNDP. 29 June 2004

http://www.undp.org.bd/media%20releases/2004/Ship%20recycling%20official%20launch%2029%20June%202004%20inbrief.pdf