Articles from NGO Shipbreaking

Platform
Problems and Solutions
2011- 10- 09 17:10:53 Shipbreaking

PROBLEMS
In 2012, approximately 1,250 ocean ships reached the end of their service
lif e and were broken down to recover steel. Yet only a f raction was
handled in a saf e, sustainable manner. More than 70% of all end-of -lif e
ships were simply run ashore on tidal beaches in developing countries
such as Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where unscrupulous
shipbreaking companies exploit minimal enf orcement of environmental
and saf ety rules to maximiz e prof its. But the remaining 30% also remain
an issue - ship recycling f acilities in T urkey and China still f ace massive
dif f iculties in complying with all standards of environmentally sound
management of haz ardous waste.
On t he beaches of Sout h Asia, poor and unskilled migrant workers are
deployed by t he t housands t o break down t he ships manually. T he ships are
f ull of t oxics such as asbest os, lead, PCBs and heavy met als and lit t le care is
given t o worker saf et y or prot ect ion of t he environment . T he t oxic wast es
sicken t he workers and ravage coast al ecosyst ems, and because t he muddy
sand and shif t ing grounds of t idal beaches cannot support heavy lif t ing
equipment or saf et y gear, accident s injure or kill hundreds of workers each
year. T he st at ist ics are alarming. T he European Commission est imat es t hat

40.000 t o 1.3 million t onnes t oxics (including 3.000 t onnes of asbest os) on
board end-of -lif e vessels are export ed each year t o Sout h Asia f rom t he EU
alone. In Bangladesh, children under 15 years of age count f or 20% of t he
workf orce. T here and elsewhere, t he t ot al deat h t oll runs int o t he t housands.
Also, miles of prot ect ed mangrove t rees, essent ial t o ecosyst em healt h and
prot ect ion f rom monsoons, are being cut t o make way f or ships. T his and t he
accompanying poisons f rom shipbreaking have killed or devast at ed dozens of
aquat ic species, dest roying also t he livelihoods of surrounding f ishing

communit ies.
A cemetery f or ships and men
Causes of deat h at t he shipbreaking yards in Sout h Asia include explosions,
f ire, suf f ocat ion and accident s caused by ext remely heavy st eel beams and
plat es which f all and crush workers under t heir weight . Also, t he const ant
exposure t o t oxic mat erials and f umes is t he source of many diseases,
including cancer. Asbest os dust , lead, organot ins, such as t he ext remely t oxic
organic t in compound t ribut ylt in (T BT ) used in ant i-f ouling paint s,
polychlorinat ed organic compounds (PCBs), by-product s of combust ion such
as polycyclic aromat ic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and dioxins and f urans, and ot her
harmf ul subst ances are f ound bot h on t he yards and in t he workers sleeping
quart ers locat ed close by. Some cancer t ypes and asbest os relat ed diseases
will only occur 15 t o 20 years lat er, making many more casualt ies among
f ormer shipbreaking workers as well. T he average lif e span of a Sout h Asian
shipbreaking worker is alarmingly low: 40 years old.
Exploitation and economic dumping

Workers wages in Sout h Asia are less t han 2 Euros per day. T he workers
barely have enough money t o eat , let alone send t o t heir f amilies. Somet imes
t hey are not paid at all. No cont ract s are signed on t he shipbreaking yards,
against t he workers will. If t here is an accident , t he yard owners of t en ref use
t o recognize t he injured person as a worker f rom t heir yard and do not pay
compensat ion, nor any medical f ees. T o f urt her disempower t he workers,
t rade unions are f orbidden at t he shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh. T he
considerable prof it s made in t he shipbreaking indust ry are not being used t o
improve working condit ions or t o prot ect t he coast al environment and local
communit ies f rom pollut ion. Ship owners current ly exploit workers and weak
enf orcement of environment al regulat ions in developing count ries t o get rid of
t heir end-of -lif e vessels in t he cheapest way. By selling t heir ships t o Sout h
Asian yards ship owners are priorit izing high scrap prices at t he det riment of
human lives and t he environment .
Breaking the law when breaking ships
T he shipping indust ry is in most cases not being held account able f or t he
human right s abuses and pollut ion caused by shipbreaking pract ices in Sout h
Asia t oday. It is ext remely easy f or a ship owner t o circumvent exist ing laws
t hat aim t o prot ect developing count ries f rom t he dumping of t oxic wast es.
T he shipbreaking and shipping indust ry have syst emat ically opposed t he
lit igat ion init iat ed by Plat f orm member BELA in Bangladesh and advocacy
work by t he Plat f orm at t he European and int ernat ional level aiming at policy
development s t hat will improve implement at ion of exist ing laws such as t he
Unit ed Nat ions' Basel Convent ion. In 2009 t he Int ernat ional Marit ime
Organizat ion adopt ed t he Hong Kong Convent ion on Ship Recycling. T his
convent ion does lit t le t o deal wit h t he issues at st ake. Amongst t he many
weaknesses of t he Hong Kong Convent ion is t he lack of put t ing t he
responsibilit y f or proper ship dismant ling on t he pollut er - in t his case t he ship
owner - and t he accept ance of t he beaching met hod. T o t his dat e no
count ries have rat if ied t he Hong Kong Convent ion.
SOLUT IONS
Prompt and sust ained act ion, bot h in t he market place and in t he court s, is
required. T he need is especially urgent because t he global phase-out of single
hulled oil t ankers and current backlog of old vessels st ill in operat ion mean
t hat t he number of ret ired ships sold f or breaking is about t o spike. T he
shipping indust ry and policy makers must urgent ly ensure t he f ollowing:
OFF T HE BEACH !
Ships should be dismant led in cont ained areas where saf e use of heavy lif t ing
gear and emergency access f or f ire f ight ing equipment and ambulances can
be ensured. >> See also our corporat e campaign: www.of f t hebeach.org >>
Sign our OFF T HE BEACH! pet it ion
Workers Rights
Exist ing int ernat ional labour right s should be respect ed. Workers should have
t he right t o assemble, t o bargain collect ively f or bet t er condit ions and have
access t o occupat ional healt h clinics.
Stop Dumping of T oxic Ships

Enf orcement of exist ing laws on export s of t oxic ships must be improved.
Loopholes t he shipping indust ry is current ly exploit ing must be closed and
responsibilit y f or implement ing t he law must be borne by count ries wit h
jurisdict ion over t he benef icial owners of ships.
T he polluter pays
A ship dismant ling f und f ed by t he shipping indust ry must be creat ed in order
t o int ernalize cost s current ly borne by t he environment and t he healt h of
impoverished communit ies in developing count ries.
Eco Ship Design and Recycling
Ship owners should, t oget her wit h shipbuilders and classif icat ion societ ies,
commit t o t he building of clean ships t o avoid f ut ure disposal problems and
Green Ship Recycling Yards should be ident if ied and rewarded.
Corporate Responsibility
T he shipping indust ry should t ake immediat e measures such as replacing
hazardous mat erials wit h clean alt ernat ives during maint enance and survey
st ops and gas-f reeing t heir ship-f or-scrap bef ore export t o developing
count ries t o ensure t he saf e and environment ally sound dismant ling of t heir
vessels.
(Photo credits : Pierre Torset - Shipbreaking)