SHIP BREAKING YARDS.
At the end of their
sailing life, ships vessels and floating structures are sold as scrap
for their steel.
Greece is the place
where auction of such ships takes place.
A ship for breaking
is sold ordinarily between two to five
million US dollars.
The Principal
purchasers are generally ruling clan from Dubai.
They buy such ships
for ship-breaking, making payment in US dollars.
Such ships are sent
to ship-breaking yards-say Alang ship-breaking yard, Bombay, Sachana etc.
In India they have their syndicate in New Delhi runs this business.
The Syndicate pays
the Principal in kind by exporting equivalent valued
foodstuffs butter
cheese,grains pulses-in short everything as indented by the Principal.
After fulfilling
customs formalities ship-breaking takes place
in under-developed
countries Bangladesh, Pakistan India China etc.
Such ship breaking
activity turns our green good sea-beach into dirty graveyards.
Such ships brought
for ship-breaking also contain hazardous materials like asbestos lead
paint,
PCBs (polyclorinated biphenyls) in engine oils.
During the process of
scrapping hazardous
poisonous gas is
found released in the environment.
Every year about 700
such ship
are taken out of
actual sea-faring and put into auction for scrapping.
About 300 such ships
account for our share in ship-breaking
approximately. Such
ships ordinarily
travel under flag of
convenience available at cheap
rates from countries
like Panama, Malta
Cyprus etc. Ship
masters have the right to sail under any flag they choose.
Ships are registered
in
such countries where
rules are not strict.
Shipping companies
and ship-owners remain incognitio-their origin
can not be traced.
Everything is done by
petty contractors
middlemen etc.
They make huge
profits from selling such old ships but do not bear
the burden of
undertaking a follow-up clean break-up of the ship.
Here they raise their hands.
The International
Maritime Organization has issued clear cut
guidelines for follow
up action till
completion of the
breaking process by the sellers of such old
vessels. In our
country, the Honorable
Apex Court of India
rendered yeoman's service
by issuing guidelines
on lines of the IMO plus
the Lordships have also
issued directives that
prevents dumping of
hazardous wastes in the country,
and the ship has also
to be delivered with 'gas free for hot
works' certificate as
per Indian Laws.
Their Lordships have
stressed that the Basel Convention
was applicable to export
of such ships to
our country as it
amounts to one and the same thing
like export of
hazardous materials to our country;
and that 'gas-free
for hot work' should be mandatory
for the ship owner
and that no ship be given
permission to beach
unless such certificate is produced.
Any explosion
irrespective of the certificate
should result in
cancellation of the plot holder's license
and the Explosives
Inspector prosecuted.
The Pollution Control
Board has issued instructions
to observe the said
precautions. It has
also directed to
remove asbestos and other hazardous
waste on board of the
ship and store it
at a landfill in the
hinterlands adjacent to the ship-breaking
yards. This directive
is uncalled for
as it does not address
the illegalities of import of such
hazardous wastes into
the shipbreaking
yards. Many agencies
have visited the shipbreaking
yards of Alang,
Bombay to monitor environmental
pollution. Syndicates
have very long hands and everything
has remained on paper.
There is complete ban
on diamond polishing in the western
countries being
hazardous to health.
They send all their
diamonds for trimming polishing shining to
underdeveloped
countries. There is
complete ban on
manufacture of synthetic organic dyestuffs
being hazardous to
the environment.
Such SODyes are
manufactured in India.
They import it from
India. Pollution Control Board and Courts
have issued
innumerable guidelines but they are of no avail.
Time is now ripe for
public awakening.
At a little distance
from Alang, at Pipavav, the Japan Car
manufacturing company
financed the Delhi
syndicate for
establishing a modern ship breaking yard.
This ship-breaking
yard is now ready but
it is delayed for
want of last minute green signal from the
Government. As per
arrangement, every year
Japan renders 200
vessels for scrapping.
These vessels would
be scrapped at Pipavav. The cut steel
would go Japan for
use in their automobile plants.
This arrangement was
done during the Congress
regime between 1985
to 90. Now that this party has
come to power, it
will be shortly commissioned.
In short it is time
now to enforce the directives issued
by the Honorable
Supreme Court of India. In Japan
their Government have
refused permission to establish
a ship-breaking yard
in Japan sea-waters. India
welcomes everything.
This state of affairs has to stop now.
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