Greenpeace calls on France not to scrap deadly Clemenceau in India

[proud_ionian]

Four Greenpeace climbers today successfully climbed to top of the loading crane at the Port of Toulon, where the Clemenceau, a French Navy air carrier is berthed and preparing to depart to India where it will be finally dismantled. Three other activists are currently on the mast of the ship and have unfurled banners that say: "Asbestos carrier, Stay out of India!" An eighth activist circled the ship on a motorised paraglider flying a banner that read in French: Asbestos carrier: not here, not anywhere. Three other activists on an inflatable were stopped by local authorities.

The Clemenceau may be one of the largest ships to be sent for scrap but every year a vast decrepit armada bearing a dangerous cargo of toxic substances including asbestos, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and heavy metals, ends up in Asian ship breaking yards (Bangladesh, India, China and Pakistan) where they are cut up in the crudest of fashions taking a huge toll on human health and the local environment.

"The sorry story of the Clemenceau is the story of ship breaking in general, a tragic case of pass the toxic parcel," said Pascal Husting, Executive director of Greenpeace France. "After years of attempts to find a cheap way of dumping the Clemenceau and its load of at least 130 tonnes of deadly asbestos and other toxics, once again the French Government tries to send it for breaking in the unregulated yards of India. This is an unacceptable practice of waste dumping. "

πηγη: Greenpeace

[proud_ionian]

End of life ships should be treated like any other toxic material under the internationally recognised Basel Convention which bans the dumping of such waste by OECD countries in non-OECD countries. However, the shipping industry and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), fearing that ships would become subject to a strict environmental justice regime, claim that the Basel Convention has no competence over ships for scrap.

"Dumping this asbestos carrier on India or any other Asian ship breaking yard not equipped to deal with toxic ships is an unofficial declaration of war against the environment and against unprotected, vulnerable and poor workers. This ship has been rejected for export to Greece and Turkey before. Surely, it should also stay out of India. ," said Ramapati Kumar of Greenpeace India.

Today, at the Palais de Nations in Geneva, representatives of three United Nations bodies, IMO, the Basel Convention and the International Labour Organisations (ILO), will begin a three-day meeting to discuss ways to bring the ship breaking industry under control. The IMO has resisted any attempt to loosen its grip on all ship related regulation and bring the shipping industry under the control of the Basel Convention. Earlier this month the IMO announced plans to develop a new treaty for ship scrapping. However, it will not come into effect for at least another five years and is likely to place the burden of responsibility for hazardous waste on poor workers at the breaking yards in Asia and not on the ship owners.

"Not all of the casualties of this toxic trade are unknown," said Marietta Harjono of Greenpeace International, in Geneva at the launch of a new report produced jointly by Greenpeace and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on ship breaking. The report follows the story of 110 workers who have died during accidents in ship breaking yards of India and Bangladesh.

"While the talking continues so does the dying," said Harjono. "This week discussions must conclude-at a minimum-that until the IMO provides new regulations for ship breaking that the shipping industry should adhere to the Basel Convention and international human rights conventions."

[proud_ionian]

An old French warship lined with asbestos has been cleared to travel to India to be dismantled, after a judge dismissed objections from green groups.

State lawyers said the Clemenceau was now free to begin its journey.

Green groups had petitioned against the transfer, saying Indian ship-breakers were not properly equipped to deal with asbestos, which can cause lung cancer.

The French company charged with dismantling the ship said the workers' health "will be taken into account".

A judge at the Paris administrative court ruled that Greenpeace and three anti-asbestos groups had raised "no serious doubts" about the legality of the transfer.

"In theory, the Clemenceau can leave," said Joel Alquezar, lawyer for the French state.

Authorities in Toulon, where the decommissioned aircraft carrier is berthed, said it was ready to leave as soon as the green light was given.

Campaigners said they would appeal.

"We may not be able to stop it from leaving, but the Clemenceau won't necessarily make it all the way to India," said a spokesman.

It is due to be taken to the world's biggest ship-breaking yard in Alang, in north-western India.

Greenpeace says almost half of the world's ships are sent to India when their days are over, but that ship-breakers are poorly regulated and have few measures to protect workers from industrial accidents or dangerous substances.

It said several thousand people had died in accidents in ship-breaking yards over the past 20 years - not including deaths from long-term contamination.

The Clemenceau took part in the 1991 Gulf War, but was replaced in 1997 by the new nuclear-powered carrier, the Charles de Gaulle.

Poor Indian workers. French Asbestos is coming for you.

[proud_ionian]

French Aircraft Carrier To Scrap

The huge French aircraft carrier CLEMENCEAU, left port in Toulon, France in December after years of legal wrangling over where it should be scrapped. The retired warship is now on its way to Alang, India is expected to arrive in two months. But India's Supreme Court has said it will refuse permission for the ship to come within 200 nautical miles of its coast while the quantity of toxic materials are investigated. Greenpeace, which has been at the forefront of the fight to prevent CLEMENCEAU from leaving France, claims the ship still hold up to 500 tonnes of hazardous materials despite some decontamination completed in France. The French authorities claim only 45 tonnes of asbestos are left and were necessary to keep the ship seaworthy. A final decision on the fate of the ship is expected before the ship reached India.

[proud_ionian]

why did the egyptian officials change their mind?

The French aircraft carrier CLEMENCEAU under tow from Toulon, France for scrapping in Gurarat, Indian, (accompanied by a French warship) was denied transit of the Suez Canal by Egypt on January 12. The Suez Canal Authority banned the ship "on the grounds that the vessel was leaking toxic waste", however, on January 15, Egyptian authorities were satisfied that the vessel posed no risk the environment and allowed the vessel to transit the canal.

posed no risk? egyptians have a good sense of humour;) .

[Nick the Greek]

Why did they change their minds? Make a wild guess... The reason has the face of George Washington on it...

[gpan]

Not the final voyage, just a round trip!

Jacques Chirac, French president, on Wednesday ordered the Clemenceau, a

retired warship, to abandon its voyage to an Indian shipbreaking yard

and return to France only days before a state visit to India.

The main reason for this desision? Maybe Indian workers' health? Far from that:

The Clemenceau affair had proved an unwanted distraction for Mr Chirac

as he prepared to visit India this weekend with a business delegation

keen to sell Airbus passenger jets, military hardware and nuclear

technology.

source: Liners List

[proud_ionian]

Liberation confirms Gpan.