Asbestos laden Japan built vessel MV TIRAN to enter Indian waters
Asbestos laden
Japan built vessel MV TIRAN to enter
Indian waters
Encouraged by
the illegal entry of asbestos & PCB laden US ship, ex Exxon Valdez
CBI asked to
stop entry of dead US ships like Delaware Trader
New Delhi,
June 29, 2012: Asbestos laden Japan built vessel MV TIRAN (ex
Sirorat Naree, Gulf Glory,
Ocean Fortress is likely to
reach Indian waters on June 30, 2012 under Panama flag. Its last position as of
June 27, 2012 was in Persian Gulf. Its last known port was Mina Saqr. Its
last flag was Thailand when its registered
owner was Precious Diamonds Pvt Ltd in 2009. Its
IMO No
is 8316302.
This Cargo vessel was built in the year 1984 by
Kanasashi
Heavy Industries. Its
length x
breadth is 172 m X 27
m.
Asbestos is discovered in
flange gaskets, coatings, pipe insulation and in accommodation areas. The
classification societies are facing allegations of wrongly issuing Safety of
Life at Sea (Solas) certificates for ships containing asbestos. Numerous cases
of asbestos laden ships have come to light due to the laxity of Classification
societies in accepting asbestos-free certificates or statements from shipyards
for equipment installations without checking their accuracy.
Unlike
USA, Japan is
a party to UN’s Basel Convention on Transboundary of Hazardous Wastes and Their
Disposal but has been adversarial to it. India is a party to the
Convention whose Article 4-2 (d) requires it to” Ensure that the transboundary
movement of hazardous wastes and other wastes is reduced to the minimum
consistent with the environmentally sound and efficient management of such
wastes, and is conducted in a manner which will protect human health and the
environment against the adverse effects which may result from such movement.” As
pre India’s Hazardous Waste Management Rules, 2008 trade in asbestos waste (dust
and fibers) is banned. There is complete ban on asbestos use, trade and
manufacturing in Japan.
A 15-member delegation of Japan
Shipowners' Association had visited Alang ship breaking yard on February 14,
2012 and met Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on February 13 in order to
make Alang's 170 recycling plots, spread over a 10 kilometre stretch fit for
Japanese end-of-life ships to be dumped on Alang beach without any hassle for
recycling. Japan outs its dead ships transferred as it commands 25-30 per cent
share in global shipping business.
Unmindful of the fact that both
the ship breaking industry and environmental groups are opposed to International
Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Hong Kong protocol for safe and
environmentally-friendly recycling, formulated in 2009, the Japanese delegation
campaigned for it to be adopted.
It is noteworthy that in July
2002, the IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) banned under Solas the
installation of asbestos on new buildings and existing ships, with a few
exceptions. A total ban was introduced on 1 January 2011. But it has come to
light that asbestos in end-of-life vessels continues to be of major
concern.
This poses serious risks to the
health of crew members, ship surveyors and inspectors and persons working in
ship breaking yard facilities. The fact is that asbestos-containing materials
(ACMs) were still being found in such places as fire blankets, joint and
insulation materials, some sealants and friction material for brakes, as well as
wall and ceiling coverings.
The surveyors are not properly
trained to identify asbestos and where it is most likely to be found. The
Directorate General of Shipping, Union Ministry of Shipping should note that
declarations from the recycling shipyards are useless because they do not have
control over the incoming hazardous materials.
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
demands that a high powered team of toxicologists should be asked to survey
presence of asbestos on end-of-life ships that enters Indian waters and also
those which are which used by Indian Navy to save workers and soldiers from
exposure of carcinogenic fibers..
It has come to light that the Solas ban has been flouted. Of 140 vessels inspected, asbestos was discovered on 114. The checks covered ships delivered by yards since 1 January 2003, which meant they all fell under the Solas convention. This has come to public domain in a report of Tradewinds titled “Asbestos ‘failure’ by class societies” authored by Geoff Garfield.
Both Japan built vessel MV
TIRAN
and the controversial US ship, ex Exxon Valdez are laden with asbestos and
PCBs.
Japan has
hatched a plan to skirt the Basel Convention and liberalize and promote toxic
waste trade among their global neighbors in Asia. One of the key components of
this plan includes utilization of bilateral trade agreements. The manner in
which these trade agreements are being used constitutes non-compliance with the
Basel Convention.
Environmental
health groups are opposed to Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) including one with
countries that allows status quo to continue with regard to hazardous waste
trade. The FTA with Japan is highly regressive as it is an effort to outwit the
intent of the Basel Convention. Government of India is quite secretive about the
agreements with Japanese government and EU. These groups have been campaigning
against the India-EU FTA that entails such free trade in hazardous
waste.
In a letter dated June 28, 2012
to Director, CBI, TWA has drawn the attention towards US flagged ship called
Delaware Trader (IMO No. 8008929) as well and has sought his intervention to
ensure that such ships are not allowed to enter Indian waters.
The letter argues that such
movements of end-of-life vessels “must be halted to demonstrate that Indian law
enforcement agencies are not subservient to US Ship Disposal Policy” in
compliance with two of Supreme Court's orders of October 14, 2003 and September
6, 2007, the relevant part reads: "At the international Level, India should
participate...with a clear mandate for the decontamination of ships of their
hazardous substances such as asbestos, waste oil, gas and PCBs prior to exports
to India for breaking" besides the May 3, 2012 order. In its order dated June
25, 2012, Supreme Court’s Vacation Bench of Justice HL Gokhle and Justice
Ranjana Prakash Desai has ordered that the matter of dead US ship Exxon Valdez
should be placed before the appropriate Bench. The ship owners had tried their
luck even before another Vacation Bench of Justice Deepak Verma and Justice
Sudhanshu Jyoti Mukhopadhya on May 14. Both the benches have refused any relief
to the owners of US hazardous dead vessel.
TWA’s letter demands that “CBI
and other concerned agencies ought to coordinate their efforts to demonstrate
sensitivity towards Indian environmental borders which is routinely being
compromised so much so that since 1982 till date more than 5000 dead foreign
ships have been dumped in India's fragile coastal environment of Alang
beach.”
For
Details:
Gopal Krishna, ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA) Mb: 08002263335, 09818089660, E-mail:krishna1715@gmail.com, Phone: +91-11-26517814, Fax:
+91-11-26517814 Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com,
banasbestosindia.blogspot.com
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