Dear Gopal, Hats off to you for doggedly pursuing the issue! Keep up the great work!
Regards, JP ===================== 2010/1/4 Gopal Krishna <[email protected]> > *Press Release* > ** > *Dead US Ship Makes Environment Ministry Anguished * > ** > New Delhi/4/1/2010: At a High Level Meeting held today at Paryavaran Bhavan > chaired by Jairam Ramesh, the Union Environment Minister, the letter of > Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) in the matter of dead US ship Platinum II (SS > Oceanic, SS Independence), Supreme Court order, a Navel Intelliegnce > document, Basel Convention, the minutes of the inter-ministerial committee > on shibreaking (IMC) and IMO's proposed treaty were discussed. The minister > anguished with the way the dead US ship has been dealt with by Gujarat > authorities. He was unequivocal in stating that his ministry would ensure > transparency, which would go a long way in setting matters right. > > The GMB letter (attached) addressed to Dr Saroj, Director, Hazardous > Substances Management Division, Ministry of Environment & Forests informs > that Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) has so far not submitted any > information and opinion in the matter of violation of US Toxics Substances > Control Act, which was mentioned in the Environment Ministry's order. > Notably, the dead ship in question is not registered with the Directorate > General of Shipping. > > Instead of admitting dereliction of duty by the GMB and Customs, the letter > speculates that US Coast Guard could not have allowed the dead US ship > Platinum II (SS Oceanic, SS Independence) to leave US waters. It notes that > no intimation from US or Dubai authorties have reached them so far. > > There were apprehensions expressed about the veracity of the claim that the > ship cannot be refloated again and its reference to as wreck was taken with > a pinch of salt. Indian law with respect to wreck is laid down in Part XIII > of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. The Section 2 (58) of Indian Merchant > Shipping Act, 1958 defines ‘wreck’ in an inclusive manner so as to take in > both ‘goods’ and ‘vessels’. The definition of wreck is vague. The term > ‘vessel’, under Section 2 (55) of the Act includes any ship, boat, sailing > vessel or other description of vessel used in navigation which has been > abandoned without hope or intention of recovery. Thus abandonment is a > prerequisite for a vessel to be treated as a wreck. The insistence on total > abandonment without even a hope or intention of recovery clearly shows that > a stranded vessel or a vessel that is reasonably expected to sink cannot be > termed as a Wreck under the Act. This is not the case in teh matter of the > dead US ship. > > The Act after defining Wreck elaborates on norms governing the handling of > Wreck in Part XIII which also deals with salvage. Even if it gets proven > that the dead US toxic ship is wreck, even then the Act provides that the > Central Government may appoint a receiver to receive and take possession of > the wreck and to perform such duties as envisaged under Section 391 of the > Act. Clearly, GMB is motive in commiting a linguistic corruption of defing a > floating hazardous waste is to use the lacunae in the Indian law relating to > the handling and removal of wrecks that has been permitting the perpetrators > of illegality to go scot-free and the public exchequer is burdened with the > task of meeting the huge expenses for wreck removal. The owner of the dead > US ship must be made liable for his acts of ommission and commission. > > Notably, under the Act for a vessel to be a wreck it has to be abandoned > without hope or intention of recovery. There has to be a positive act of > abandonment so as to constitute a wreck and to empower the receiver to > meddle with the same. In the case of a foreign vessel if its wreck or cargos > are found on or near the Indian coast or are brought to any Indian port, in > the absence of the master/owner, the statute under Section 399 (2) mandates > that the consular officer of the country in which the vessel is registered > or the cargo owners belong, shall be deemed to be the agent of the owner > with respect to the custody and disposal of the articles. GMB is not > revealing whether it has approached the consular officer of the country to > which the dead US ship belongs. > > As per the Supreme Court of India, "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 with regard to hazardous wastes, its orders > "Disposal of waste material, viz. oil, cotton, dead cargo of inorganic > material like hydrated/solidified elements, thermo- Cole pieces, glass wool, > rubber, broken tiles, etc. should be done in a proper manner, utilizing > technologies that meet the criteria of an effective destruction efficiency > of 99.9 per cent, with no generation of persistent organic pollutants, and > complete containment of all gaseous, liquid and solid residues for analysis > and, if needed, reprocessing. Such disposed of material should be kept at a > specified place earmarked for this purpose. Special care must be taken in > the handling of asbestos wastes, and total quantities of such waste should > be made known to the concerned authorities. The Gujarat Pollution Control > Board should authorize appropriate final disposal of asbestos wastes." > > With regard to international environmental law, the court's order reads, > "At the international level, India should participate in international > meetings on shipbreaking at the level of the International Maritime > Organization and the Basel Convention’s Technical Working Group with a clear > mandate for the decontamination of ships of their hazardous substances such > as asbestos, waste oil, gas and PCBs, prior to export to India for > breaking." > > Shockingly, in the case of dead US ship Platinum II (SS Oceanic, SS > Independence), the above order has not been complied with nor has it been > claimed that it has been complied with in the face of clear evidence of the > ship being laden with asbestos, PCBs and radioactive material. > > An environmental health researcher, an applicant in the Supreme Court and a > complaint before the Ministry, Gopal Krishna was invited at the High Level > Meeting. He submitted that the ship in question is a floating hazardous > waste that has been dumped in the country without manadatory pre-cleaning > using procedural flaws and gullible officials unmindful of the alarmingly > high level of accidents and diseases in Alang. > > Participants at the High Level Meeting included environment ministry > officials like R H Khwaja, Additional Secretary, Rajiv Gauba, Joint > Secretary, Director, Hazardous Substances Management Division expressed deep > anguish at the failure of the GMB to invoke precautionary principle to deal > with the dubious ship once beaching and breaking permission has been > withheld. The ministry expects that other concerned ministries of steel and > shipping would take immediate action to ensure that national and > international laws are complied with and the guilty are brough to book. > > > For Details > Gopal Krishna > ToxicsWatch/Indian Platform on Shipbreaking > New Delhi > Mb: 9818089660 > Skype id: witnesskrishna > E-mail: [email protected] > Blog: imowatch.blogspot.com > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Green Youth Movement" group. > To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<greenyouth%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. 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