NGO: 274 European vessels were beached in 2016

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform is a coalition of environmental, human- and labour rights organisations working to promote safe and environmentally sound ship recycling globally. The Platform was first created in September 2005 after the few NGOs working on the issue noticed that a broader base of support, a stronger network of organisations from ship-owning and shipbreaking countries, and a long-term approach were needed to challenge the political clout of the shipping industry. The coalition quickly evolved from being a European Platform to a global one, including NGOs based in the major shipbreaking countries India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Turkey. It now has 20 member organisations and six partners in 12 countries. The Platform is recognised by United Nations agencies, the European Union, and leading media outlets as the pre-eminent international civil society advocacy organisation on ship recycling.

VISION

Our vision is that vessels are recycled in facilities that ensure clean, safe and just practices, offering decent and safe jobs. Our commitment to finding sustainable global solutions is based on the respect for human rights and the principles of environmental justice, producer responsibility, ‘polluter pays’ and clean production.

MISSION

To advocate for clean, safe and just ship recycling globally in respect of human rights, core labour standards and environmental justice, and to prevent dirty and dangerous practices, such as the dumping of end-of-life vessels on the beaches in developing countries.

Thanks in no small part to the continued ef- forts of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and its member organisations, the call for safe, clean and just ship recycling is increasingly being echoed by concerned policy makers and industry with a stake in shipping.

The European Union will shortly publish a global list of ship recycling facilities that com- ply with environmental, health and safety standards that will ensure decent working conditions and proper management of haz- ardous wastes. The list will function as an important market differentiator for the re- cycling facilities that have already invested in proper infrastructure and occupational health and safety standards. It is also likely to prompt a real business case to innovate and invest in cost effective and sustainable prac- tices. That facilities around the world have applied to be on the EU list is indicative of its potential impact. Ship owners will simply need to pick one of the many facilities that will feature on the list.

But will they? Probably not if it is left to their own decision. The requirement to use an EU listed facility is easily avoided by simply swapping an EU flag with that of any pacific island that offers a ‘last voyage registration’ discount. Cash buyers, companies special- ised in trafficking scrap ships to breakers that use the cheap, but dangerous and polluting method of beaching, will assist ship owners in doing just that. Flags such as Comoros, Niue and Palau that are known for their poor implementation of international maritime law are particularly popular with cash buy- ers. Who believes that the worst performing flags and cash buyers benefitting from the worst shipbreaking conditions will ensure improvements?

The Platform does not – and it will therefore be pushing for additional incentives to direct ship owners towards the use of the EU list. Shipping has always been most effectively regulated at the level of port states – indeed it is only when the EU, the United States or other regions take unilateral action to curb substandard practices that the International Maritime Organisation follows suit. The idea is simple: contributions for a ‘ship recycling licence’ will be collected from all vessels trad- ing in the EU. Moneys accumulated during a ship’s operational life will be set aside and only paid back to the last owner if the ship is recycled in a facility on the EU list. Proper ship recycling only represents a fraction of the operating costs of shipping and an even smaller fraction of their profit margins.

Today, banks, investors and clients of ship- ping are increasingly also pushing for im- proved standards. That is a much welcomed development. Financial institutions the Platform is talking to agree that recycling is part of the shipping industry’s value chain and that a clear departure from the unnecessarily risky practice of beaching is needed. A financial incentive and demands from banks, investors and clients of shipping will help close the gap between ‘green dollars and green recycling’.

Many more ships are expected to head for the scrapping yards in the coming years due to the overcapacity in especially the container market and oil and gas sector. A large number of floating oil production and stor- age tankers, drill ships and semi-submersible platforms that have operated in the North Sea will be decommissioned. Ship recycling is an industrial activity that needs industrial methods, equipment and standards – a beach is never going to be an appropriate place for a high-risk heavy industry involving hazardous waste management.

2016 saw the worst catastrophe in the history of the industry – on 1 November, at least 28 workers were killed instantly and more than 60 injured due to an explosion and massive fire on a tanker beached in Gadani, Pakistan. 22 men lost their lives at the Bangladeshi yards in Chittagong, another 29 men suffered serious injuries. At least two workers lost their lives in Alang, India, but the death toll is feared to be higher as accident records are not shared. By supporting a method which is banned in Europe, the United States and in China, Danish Maersk Group’s U-turn back to the beach in India is scotching development in South Asia. The need for the NGO Shipbreaking Platform to continue to counterbalance arguments from an industry not used to being held account- able for its devastating practices is, more than ever, crucial.

We expect European shipping lines that seek to call themselves socially and environmentally responsible to adhere to European standards. We expect European banks and investors to back that call. The future of ship recycling is on the EU list, and not on the beach. With continued commitment from Platform member organisations and increased cooperation with industry leaders, the Platform’s quest to prevent the human rights abuses and environmental injustice provoked when ships are traded to dirty and dangerous breaking yards continues, strengthened, in 2017!

A sea-going vessel reaches the end of its operational life after about 20-30 years. Roughly 1000 large commercial vessel are dismantled annually. When shipping companies sell their old ships for scrap, they cash in a profit: about 90% of a ship’s structure is made of steel which is recov- ered during the demolition process. The amount of money recovered from selling a vessel for scrap will depend on the size and type of vessel, as well as on the mar- ket price of steel. It will also depend on the environmental and safety standards that are followed at the given yard. A ship owner can earn millions USD more by sell- ing to a yard that pollutes and ignores oc- cupational health and safety laws.

Compared to sinking or abandonment, re- cycling is the only environmentally-friend- ly way of getting rid of an old ship because it ensures the reuse of valuable resources such as steel. However, ship recycling is a heavy and hazardous industry that expos- es both workers and the environment to a great number of risks. Therefore it must be carried out in line with standards that safeguard the workers, the surrounding communities and the environment. Yards must have the proper infrastructure, equipment and procedures to fully contain and control pollution, to safely handle and dispose of hazardous waste, and to pre- vent accidents and impairment of work- ers’ health.

The five main shipbreaking countries in the world today are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkey and China. The majority of end-of-life ships are sold to substandard beaching facilities in the three South Asian countries. In 2016, a shocking 86% of the world’s end-of-life tonnage was broken under rudimentary conditions on these beaches.

DIRTY PRACTICES
Shipbreaking in South Asia is carried out directly on intertidal beaches where the vessels are grounded, pulled and broken apart manually. Cutting a vessel on a beach does not allow for safe working conditions with proper heavy lifting machinery and cranes. The muddy intertidal zone does not provide for the containment of pollutants, including prevention of leakages into the water and soil.

In addition to toxic materials such as asbestos, PCBs, oil residues and organic waste, ships also contain heavy metals – including in toxic paints. Debris and paint chips, released during the cutting process and the crashing of large parts into the sea contaminate the sediments or are washed out by the tidal water. The pollution and the uprooting of coastal vegetation, such as mangrove forests, endanger the biodiversity of the coastal areas and affect the livelihoods of fishing communities.

Millions of tons of hazardous wastes are imported to South Asian countries in the form of end-of-life ships. The hazardous wastes built into the structure of the vessel are in most cases not properly identified, and therefore harm workers unknowingly. Moreover, an alarming amount of hazardous substances are not disposed of properly and are either illegally dumped or re- sold on the local market. The shipbreaking industries in Bangladesh and Pakistan are completely void of hazardous waste treatment and storage facilities. In India, it is legal to re-sell asbestos-containing material.

Whilst environmental protection and monitoring must also be vigilantly ensured where other methods of ship re- cycling are used, the beaching method is destined to pollute due to the fact that the ship is broken in the intertidal zone.

DANGEROUS PRACTICES
Shipbreaking has been declared the most dangerous job in the world by the ILO. Explosions, falls from great heights and dropping steel parts severely injure or even kill workers. Workers also suffer from long-term health effects due to the exposure to toxic fumes and hazardous materials as well as harsh and unhealthy working and living conditions. Without personal protective equipment the risk of contracting a fatal occupational disease at a shipbreaking yard, such as cancer and asbestosis, is high.

In South Asia, ships are beached at high tide and workers access them at low tide, cutting the structures manually

The safe use of heavy machinery to lift cut-off steel parts is not possible on the beaches. Consequently, large parts of the ship crash down on the beach, a practice known as the gravity method. Falling blocks is one of the main causes of severe and fatal accidents as workers are crushed by the heavy steel pieces. Only in few cases are disabled workers given compensa- tion to start a new livelihood, most often the workers and their families are simply thrown back into extreme poverty.

Also in Aliaga, Turkey, there are health and safety concerns for workers. Accidents, in some cases fatal, are still frequent, and the awareness of occupational diseases is dramatically poor. In China, there is a lack of transparency in terms of accident rates and there are concerns related to the absence of independent trade unions.

Cash buyers are used as intermediaries for end-of-life sales to the beaching yards. These companies are specialised in end-of-life deals and become the new owners of the ship for a couple of weeks only before selling it for the high- est scrap price. The cash buyers typically re-flag and re-name the ship. Certain flags known for their poor implementation of international maritime law are particularly popular with cash buyers. These small island tax havens off er their flag for a cheap ‘last voyage’ registration fee, oft en not even with a requirement to incorporate with a post box company. The shipbreaking crisis cannot be effectively regulated by flag state jurisdiction, as the cash buyers, or the ship owners themselves, will always be able to find flag states that are known for not ratifying or properly implementing international conventions and laws, including those regulating ship recycling