'See you in India'...
Greenpeace follows toxic ship 'Gerd' to its final destination

12 September 2002 - Tonight the 'Gerd', a ship destined for scrapping, will depart from the Port of Amsterdam. The ship contains toxic substances like asbestos and heavy metals. Greenpeace will follow the ship with inflatables to the IJmuiden Locks. After that Greenpeace will continue to track the chemical tanker through information from special contacts and through tips received via this special shipbreaking website. Greenpeace strongly suspects the ship has been sold - again - to shipbreakers.

On 10 April 2002, the 'Gerd' arrived in Amsterdam and was detained because its Norwegian owners were in debt. In June, the ship was sold to the Liberian 'Advanced Distribution Company Limited'. The buyer withdrew its offer after Greenpeace asked for an inventory of hazardous materials and announced it was tracking the ship. The 'Gerd' was to be auctioned again on 5 September, but that same week it became clear the ship had already been sold. According to tips at the Greenpeace shipbreaking website the ship was bought again by the Liberian registered company 'Advanced Distribution Company Limited'. The Amsterdam Port Authority confirms this. The lawyer of the court will not give a reaction.

The new owner renamed the ship 'Tulip'. It now sails the flag of St. Vincent instead of a Norwegian flag. Whether the ship will be kept in service or immediately brought for scrapping to a shipbreaking yard, still remains unclear. Unfortunately these obscure practices are very common in the shipping industry. There is no duty to report when a ship is sailing off for scrap to a shipbreaking yard. The ship owners prefer to keep such information confidential. The export of waste is regulated in (international) treaties and legislation. Recently the Dutch 'Raad van State' (the highest Court in the Netherlands) decided that ships-for-scrap are subject to these same rules. Ships sent for scrap who contain toxic substances like asbestos and PCBs are toxic waste are not allowed to exported to developing countries.

Every year, hundreds of ships like the 'Gerd/Tulip' are sent to scrap yards in Asia. This number is set to increase dramatically over the next few years because single hull oil tankers will be obsolete by 2015. These ships contain lots of toxic waste like asbestos and heavy metals. During scrapping these toxic substances are released into the environment. Asbestos fibres float in the air. Oil and other toxic substances are released directly into the sea. The working conditions of the shipbreaking workers are very bad. In countries like India, Bangladesh and Pakistan they dismantle these ships without any protective clothing.

Earlier this year Greenpeace launched a list on this website that put 50 ships under the spotlight. The 'Gerd/Tulip' is one of the top-50 ships. These are vessels that are likely to be scrapped soon on Asian beaches. Greenpeace informs the ship owners that it will be actively monitoring these ships. Greenpeace demands that ships be decontaminated of all toxic substances like asbestos prior to scrapping. By following the 'Gerd/Tulip' to its final destination, Greenpeace will show that these ship owners intentionally evade this obligation to the workers and the environment.

Tracking status:

See voyage of Gerd/Tulip on map

More about the Gerd