The Consul of United States of America,
Shantipath,
Chanakyapuri,
New Delhi – 110 021
21 September, 2002
Dear Madam/Sir,
Sub: Illegal export of toxic ships for scrap by Federal Maritime Administration
(MARAD) to India
We would like to bring to your attention the implications of recent deliberations in the
United States to dispose more than 300 old ships without decontamination in one of the
Asian shipbreaking yards.
You may recall that the then U.S. vice president Al Gore placed a moratorium on the
sale of US Government-owned ships-for-scrap to foreign yards after Indian trade unions
and environmental organisations including Greenpeace and Basel Action Network
(India) protested outside the US embassy in New Delhi in January 1998.
We have now learned that the Federal Maritime Administration (MARAD) is
contemplating again the export of the obsolete US ships to India or other Asian beaches
in order to avoid the environmental and safety liabilities involved if the ship were to be
scrapped in the United States. Specifically, we have learnt that discussions are on
between Indian shipbreakers and the U.S. authorities to sell the ships for scrapping in
India without prior decontamination.
While we are in no way opposed to the reclamation of ship-steel for reuse in the market,
we have repeatedly indicated our opposition to the export to any country, particularly
industrialising nations, of any form of hazardous wastes. Ships-for-scrap, unless
decontaminated, are hazardous wastes by virtue of the fact that most, if not all, ships
contain a range of hazardous material in their structure. The U.S. ships in question
include vessels which have a high likelihood of containing polychlorinated biphenyls, a
human carcinogen that is expensive, difficult and dangerous to handle. Clearly, the
motivation of the United States to export the ships without decontamination is to avoid
the monumental environmental and labour safety costs that will have to be borne if the
scrapping is attempted to be done in line with the existing regulations in the United
States. The nature of the hazardous material -- asbestos, PCBs and heavy metals – also
make it clear that there are no foolproof methods for dealing with these chemicals
without risk to the environment or worker health.
The proposal to export ships-for-scrap from the United States to Asia exposes the
marked double-standards inherent in the US Government’s outlook on the rights of
communities and workers in Asian countries.
Various legal precedents exist to confirm that ships-for-scrap (unless decontaminated)
should be treated as hazardous wastes. Notable among these are the precedents set in
the cases involving export of ships-for-scrap from the Netherlands, Belgium and
Denmark1. Furthermore such an export is illegal under US and international law2 and
would, if exported to India, violate the May 5, 1997, Supreme Court ruling prohibiting the
import of hazardous wastes. See attachment fpr more information.
In the absence of an international legal instrument to ensure that decontamination
happens prior to export, we are also concerned that unscrupulous U.S. authorities will
seek to exploit the desperation faced by shipbreakers in India, China, Bangladesh and
Pakistan by creating a competition among them for the ships. In particular, we’re
concerned that any unilateral action by one of the shipbreaking countries in rejecting the
proposal would merely encourage the U.S. Government to seek a graveyard for their
toxic ships in another shipbreaking country.
The ships in question are too old and damaged to travel on their own steam. They would
need to be towed to the shipbreaking yard. There is no reason why the ships cannot be
decontaminated prior to towing to the shipbreaking yard.
We are strongly opposed to any proposal that will export the liabilities associated with
the toxic US ships-for-scrap to any Asian country. We demand that the U.S. Government
withdraw any proposal it may have to export its toxic ships-for-scrap to Asia for breaking,
and work towards a program that will safely dismantle these ships in the United States.
Sincerely,
Greenpeace, BAN, Toxics Link, NAPM (National Alliance of People's Movement, CITU
AITUC (All India Trade Union Congress), INTUC (Indian National Trade Union
Congress), IFTU(Indian Federation of Trade Unions)
1
The Danish police initiated criminal action against Scandlines ferry three years ago.
December 1999 -The Belgium government arrested the UK bulk carrier Forthbank bound for India
for scrapping. The Belgium government understands that an European ship bound for scrapping
in Asia is a hazardous waste export and subject to the EU hazardous waste exports ban which
has been in place since 1998.
June 19th 2002 - The Highest Court in the Netherlands, the Council of State in The Hague, has
ruled that the Bolivian flagged chemical tanker “Sandrien” a ship destined for scrapping in India
which contains asbestos, heavy metals and other toxic materials, should be classified as toxic
waste. It sets a vital precedent that in future all scrap ships must be cleaned of toxic materials
before being sent to shipbreaking-yards.
2
A decommissioned ship contains a wide range of toxic materials that threaten the health of
workers and the environment. Many of these substances are defined as hazardous waste under
the Basel Convention, meaning that these substances are not allowed to be exported from an
OECD to a non-OECD country (or from a non-party to the Convention to a party of the
Convention).
According to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the USA is forbidden from exporting
PCBs or PCB items at or above concentrations of 50 ppm for disposal without a special
exemption. The EPA does consider the export of vessels as the export of PCBs if the vessel
contains any materials that may contain or may be contaminated with PCBs at regulated
concentrations. PCBs, or plychlorinated biphenyls have been linked to cancer, liver and skin
disease, reproductive repairment, immune system damage and behavioural and neurological
damage.
Supplement
On May 5, 1997, the Indian Supreme Court prohibited all imports of hazardous wastes
into India for any purpose.
The High Power Committee on Management of Hazardous Wastes installed by the
Supreme Court in 2000 recommends that "Before a ship arrives at port, it should have
proper consent from the concerned authority or the State Maritime Board, stating that it
does not contain any hazardous waste or radioactive substances. ..and that "Hazardous
substances that remain in small, but nevertheless substantial quantities, despite and
subsequent to decontamination, should be removed during breaking, contained and
returned to sender."
Guidelines for shipbreaking from the Central Pollution Control Board from 1997 say: "Old
vessels containing or contaminated with any of the above substances (PCBs, waste
asbestos dust and fibre, lead and lead compounds) are classified as hazardous
materials. The customs authority and/or the concerned State
Maritime Board should ensure that the vessel is free from the prohibited material."
An Indian law from 2000 requires that:
a certificate from the Master of the ship shall be presented to the Port Officer certifying
that no dangerous gas, toxic or any other hazardous chemical/wastes are present on
board of the ship. the shipbreakers have to obtain and submit necessary certificates
from the shipowner that the ship is free from prohibited material such as PCBs,
asbestos, lead and lead compound and other hazardous materials and submit such
certificate to the Port Authority.