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As the European Union gears to announce its updated list of approved ship recycling facilities, pressure is mounting for the bloc not to include two Indian yards over allegations that they rely on hazardous beaching methods.
The European Commission is expected to unveil the 16th edition of its approved list next month, which for the first time is proposing to include yards in South Asia. Indian yards Shree Ram and YSI Recyclers applied to be included in the list; if added, they will be able to pay high South Asian scrap prices to European owners, in fully lawful transactions.
Days before the unveiling of the updated list, a group of NGOs, steel companies, recycling yards and unions have teamed up to exert pressure on the Commission not to include the two Indian yards on the list. Through an open letter to Commissioners Jessika Roswall and Stéphane Séjourné, the group said that the yards rely on the beaching method whereby vessels are dismantled directly on the intertidal mudflat, a method that is not only hazardous to the environment but also poses economic and safety risks.
The open letter by NGO Shipbreaking Platform, EUROFER, IndustriAll Europe, European Environmental Bureau, Recycling Europe, and Transport & Environment also highlights that governance and environmental monitoring of Indian yards may have limitations. They allege that the regional Gujarat Pollution Control Board has issues with chronic understaffing, inadequate technical capacity, insufficient monitoring and sampling, and weak transparency.
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE: maritime-executive.com
