Greenpeace intercepts European ship attempting to illegally dump toxic waste in Turkey

5 May 2002 - Greenpeace activists intercepted a European cargo vessel as it illegally attempted to enter a Turkish shipbreaking yard with dangerous toxic waste on board. The vessel "Sea Beirut", with asbestos still on board, was towed from France to be scrapped at Aliaga, one of Turkey's notorious ship breaking yards.

Six Greenpeace activists climbed onto the ship and hung a banner reading "Stop Toxic Ship Trade" on the vessel's side and displayed the toxic logo of a skull and crossbones, to warn that the ship contains
dangerous toxic waste.

The vessel was sold for scrap with asbestos on board by the French authorities in March 2002 to a German company MSK. In taking the decision to sell the ship for scrap, France is responsible for ensuring it is cleaned of hazardous materials before it is exported.

Despite the fact that France has strict laws governing the handling of asbestos, it failed to classify the vessel as hazardous waste. It also failed to request permission to export the vessel to Turkey and failed to notify the Turkish authorities of the asbestos. Under international and national regulations, Turkey has a right to refuse the toxic ship entry into the country and France is obliged to take it back.

"This toxic ship has been exported illegally and must be sent back to France. It is clearly unacceptable that France and other European countries are illegally dumping hazardous waste in Turkey, exposing its people and the environment to some of the most dangerous substances known to science," said Greenpeace campaigner Erdem Vardar. "This illegal trade will continue unless the EU ensures its shipping industries clean their vessels of hazardous materials before they are exported," he added.

After being contacted by Greenpeace during the action, Turkish Ministry of Environment officials in Izmir and the local governor of Aliaga, are now heading to the Aliaga shipbreaking yard to take samples. The officials are claiming that they cannot take action unless they have proof that there is asbestos on board the ship. Greenpeace has already provided some evidence that the ship has asbestos on board by means of a written declaration of the Dutch asbestos cleaning company Van Der Linden & Veldhuis.

Up to hundred ships are scrapped in Turkey every year. At least 50 % of them come from Western European shipping companies. The costs for dismantling toxic ships in Turkey are lower than in Europe because not even basic requirements for the protection of people and the environment are met at shipbreaking yards such as Aliaga where shipbreaking practices are comparable to those in China, India and Bangladesh.

"Until toxic ships-for-scrap are recognised as hazardous waste trade by all world governments and international regulations with a strong liablity regime are enforced, people's lives and the environment will be endangered as a matter of routine," said Greenpeace campaigner, Marietta Harjono. Greenpeace is not against scrapping of vessels but wants to ensure that their export is not used as an excuse to dump toxic waste but demands that they are decontaminated before being exported.

Links:

• International regulations
• Shipbreaking in Turkey
• Greenpeace report on shipbreaking in Turkey (PDF-format)