News

ILO seminar on shipbreaking in Turkey

18-19 september 2003 - The last prepatory seminar before the international ILO meeting in Bangkok, took place in Izmir, Turkey. During the ILO meeting in Bangkok, which will take place from 7 - 11 October, the organisation will adopt guidelines on shipbreaking.

The seminar was organised in Turkey as a follow-up of actions of Greenpeace last year in Turkey, where Greenpeace requested the ILO and the Turkish trade union to improve labour conditions at the breaking yards in Turkey. The seminar in Izmir, at which Greenpeace was represented by Campaigner Erdem Vardar, showed clearly:

1. The international shipbreaking campaign of Greenpeace succeeded to effectively bring the issue onto the agenda of the governments. The Turkish government is preparing new legislation on shipbreaking, which will make sure that shipbreaking activities in Turkey will be done in an environmentally sound and safe way

2. Shipbreaking companies have realised that they cannot keep the status quo of non-existent environmentally safe and healthy working conditions

3.That more needs to be done to assist the shipbreaking countries to put the responsibility onto the shipowners to make sure the ships are decontaminated before being sent for scrap. This seems even more needed as national bans on import of toxic waste are not enough to force the shipowners and western exporting countries to do so. International bodies like IMO, Basel Convention and ILO need to establish a mandatory regime that will oblige shipowners to take responsibility for the hazardous waste on end-of-life ships. This needs to be done quickly as the IMO and EU decision to phase out single hull tankers will create a huge supply of toxic ships for scrap.

4. The European Union should set an example by both putting the burden onto the shipowners and also by assisting the shipbreaking countries to raise their environmental standards. The Turkish government will investigate opportunities to get funds from the World Bank and the EU for improvements at Aliaga shipbreaking yards.

5. Greenpeace's role is seen as the catalyst for change in the sector.