IMO's Environment Committee ignores Navel Intelligence report on Shipbreaking

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) met from 31 March to 4 April, at the Royal Horticultural Halls, London to finalize and approve amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI regulations to reduce harmful emissions from ships, at its 57th session .

The Committee's agenda included the current draft of a proposed ship recycling convention and issues relating to the implementation of the 2004 Ballast Water Management Convention.

It was clear after the 4th April, 2008 that the sh ipowners in OECD countries who are using small countries like Liberia and Tuvalu to circumvent international and national laws that prevent them from sending dead toxic ships loaded with hazardous chemicals for dismantling to developing countries, such as India can continue in the business as usual fashion.

A Navel Intelligence report has raised the issue of security threat arising from unregulated shipbreaking in India. This has not merited the attention of IMO.

The naval report was submitted as part of a case in the Supreme Court on the environmental hazards of unregulated shipbreaking. The environment and forests ministry had gone on record to say that no intelligence agency had warned it of such threats specifically.

"The high stakes of profit margin, cheap labour, corrupt practices and a large floating population have made labour settlement at Alang (the biggest Asian shipbreaking yard, based in Gujarat) an ideal breeding ground for mafia and anti-national elements to indulge in nefarious activities almost unhindered," the report noted .

"Cash buyers operate hand in glove with the end buyers and owners by under-invoicing a deal. The unmentioned amount is transacted through the hawala route making almost 40-50% metal trade illegal," the report adds.


"Apparently, a large number of cash buyers are Pakistani nationals based in London and the UAE. Due to large profit margins, the Dawood group appears to have invested heavily in cash buyers thus having a stake in most deals," the report warns.

The security agency has pointed out, "can lead to clandestine collection of data, survey of seabed and coastal area, weather and meteorological data and for dropping and picking agents".

At present, 53 such 'dead ships' are beached at Alang in contravention of Supreme Court orders. The intelligence report mentions that the regulations allow such ships innocent passage through the entire stretch of Indian waters unscrutinised by the security agencies.

These ships include the following:

VLORA M.V. beached in Alang on 25th-Dec-2007 in the plot no. 84 of Diamond Industries (Ship Breaking Div. Owned by Ajay Jain

LEE M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-Nov-2007in the plot no. 84 A of Lucky Steel Industries owned by Arif Masani

SEE HOPE M.V. beached in Alang on 26th-Oct-2007 in the plot no. 88 of Atam Manohar Ship Breakers Pvt. Ltd owned by Munshiram Jain

AGIOS ISIDOROS M.V. beached in Alang on 26th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 91 of K.P.G. Enterprises owned by Rakesh Bansal

BOTSMAN MPSHKOV M.V. beached in Alang on 4th-May-2007 in the plot no. 1 of Bansal International Ltd.

BERGE ARROW M.V. beached in Alang on 5th-May-2007 in the plot no. 1 of Bansal International Ltd.

GAS TIGER M.V.beached in Alang on 31st-Dec-2007 in the plot no. 2 of Chaudhary & Chudhary owned by Mukesh Chaudhary


CHEM ASTRO M.V.beached in Alang on 26th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 3 of Kamdar & Associates
owned by Mishrilal Shah.

ILINSK M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Dec-2007in the plot no. 7 of Nagarsheth Ship Breakers
by Praveen Nagarsheth

ZINA PORT NOVA M.V.beached in Alang on 27th-Dec-2007in the plot no. 7 of Nagarsheth Ship Breakers by Praveen Nagarsheth

MOZDO M.V. beached in Alang on 25th-Dec-2007in the plot no. 8 of Ghasiram Gokalchand Shipbreaking Yard owned by Vishnu Gupta

VAGA M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 9 of Shree Ram Steel & Rolling Mill (Unit-II) owned by Mukeshbhai Patel

D.HAI M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 9 of of Shree Ram Steel & Rolling Mill (Unit-II) owned by Mukeshbhai Patel

SONS M.V. beached in Alang on 20th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 10 of Shree Saibaba Ship Breaking Company owned by Pawan Jain.

TIM M,V. beached in Alang on 21st-Dec-2007 in the plot no. 11 Gautam Ship Breaking Ind. Ltd. owned by Vinubhai.

HAMAD M.V.beached in Alang on 29th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 12 of Salgavkar Engineers P. Ltd.

ZHEN HUA-2 M.V. beached in Alang on 15th-Nov-2007 in the plot no. 13 of Baijnath Melaram
owned by Bhupendra Agrawal (Munnabhai)

ALMAHAD M.V. beached in Alang on 14th-June-2007in the plot no. 14 of Hariyana Ship Breakers Ltd. owned by Shantiswaroop Reinwal

SEA ANGER M.V..beached in Alang on 6th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 16 of Bhikamal Chhotelal
owned by Lallabhai Sheth.

SEA EXPLORER M.V. beached in Alang on 20th-Jan-2007 in the plot no. 18 of Mahavir Ship Breakers owned by Mukesh Jain

POWER M.V..beached in Alang on 8th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 19 of R.L.Kalathia Ship Breaking
P.Ltd. owned by H.L.Kalathia

MARIAM-VI M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Nov-2007in the plot no. 20 of Panchavati Ship Breakers owned by Mishrilal
HAJ MAHMOUD M.V. beached in Alang on 11th Nov-2007in the plot no. 20 of Panchavati Ship Breakers owned by Mishrilal

HERMES M.V. HAMAD M.V.beached in Alang on 23rd-Jan-2007 in the plot no. 21 of International Steel Corporation owned by G.M.Meghani


AKADEMIK ALESANDERSI DORE beached in Alang on 9th-Nov-2007 in the plot no. 24 of Alang Auto & Engineering Co. owned by Subodh Choudhary

BETA M.V. HERMES M.V. HAMAD M.V.beached in Alang on 23rd-Jan-2007 in the plot no. 24 Alang Auto & Engineering Co. owned by Subodh Choudhary

RYBAKIV ASHKI M.V.HERMES M.V.beached in Alang on 25th Dec. 2007 in the plot no. 25 of Bansal Ship Breakers owned by Raj Bansal


MYS SVOBODNYY M.V.beached in Alang on 25th Dec. 2007 in the plot no. 25 of Bansal Ship Breakers owned by Raj Bansal


GOLDEN GEMINI M. V. beached in Alang on 7th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 26 of Apollo Vikas Steel Pvt. Ltd. owned by Vinubhai Patel


NEORIVA M.V. beached in Alang on 11-Nov-2006 in the plot no. 32 of Samudra Alloys P. Ltd.


LUCKY M.V. beached in Alang on 5th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 33 of Madhav Steel Ship Breaking owned by Jivrajbhai Patel

XPRESS ALEXANDER M.V. beached in Alang on 20th-Apr-2007 in the plot no. 35 of Ganpatrai Jaigopal owned by Vipin Agarwal

SEA D/V. beached in Alang on 7th-Aug-2006 in the plot no. 36 of Shiv Ship Breaking Co. owned by Rameshbhai


GOLF M.V.beached in Alang on 6th-Jan-2007 in the plot no. 38 of Ghaziabad Ship Breakers
owned by Ramesh Choudhary.


NANKING M.V. beached in Alang on 25th-Dec-2007in the plot no. 39 of Gupta Steel Ship Breakers owned by Kpoor Bansal


WIND M.V. beached in Alang on 9th-Nov-2007 in the plot no. 40 of Shirdi Steel Traders
owned by Raj Bansal

ARBAT D/V. (TOW WIND) beached in Alang on 9th-Nov-2007 in the plot no. 40 of Shirdi Steel Traders owned by Raj Bansal

JTB TUG MAGNACNAM-CC 39201 beached in Alang on 24th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 42 of Virendra & Company owned by Bhogibhai Shah

MING XI JU M.V. beached in Alang on 20th-Feb-2007 in the plot no. 47 of Marine Lines (ShipBreakers) owned by Kamal Khemka.


ALMIS-I M.V. beached in Alang on 19th-Oct-2007 in the plot no. 50 of Husain Sheth Ispat (Ship Breaking)

DIAMOND M.V.beached in Alang on 23rd Oct 2007 in the plot no. 50 of Husain Sheth Ispat (Ship Breaking)

CASTOR M.V. (EX. BOWHERON) beached in Alang on 3rd-Mar-2007 in the plot no. 51 of Goyal Traders owned by Ravi Arya

P.EXPRESS M.V. beached in Alang on 5th-Jul-2007 in the plot no. 55 & 24 A of HATIM STEEL

ROSINIJ M.V. beached in Alang on 22nd-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 54 of Rushil Industries Pvt Ltd.


IRAN ADALAT M.V. beached in Alang on 18th-Apr-2007in the plot no. 57 & 24 C of Laxmi Steel Rolling Mills (UNIT-II)


ALAMOAJ M.V. beached in Alang on 13th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 58 & 24 D of Malvi Ship Breaking Company owned by Farukh.

OPAL M.V. beached in Alang on 17th-Feb-2007 in the plot no. 59 & 24 E of Y.S.Investments
Mr. Arif.

LADY M.V. beached in Alang on 17th-May-2007in the plot no. 62 & 24Hof Arya Ship Breaking Company Ltd. owned by Ravi Arya

CHEM PRINCE M.V. beached in Alang on 2nd-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 63 & 24J Bharat Ship Breaking Corporation owned by Nitin Kothari

EAST CARRIER M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 65 & 24L
Sachadeva Steel Products owned by Ashvinbhai Gujarati

BUKHTA GAYDAMAK M.V. beached in Alang on 3rd-Mar-2007 in the plot no 71 & 24S Jai Bajarang Ship Breakers Pvt. Ltd.

SONJ M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 73 & 24U of Pure Enterprise P. Ltd owned by Surendra Garg.

ANSOVY M.V. beached in Alang on 27th-Dec-2007 in the plot no. 74 & 24V of P.V.R Ship Breaking Co owned by V.P.Jain

KSUDOZHNIK IOGANSON M.V. beached in Alang on 18th-Feb-2007 in the plot no. 75 & 24W of Priyank Ship Breaking Co (P) Ltd owned by V. P. Jain

TELEDA M.V. beached in Alang on 16th-May-2007 in the plot no.77 & 24Y Ashwin Corporation by Vishnukumar Gupta

STOLT AVENIR M.V. beached in Alang on 23rd-Oct-2007 in the plot no. 78 &
24Z of Shri Ram Vessel Scrap owned by Mukesh Patel.

DEL-MAR M.V. beached in Alang on 25th-Oct-2007 in the plot no.81 of Shri Ram Vessel Scrap owned by Mukesh Patel.

CESCA M.V. beached on 24th-Nov-2007 in the plot no. 82 of Kiran Ship Breaking Company
owned by R.K.Jain(Billa Sheth)

DAFA M.V. beached in Alang on 6th-Feb-2008 in the plot no.81 of Mercury Marine Industries Pvt. Ltd. owned by Kamlesh Maru.


MEXICANA M.V. beached in Alang on 27th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 154 of Bansal Ispat Pvt. Ltd.

LILLY M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-Nov-2007 in the plot no.158 of Bansal Shipping P. Ltd.

AL SASANIYA M.V. beached in Alang on 3rd-July-2007 in the plot no. V-4 of Hariyana Ship Demolition P. Ltd owned by Rajiv Reniwal

GEOLOG M.V. beached in Alang on 13th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. V-5 of Mahavir Indecto Melt Pvt. Ltd woned by Kishor Bansal.

HORIZON-I M.V. M.V. beached in Alang on 13th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. V-7 of R.K.Industries (UNIT-II) owned by Mukesh Patel.

DPON M.V. beached in Alang on 23rd-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 103 Honey Ship Breaking Co.

MYS FRUNZE M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 103 of Honey Ship Breaking Co.

SAFY M.V.beached in Alang on 4th Dec 2007 in the plot no. 107 of Unique Ship Breaker Corp. by Sohilbhai

FORT M.V.beached in Alang on 17th-May-2007 in the plot no. 108 of Jay Bharat Steel Industries
owned by Ashok Bansal

ATLANTIC FOREST M.V. beached in Alang on 5th-May-2007 in the plot no. 109 of Rishi Ship Breakers

MADONA M.V. beached in Alang on 16th-Feb-2007in the plot no. 110 of Shiv Ship Breaking Company by Ramesh

MERCUR M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 111 of Shiv Ship Breaking Company by Haresh

ULLA M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-May-2007 in the plot no. 113 of Agrasen Ship Breakers

ALARABIA M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-October-2007 in the plot no. 114 of Rajendra Ship Breakers owned by Rajendrabhai Gupta

SANTO C M.V. beached in Alang on 19th-Oct-2007 in the plot no 115 of Kumar Steel "INDIA" owned by Tarachand Shah

ADIRA M.V. beached in Alang on 5th-Feb-2008 in the plot no 120 of G. K. Steel by Rupendra Gupta

HERA M.V. beached in Alang on 13th-Jan-2008 in the plot no 121 of Kutir Ispat Udyog owned by Ashok Jain

GORNYAK M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-Jan-2008 in the plot no 123 of Husain Sheth & Sons (Ship Breaker)

CLEO PATRA-I M.V. beached in Alang on 9th-June-2007 in the plot no. 125 of Maria Ship Breaking Pvt. Ltd owned by B. K, Agrawal / Mukeshbhai.

OM M.V. beached in Alang on 1st-Feb-2007 in the plot no. 127 of G. N. Ship Breakers owned by Balkrishna Agarwal.

PALLAD M.V. beached in Alang on 9th-May-2007 in the plot no. 131 of Sanjay Trade Corporation
owned by Rafiq.

ACRUI M.V. beached in Alang on 8th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 132 of Harikrishna Steel Corp.

NAVIGATOR M.V.beached in Alang on 25th-Nov-2006 in the plot no. 133 Harikrishna Steel Corp.

AILA M.V. beached in Alang on 16th June -2007 in the plot no. 134 of Mayur Ship Corporation owned by Bharatbhai Dhameliya

MAKALU D/V. (TUG SEAWAYS-II) beached in Alang on 27th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. 136 of M. V. Ship Trade Pvt. Ltd.

MEXICANA M.V. beached in Alang on 27th-Feb-2008 in the plot no. 154 of Bansal Ispat Pvt. Ltd.

LILLY M.V. beached in Alang on 28th-Nov-2007 in the plot no. 158 of Bansal Ispat Pvt. Ltd.

BLUE LADY D/V beached in Alang on 15 August 2006 in the plot no. V-1 of Priya Blue Industries Pvt. Ltd. owned by Sanjay Mehta

AL SASANIYA M.V.beached in Alang on 3rd-Jul-2007 in the plot no. V-4 of Hariyana Ship Demolition P. Ltd owned by Rajiv Reniwal

GEOLOG M.V. beached in Alang on 13th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. V-5 of Mahavir Indecto Melt Pvt. Ltd. owned by Kishor Bansal

HORIZON-I M.V. beached in Alang on 29th-Jan-2008 in the plot no. V-7 of R.K.Industries (UNIT-II) owned by Mukesh Patel.

Note: The fraudulent misrepresentation of the ship owners and the ship-breakers has not been of any concern to the IMO although it means letting the current situation of contaminating the environment of Alang, Gujarat and endangering the life of the workers and communities in the ship-breaking industry continue.

"IMO environment meeting approves revised regulations on ship emissions"

Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) - 57th session: 31 March - 4 April 2008

The Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has approved proposed amendments to the MARPOL Annex VI regulations to reduce harmful emissions from ships.

The main changes would see a progressive reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions from ships, with the global sulphur cap reduced initially to 3.50% (from the current 4.50%, effective from 1 January 2012; then progressively to 0.50 %, effective from 1 January 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018.

The limits applicable in Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECAs) would be reduced to 1.00%, beginning on 1 March 2010 (from the current 1.50 %); being further reduced to 0.10 % , effective from 1 January 2015.

Progressive reductions in nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from marine engines were also agreed, with the most stringent controls on so-called "Tier III" engines, i.e. those installed on ships constructed on or after 1 January 2016, operating in Emission control Areas.

The revised Annex VI will allow for an Emission Control Area to be designated for SOx and particulate matter, or NOx, or all three types of emissions from ships, subject to a proposal from a Party or Parties to the Annex which would be considered for adoption by the Organization, if supported by a demonstrated need to prevent, reduce and control one or all three of those emissions from ships.

In the current Annex VI, there are two SECAs designated, namely, the Baltic Sea and the North Sea area, which also includes the English Channel.

Speaking at the close of MEPC, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos praised the excellent progress made during the week-long MEPC session in IMO's long-standing efforts to limit and reduce pollution of the atmospheric environment and thanked and congratulated all the parties concerned (Member States and observer organizations) for their hard work and contribution to the results achieved.

"The fact that representatives of some 100 Governments were able to reach decisions by consensus on complicated issues of great importance to the environment not only bears testimony to the responsible manner with which the Members address environmental matters nowadays but also to the great results that can be achieved when States, with the same concerns and determination to produce meaningful solutions to global problems, work together under the auspices of IMO. The co-operation of the shipping industry and environmentalist groups has been of great value and I thank them for that. I am confident that, once adopted as amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, in the coming October, the new measures will prove extremely beneficial to the environment and I commend the Committee wholeheartedly for its achievement in developing them," he said. "It will certainly be one of IMO's finest hours when this happens six months from now", he added.

Mitropoulos also commended the progress in work on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from shipping operations, including the search for practical means to devise any mechanisms deemed appropriate to address this important issue. He welcomed the MEPC's endorsement of his proposal to expedite the Organization's related work, in particular, as regards the CO2 Emission Indexing Scheme and the CO2 Emission
baseline(s).

"I wish also to express our gratitude to Norway for offering to host an intersessional meeting of the GHG Working Group at the end of June, which will give us all the opportunity to further progress the work in hand and, with that goal in mind, I commend the efforts of the Working Group to seek agreement on global solutions to further develop the action plan approved by the Committee, identifying practical next steps that will facilitate the completion of the plan's three elements within the newly-agreed timelines. Of course, these are issues which, although complex and intricate in nature, are by no means impossible to resolve, especially with the constructive engagement we have witnessed here this week. In this regard, I am confident that, as we look beyond Kyoto, we should be able to put in place a robust regime that will apply fairly to shipping while, at the same time, achieving our main objective of protecting the marine and atmospheric environment," he said.

MARPOL Annex VI Regulations for the Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships entered into force in May 2005 and has, so far, been ratified by 49 countries, representing approximately 74.77% of the gross tonnage of the world's merchant shipping fleet.

The proposed draft amendments to Annex VI and the NOx Technical Code will now be submitted to MEPC 58 (which meets from 6 to 10 October 2008) for adoption, in accordance with an agreed timetable. This would see the revised Annex VI enter into force in 2010.

The work on greenhouse gases is scheduled for completion in 2009, in time for IMO to submit a position paper to the Copenhagen Conference (December 2009) called for by last year's Conference in Bali on climate change.

SOx and Particulate Matter (PM) emissions from ships

Following intense efforts to find a workable solution on a matter that had been highly controversial and the subject of extensive debate in its air pollution working group, the Committee agreed with a series of progressive standards in the amended regulation 14 Sulphur Oxides (SOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) that would result in significant reduction of SOx and PM emissions from ships.

The principal elements are as follows:
• the sulphur limit applicable in Emission Control Areas beginning on 1 March 2010 would be 1.00% (10,000 ppm), reduced from the current 1.50% (15,000 ppm);
• the global sulphur cap would be reduced to 3.50% (35,000 ppm), from the current 4.50% (45,000 ppm), effective from 1 January 2012;
• the sulphur limit applicable in Emission Control Areas effective from 1 January 2015 would be 0.10 % (1,000 ppm);
• the global sulphur cap would be reduced to 0.50% (5,000 ppm) effective from 1 January 2020, subject to a feasibility review to be completed no later than 2018. Should the 2018 review reach a negative conclusion, the effective date would default to 1 January 2025; and
• introduction of a fuel availability provision under regulation 18 Fuel Oil Availability and Quality that outlines what actions are appropriate should a ship be unable to obtain the fuel necessary to comply with a given requirement under regulation 14.

Meanwhile, the MEPC approved an MEPC.1 Circular containing Unified Interpretations related to the verification of sulphur content in fuel oil. The Unified Interpretations should be applied until the 2008 amendments to MARPOL Annex VI enter into force. The circular also gives, in an appendix, Fuel Oil Verification Procedure for MARPOL Annex VI Fuel Samples.

NOx regulations for new engines
The MEPC agreed amendments confirming the proposed three-tier structure for new engines, which would set progressively tighter nitrogen oxide emission standards for new engines depending on the date of their installation. Tier I applies to a diesel engine which is installed on a ship constructed on or after 1 January 2000 and prior to 1 January 2011 and represents the 17 g/kW standard stipulated in the existing Annex VI.

For Tier II, NOx emission levels for a diesel engine which is installed on a ship constructed on or after 1 January 2011 would be reduced to 14.4 g/kWh.

For Tier III, NOx emission levels for a diesel engine which is installed on a ship constructed on or after 1 January 2016 would be reduced to 3.4 g/kWh, when the ship is operating in a designated Emission Control Area. Outside a designated Emission Control Area, Tier II limits apply.

NOx standards for existing engines
The MEPC agreed a NOx emission limit of 17.0 g/kW for a diesel engine with a power output of more than 5,000 kW and a displacement per cylinder at, or above, 90 litres installed on a ship constructed on or after 1 January 1990 but prior to 1 January 2000.

NOx Technical Code
The MEPC approved draft amendments to the NOx Technical Code, to give a revised NOx Technical Code 2008. The draft amended NOx Technical Code, includes a new Chapter 7 based on the agreed approach for NOx regulation of existing (pre-2000) engines established in the draft amended MARPOL Annex VI.

The draft amended NOx Code includes provisions for direct measurement and monitoring methods, a certification procedure for existing engines, and test cycles to be applied to Tier II and Tier III engines.

Other matters

Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems
The MEPC also agreed, with a view to adoption by an MEPC resolution, the draft revised Guidelines for Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems. It was agreed to forward the interim washwater discharge criteria, to be included in the Guidelines, to the Joint Group of Experts on Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) for its review and comment. The interim washwater discharge criteria will be revised in the future as more data becomes available on the contents of the discharged washwater and its potential effects on the marine environment, taking into account any advice given by GESAMP.

Halons
The MEPC approved a draft MSC-MEPC Circular on the decreasing availability of halons and forwarded it to the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) for consideration and concurrent decision. The circular notes the decreasing availability of halons for marine uses and requests shipowners, ship operators, shipping companies and all other interested entities to take appropriate action to reduce their reliance on halons.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Draft guidelines for the development of a VOC management plan were approved, with a view to adoption at MEPC 58. The purpose of the VOC Management Plan is to ensure that the operation of a tanker, to which regulation 15 of Annex VI applies, prevents or minimizes VOC emissions to the extent possible. Regulation 15 requires a Party regulating tankers for VOC emissions to submit a notification to the Organization, which should include information on the size of tankers to be controlled, the cargoes requiring vapour emission control systems, and the effective date of such control.

Liaison with ISO
The MEPC instructed the IMO Secretariat to invite the International Standardization Organization (ISO) to consider the development of a fuel oil specification addressing air quality, ship safety, engine performance and crew health, with recommendations for future consideration by IMO and, if feasible, to report back to the Committee at its 58th session in October.

Greenhouse gas emissions from ships
Reflecting the Committee's continuous determination to reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions emanating from shipping operations, the MEPC endorsed a proposal form the Secretary-General to expedite the Organization's work on GHG emissions, in particular as regards developing the CO2 (carbon dioxide) Emission Indexing Scheme and the CO2 Emission baseline(s).

The report of the intersessional Correspondence Group on GHG-related issues, which was tasked with discussing and compiling possible approaches on technical, operational and market based measures to address GHG emissions from ships, was considered, along with other relevant submissions from Member Governments and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with IMO.

The MEPC agreed that a coherent and comprehensive future IMO regulatory framework on GHG Emissions from ships should be:
• effective in contributing to the reduction of total global greenhouse gas emissions;
• binding and equally applicable to all flag states in order to avoid evasion;
• cost-effective;
• able to limit - or at least - effectively minimize competitive distortion;
• based on sustainable environmental development without penalizing global trade and growth;
• based on a goal-based approach and not prescribe specific methods;
• supportive of promoting and facilitating technical innovation and R&D in the entire shipping sector;
• accommodating to leading technologies in the field of energy efficiency; and
• practical, transparent, fraud free and easy to administer.

The Working Group on GHG Emissions from Ships developed practical next steps covering the development of short-term and long-term measures to address CO2 emissions from ships. The next steps were approved by the MEPC.

Short-term measures include a proposal to establish a global levy scheme on marine bunker fuel to achieve GHG emission reductions. Under this scheme, all ships engaged in international voyages would be subjected to a bunker levy established at a given cost level per ton of fuel bunkered. With such a scheme in place, a baseline of fuel used and CO2 emissions would be obtained. The prospect of a global levy/credits scheme contributing to a GHG emissions reduction from ships was found promising, although it was noted that several aspects would need to be clarified and worked on, including:
• the practical implementation of a global levy scheme;
• who would collect the levies and how;
• how would the revenues be distributed;
• the relation with existing environmental levies and tax regimes in general;
• would there be enough Clean Development Measures1 to buy with the credits; and
• the potential for a modal shift in transport at the regional level.

Other short-term measures listed for further consideration include:
• improvement of specific fuel consumption;
• Energy Efficiency Design and Management Plan/Using a Test Mode for estimating CO2-index of new-build ships;
• onshore power supply;
• use of wind power;
• voluntary/mandatory requirements to report CO2 index values, information exchange/outreach and rating performance of ships and operators;
• strict limitations on leakage rates of refrigerant gases;
• vessel speed reductions;
• measures to improve traffic control, fleet management, cargo handling operations and energy efficiency.

Some of the measures could lead to immediate reduction of CO2 emissions and should be implemented as soon as possible. The MEPC endorsed the view of the Working Group that a resolution (to be adopted by the MEPC and/or Assembly), urging the shipping industry and other related entities to do so, should be developed at an intersessional meeting of the GHG Working Group to be held in Oslo, Norway, from 23 to 27 June 2008.

The longer-term measures identified by the Working Group and approved by the Committee for further development include:
• technical measures for ship design;
• use of alternative fuels
• a CO2-Design Index for new ships;
• external verification scheme for CO2 operational index;
• unitary CO2 operational index limit, combined with penalty for non-compliance;
• Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and/or Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); and
• inclusion of mandatory CO2 element in port infrastructure charging.

The Oslo intersessional meeting was instructed to further address market-based, operational and technical measures identified by the MEPC 57 Working Group on GHG-related issues, including:
• developing a CO2 Design Index for new ships with a view to approval at MEPC 58 and establishing the future use of this index, and its GHG reduction potential;
• reviewing the existing CO2 operational index guidelines (MEPC/Circ.471), with a view to finalization at MEPC 58 and, in particular, develop a methodology for a CO2 baseline in terms of efficiency; and consider the purpose of the CO2 operational indexing scheme;
• further developing mechanisms with GHG reduction potential for international shipping, inter alia: global levy/hybrid mechanism; Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) and/or Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); and reviewing best practices on the range of measures as identified by MEPC 57 and how they can be implemented by ship builders, operators, charterers, ports and other relevant partners to make all possible efforts to reduce GHG emissions, with the aim of developing a resolution, as appropriate, with a view to selecting the most promising measures for consideration at MEPC 58; and
• considering the level of reductions that can be achieved, addressing the design, implementation, cost-benefit and regulatory/legal aspects as well as the impacts for the shipping industry, the flag and port States and other stakeholders as appropriate, associated with each of these options.

The intersessional group will submit a written report to MEPC 58.

Other measures to reduce GHG emissions from ships will be considered by the Intersessional Correspondence Group on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Ships, which was re-established to report to MEPC 58.

_________________
1 Refers to the so-called "Clean Development Mechanism" which is provided for under the Kyoto Protocol and allows for reductions in emissions to be "sponsored" in countries not bound by emissions targets. In simplified form, industrialized countries pay for projects that cut or avoid emissions in poorer nations and are awarded credits that can be applied to meeting their own emissions targets. Refer to: http://unfccc.int/2860.php

Gujarat govt to restore Alang’s top ship recycling yard status

The state government is banking on a special purpose vehicle to revive the world’s biggest ship-breaker

Bangalore: Under pressure from the country’s apex court to ensure a safe and environment-friendly ship recycling facility at Alang in Gujarat, the state government is banking on a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to revive the world’s biggest ship breaking yard and make it cleaner.

Infrastructure issues: Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujurat. The Supreme Court last year had asked the state government to modernize the yard.

The SPV will take on the task of restoring the Alang yard to its earlier status as the world’s top ship-breaker. It will develop and operate the facility in a private-public partnership.

Currently, ship-breaking at these yards is monitored by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), the state regulator that is also vested with developing infrastructure through private investments. The SPV seeks to separate GMB’s regulatory functions from its commercial activities.

“We want to make the yard more productive, independent and professional,” said Atul Sharma, environment engineer, GMB. “We want to convert this into a separate entity through an SPV, which will oversee the operations of the yard instead of the GMB.”
The regulator has hired environmental consultancy firm IL&FS Ecosmart Ltd, a unit of IL&FS Ltd, to prepare a master plan for the Alang shipyard, to be submitted in six months.

The Gujarat government and a private firm, to be selected through a tendering process, will hold stakes in the SPV, Sharma said. The quantum of equity will be decided based on the IL&FS Ecosmart report.

Alang’s 173 plots are auctioned to private ship-breakers who pay development charges, plot rent, ship-recycling charges and port dues, which fetch the Gujarat government annual revenues of Rs16-17 crore.

The Supreme Court last year had asked the state government to modernize and improve the yard’s infrastructure to make it more environment-friendly and safe for workers. It set up a seven-member inter-ministerial committee to implement the court’s order.
About 30,000 people are employed at the Alang shipyard.

The inter-ministerial panel, in its latest meeting on 28 March, asked the Gujarat government to discontinue small plots of 30m, according to a member who did not want to be identified.

Of the 173 plots at Alang, about 100 are of 30mX45m dimension. “In a 30mX45m plot, it is impossible to have all the infrastructure and facilities required for carrying out environment-friendly and worker-safe ship-breaking activity as decreed by the Supreme Court,” said an official at the Iron, Steel, Scrap and Ship-breakers association of India (Isssai). He did not want to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue. The association is a member of the inter-ministerial committee, which includes representatives from the Union ministries of steel, shipping, and labour, GMB and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board.

From being the world’s top ship-breaker about 10 years ago, Alang has lost ground to Bangladesh due to taxation and regulatory reasons.

With no virgin steel production of its own and resultant higher steel prices locally, Bangladesh can afford to offer higher prices for dismantling time-expired ships.
“We are not economically viable compared to Bangladesh, which is expected to scrap ships equivalent to about 1.5 million tonnes (mt) this year,” said an official at Isssai. “We have to improve the quality and working of our yards so that the international community is forced to sell ships to India.”

At its peak in the late 1990s, Alang had about 300 ships arriving for scrapping. Currently, about 40-45 ships are in breaking position at the yard, which will result in scrapping of just about 0.5mt in 2008-09.

In 1995-96, ship scrapping at Alang had touched 3.03mt.

Apr 8 2008

MINT



Alang ship-breaking yard to go green
April 1st, 2008

Chennai, March 31 (IANS) IL&FS Ecosmart Ltd has signed an agreement with the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) to prepare a comprehensive master plan for the Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujarat coast, which will include an environmental management plan. The IL&FS-GMB initiative is expected to result in a development plan that will convert the Alang ship-breaking yard into a “commercially successful” ship recycling yard with “a new benchmark in environmental and social standards”, a release by IL&FS said here Monday.

Last September, the Supreme Court had stipulated stringent environment clearance for the breaking up of old and decommissioned ships at Alang.

The master plan will include the development of a disaster management plan and an environmental management plan to ensure compliance and monitoring of performance of ship-breakers in India.

The plan will also review various aspects including the regulatory framework for ship breaking all along India’s 7,000 km coast and identify infrastructure needs for Alang and introduce recycling to improve the economics of the yard.

The master plan includes development of effluent treatment systems and hazardous waste management to transform Alang into a world-class ship recycling facility.

The plan will emphasise safety and training of workers including upgrading worker health and their housing needs, and also assess the size and growth of the global ship-breaking market and potential market share that Alang could capture.

It is also expected to improve Alang’s competitive advantage, both in terms of the cost of ship breaking and adherence to environmental and social best practices.

Alang will not only be compliant with international performance standards, but also be promoted as a “Green Recycling Facility” that uses higher end technologies and state-of-the-art infrastructure, IL&FS said.

A key outcome of this plan will be the formation of a special purpose vehicle to develop, maintain and operate the Alang ship-breaking yard on public private partnership basis.

There are over 50 ships at the Alang shipyard, awaiting breaking permission. At present, ships are allowed to anchor off Alang, without certification but for breaking up, environment clearance is needed.

IL&FS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd.

USEPA alleges Global Marketing Systems Inc Illegal export of toxic ship for shipbreaking

Ship headed for Alang yard

HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the Maryland-based owner of an old ocean liner with components containing toxic PCBs illegally sent the ship overseas for recycling.

Cumberland-based Global Shipping LLC and an affiliated trading company, Global Marketing Systems Inc., denied the allegations. The companies, cited by the EPA as one entity, could face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for failing to properly dispose of the chemicals in violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act.

"I don't think as far as we're concerned that any laws have been broken," said Anil Sharma, president of Global Marketing Systems and a shareholder in Global Shipping, which owns the vessel. Global Marketing's primary business is ship recycling, Sharma said.

The case highlights the practice of sending aged ships to "ship breaking" yards in South Asia, where critics say unprotected workers are endangered by exposure to PCBs, asbestos, toxic paint and residual fuels.

Sharma produced copies of U.S. Department of Homeland Security documents showing that the 58-year-old ship, the Oceanic, left the Port of San Francisco for Singapore Feb. 7, accompanied by a tug boat. The documents describe the Oceanic as "scrap" but Sharma said in a telephone interview that no decision has been made about whether it will be dismantled or put to some other use.

He said Global plans to meet next week with EPA officials to discuss the matter. Global has until April 17 to answer the complaint to avoid fines without a hearing, according to the EPA.

The agency's Pacific Southwest region, based in San Francisco, announced the action in a statement March 18.

"Federal law prohibits companies from exporting PCBs, including those in ships, that are sent overseas to be scrapped," said Rich Vaille, the region's associate director for waste program enforcement.

Dean Higuchi, a regional EPA spokesman in Hawaii, said Global failed an obligation to inform the agency of its plan to export the ship for disposal. The agency issues permits for such activities but "our preference would be for them or anyone to clear their ships prior to export," he said.

The EPA said Global bought the ship, formerly called the Independence, from Norwegian Cruise Lines but didn't inform the U.S. Maritime Administration of the sale until after the Oceanic had sailed. Sharma denied that Global withheld the information.

The EPA said ships built in the early 1950s were commonly constructed with PCB-containing cables, electrical equipment, watertight seals and painted surfaces. The United States banned production of those chemicals in 1978 because they can cause cancer in laboratory animals and various health problems in humans.

Sharma said he was unaware of any proof that the ship contains PCBs.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Independence, as the ship was known for most of its life, had a long career as an ocean liner in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and spent many years sailing out of Honolulu on Hawaiian cruises. The ship was laid up in 2001 and spent seven years at various docks around San Francisco Bay, the newspaper reported.

Sharma, an Indian national and former business professor at nearby Frostburg State University, said he established Global Marketing Systems in 1992 to buy old U.S. Navy ships and sell them to customers in India.

The Basel Action Network, a Seattle-based environmental group, said it tipped off the EPA to the ship's departure in conjunction with the Save the Classic Liners Campaign, which seeks to restore aged ocean liners.

---

On the Net:

EPA: http://www.epa.gov

Global Marketing Systems: http://www.gmsinc.net/gms/

Basel Action Network: http://www.ban.org

Source: By DAVID DISHNEAU, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Another 'Blue Lady' heading for India?

NEW YORK: Is another "toxic time bomb" headed for a ship-breaking yard in India? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has served notice on its owner for not obtaining the mandatory clearances. Rights groups say this is not enough.

Pulled by a tug, the SS Oceanic (formerly SS Independence), an aged 682-foot ocean liner, sailed from San Francisco Feb 8, passed Hawaii and Guam and is now believed to be near Saipan, capital of the North Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific.

According to the Basel Action Network (BAN) and Save the Classic Liners Campaign that tipped off the EPA, the ship's owner, Global Marketing Services (GMS), "routinely buys ships from all over the world and sends them to the notorious breaking beaches of Bangladesh, Pakistan and India".

BAN estimates the ship is loaded with 210 tonnes of toxic polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated material and 250 tonnes of asbestos.

More than 1.5 billion pounds of PCBs were manufactured in the US before the EPA banned the production of this chemical class in 1978.

PCBs were commonly used in paints, industrial equipment, plastics and rubber products. EPA banned this class of chemicals after tests showed that PCBs cause cancer in animals and affect nervous, immune, and endocrine systems in humans.

The last owner of the classic 1950 liner Oceanic was Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) that "already has a reputation for negligence and evasion of international and national environmental and safety laws", a BAN statement said.

Another NCL liner, the former SS Norway - also known as the "Blue Lady" - is anchored off the Alang ship-breaking yard in Gujarat. It was the focus of a bitter legal battle last year with the Indian Supreme Court finally permitting its dismantling but laying down stringent guidelines on environmental safety.

The Blue Lady carries 10 tonnes of asbestos.

It was not immediately clear whether GMS has agreed to comply with the new guidelines.

On their part, the two activist groups have expressed shock that the EPA is only seeking to levy a fine and is not taking urgent action to stop the violation and bring the toxic ship back to the US.

"The government is letting the ship owners get away with what could be tantamount to murder," said Jim Puckett of the Seattle-based BAN.

"It is merely slapping these perpetrators on the wrist and allowing the offence to continue. Lives are at stake here so why on earth is the government not demanding that the ship be turned back to US territory at once?" he wondered.

"EPA filed suit because the export of PCBs is illegal under the Toxics Substances Control Act (TSCA). But the government has not filed an injunction against the ongoing export but is merely seeking fines. Furthermore, by the time the lawsuit is decided, the damage will have been done," BAN maintained.




The EPA issued a federal complaint against GMS on March 18 for "distribution in commerce and export of PCB-containing materials on the MV Oceanic, formerly the SS Independence, a ship being sent to be scrapped overseas".

Fines against the company may be assessed up to $32,500 per violation per day, the EPA said.

GMS has 30 days to file an answer to the complaint to avoid a penalty assessment without a hearing.

According to BAN and the Save the Classic Liners Campaign, the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) was warned of the latest export well before the vessel left San Francisco "and that it was likely illegal and yet they did nothing to stop it".

24 Mar, 2008, IANS

USEPA complaint targets city-based business

CUMBERLAND ­ An attorney for Global Shipping and Global Marketing Systems said Friday the company intends to “cooperate fully” in regard to a federal complaint filed this week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

Robert Basseches said he has advised GMS owner Anil Sharma and all employees of the Cumberland-based companies from commenting on the complaint, which alleges a violation of the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Specifically, the EPA said that a ship owned by GMS, the MV Oceanic, has PCB-containing materials on board. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used in coolants, insulating fluids and as stabilizing additives in flexible PVC coatings of electrical wiring and electrical components. The U.S. banned the use of PCBs in 1978.

“Federal law prohibits companies from exporting PCBs, including those in ships, that are sent overseas to be scrapped,” Rich Vaille, associate director for waste program enforcement in the EPA’s Pacific Southwest region, said in a news release. “When companies illegally export PCB waste, they are circumventing U.S. requirements for proper disposal. PCB waste must be properly disposed to protect public health and the environment.”

GMS has 30 days to file an answer to the complaint to avoid a penalty assessment without a hearing. Fines can extend up to $32,500 per violation per day.
“Global has been in contact with the EPA,” Basseches said. “We have indicated we want to cooperate with them. We intend to cooperate fully to meet their concerns.”

“The EPA was not informed by Global of their intention to export the ship for disposal,” the EPA news release said.

The ship’s previous owners, Norwegian Cruise Lines, bought the ship with the intent to put it into service in the U.S. The paperwork showing Norwegian Cruise Lines had sold the ship was not submitted to the U.S. Maritime Administration before the ship set sail Feb. 8 out of the San Francisco Bay.

“Vessels such as the MV Oceanic ... were commonly constructed with PCB-containing materials including cables, electrical equipment such as capacitors and transformers, watertight seal material and painted surfaces,” the EPA said.

The MV Oceanic, formerly the Independence, was built in the early 1950s and is 682 feet long. The Christian Science Monitor reported Wednesday that many privately-owned ships may have been scrapped overseas “with scant attention paid by federal authorities to the tons of PCBs they likely carry with them and in conflict with a U.S. law banning PCB waste exports.”

The process known as reflagging or reregistering a ship ready for the scrapyard under a new foreign owner “is a long-standing regulatory process.”

But the Monitor claimed that the Maritime Administration, the EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard do not “routinely monitor whether ship owners are complying with warnings on the reflagging application that they must obey U.S. environmental laws.”

The Monitor further reported that the recycling business yields up to $700 a ton in Bangladesh, or about $20 million for a typical retired tanker.

Established in 1998, GMS is an international trade consulting business dealing primarily in the buying and selling of ships that are no longer seaworthy. The company buys and sells ships from all over the world, mostly to shipbreakers in India, for recycling.

GMS’ world headquarters is located on the fourth floor of the Lila building, formerly the American Trust Building, at the corner of Baltimore and Centre streets.

Kevin Spradlin
Cumberland Times-News

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com .

Aged ships a toxic export

A looming spike in retired vessels could send tons of PCBs and asbestos to South Asia's 'ship breakers' before new international regulations take hold.

By Mark Clayton

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, an empty passenger liner is being towed on her last voyage – bound possibly for one of the infamous "ship-breaking" beach­­es of Asia to be cut up and sold as scrap.

While the 682-foot SS Oceanic might still survive as a floating hotel or casino, her voyage is controversial. That's because the ship left San Francisco last month laden with an estimated 460 tons of asbestos and toxic PCBs embedded in its electrical and engine-room systems.

Just how dangerous that 58-year-old vessel would be if it is scrapped on a beach in the developing world, and how it managed to leave US waters despite laws prohibiting PCB waste exports are questions the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is investigating.

But the Oceanic case also highlights a serious regulatory failure, observers say. While overseas scrapping of US-government-owned vessels is prohibited, scores of privately owned commercial ships flying the US flag have in recent years been granted permission to be reregistered and sold for scrap overseas with scant attention paid by federal authorities to the tons of PCBs they likely carry with them and in conflict with a US law banning PCB waste exports, the Monitor has learned.

In the US, such reregistering or "reflagging" of a ship under a new foreign owner for the explicit purpose of scrapping it overseas is a longstanding regulatory pro­cess overseen by the US Maritime Admin­istration (MARAD). Yet neither MARAD, the EPA, or the US Coast Guard routinely monitor whether ship owners are complying with warnings on the reflagging application that they must obey US environmental laws.

The result: A commercial US ship owner can easily reflag a vessel to get the top price for its steel hull from overseas scrap yards – while skirting US environmental laws that might otherwise restrict a US-flag vessel from being disposed of there, experts say. With steel scrap prices at record levels, some ships today may bring $700 a ton in Bangladesh. That's around $20 million for a typical retired tanker.

"This is something people have been exploiting for years, and MARAD has codified this practice into a regulation that makes it legal," says John Graykowski, a former acting administrator of MARAD under President Clinton who now works with US-based ship-recycling companies. "It's high time the agency took a hard look at this issue in light of the global reforms going on in the ship-scrapping industry."

Thousands of tons of toxins

The Oceanic is not thought to have been reflagged to be scrapped just yet, environmentalists say. But the fact that it soon could be underscores an emerging global threat in the next few years: A tidal wave of hundreds of old ships carrying PCBs and asbestos expected to be cut up and their contents spilled onto beaches in developing nations.

Polychlorinated biphenyls are a mixture of chlorinated compounds, often an oily liquid or solid. Because they don't burn easily and are good insulators, PCBs are often used in electrical equipment in wiring and transformers.

But while PCBs and asbestos were phased out of US shipbuilding in the 1980s, many ships like the Oceanic that are more than 25 years old often contain hundreds of tons of asbestos and PCBs. Now these ships are coming up for scrapping, experts say.

With prospects cooling for the global economy, legions of older commercial ships now plying the world's oceans are expected to be scrapped when shipping volumes fall from current high levels and they become uneconomical to operate.

The London-based International Mari­time Organization is developing tougher global ship-recycling standards to protect workers and the environment. But these won't take effect until 2013 at the earliest – too late to offer meaningful protection from the coming surge of old ships.

Before they take effect, hundreds of ships weighing a total of 55 million tons – more than double the volume of the past five years – may be scrapped, a European Commission study on the global ship-scrapping industry estimated last year. A peak of 18 million tons of ships is expected in 2010.

"We all know about this looming problem," says Frank Stuer-Lauridsen, a Copenhagen-based maritime expert who co-wrote the study. "But nobody seems to have the energy to address this interim period, and the signs are not good."

While "green" ship recycling using sustainable environmental and safe labor practices is maturing in the US and elsewhere, the lure of higher prices paid by unsafe, polluting ship-scrapping operations overseas is strong, experts say. As a result, "the vast majority" of European Union-flagged vessels "along with the rest of the world's obsolete vessels" still make their last voyages to beaches and ship yards in India, Bangladesh, or Pakistan where safety practices are far less stringent, the EC report found.

In Alang, India, for instance, ships are often driven onto the beach, where workers with minimal personal protection cut them up with torches, spilling toxins into sea and air, maritime experts say. With fewer environmental and labor requirements, ship recycling in places like Alang can be highly profitable, but highly dangerous for workers, the EC report on ship recycling found.

The official tally of people killed at Alang from scrap-yard accidents in 2003-04 was 26; the unofficial total was 103, the EC report said. (There have apparently been improvements among some of India's ship-­breaking companies, including moves toward safety certification, the EC report acknowledges.)

"The impact these ships will have on the environment and workers is horrible to contemplate," says Jim Puckett, coordinator of the Basel Action Network, an environmental group that spotlighted the SS Oceanic for possibly carrying PCBs.

By contrast, ship-recycling practices in the US have improved and are now among the best in the world, the EU study found. After the Baltimore Sun won a Pulitzer Prize for its 1997 reporting that the US was sending its old warships to India for scrapping under horrendous working conditions, Congress halted that practice and mandated US-only recycling. Now government-owned vessels overseen by MARAD are scrapped at seven certified US ship-recycling yards.

But that's not the case for privately owned commercial vessels. For them, American laws to deal with the toxic materials aboard ships bound for the scrap yard are a slender reed. The US, for instance, did not sign the Basel Convention of 1989, an international law barring toxic waste exports from one country to another without formal notification.

Limits to EPA's policing

Yet the US does have one powerful legal cudgel: the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 or TSCA. Under it, PCB waste – including entire ships if they carry high-enough concentrations of PCBs – may not be exported overseas. That law applies to all federal agencies and the private sector, with the EPA as a key enforcer, legal experts say.

If the EPA believes an owner "intends to export a ship for scrapping in violation of [TSCA], it can take appropriate enforcement action including an inspection, to determine the presence of PCBs on the vessel," an EPA enforcement expert writes in an e-mail response to Monitor questions.

The EPA has indeed taken action to keep a handful of former government ships containing PCBs from leaving the US. But it has a critical problem: It rarely knows in advance which ships may soon be bound for scrapping overseas – unless environmental groups or ship aficionados blow the whistle. That's what happened – too late – with the Oceanic. Historic ship watchers found out the ship was leaving and told environmentalists, who informed the US Coast Guard and the EPA – but by that time the ship had left port.

The reason that US-flag ships like the Oceanic exist at all is so the government can use them during wartime. In order to retain sufficient vessels for national-security reasons, MARAD has long been required to approve any sale to a foreign owner or the reregistering of a vessel to another nation.

Still, there is no interagency agreement for MARAD to routinely notify the EPA when ships are to be reflagged for scrapping abroad, the two agencies concur. As a result, MARAD does not tell the EPA of any ships that may receive a "transfer order." Nor does the EPA routinely request such information.

"These are agencies working at cross purposes that should know a ship is departing in possible violation of US environmental law – and they don't do anything," says Basel Action Network's Mr. Puckett.

Onus on ship owners

Spokesmen for the EPA and MARAD requested and answered e-mailed questions as well as by phone about PCB and reflagging issues. But requests to interview senior officials were refused.

"Ship owners are responsible for complying with the PCB export ban," Roxanne Smith, an EPA spokeswoman, wrote in a statement. Since clamping down recently on some vessels, the EPA "is continuing to work with MARAD and other federal agencies to examine ways to improve our interagency coordination so that all federal enforcement capabilities and resources can be employed to thwart violations."

But a number of ships have sailed already. Since 2000, at least 91 vessels – including old oil tankers – were approved by MARAD for reflagging under a provision for overseas scrapping.

It isn't known whether those ships were inspected for PCBs. But even though ships of that vintage typically contain hundreds of tons of PCBs, MARAD currently does not require a proof of inspection from owners that shows a ship is free of PCBs before it grants a transfer order permitting reflagging and scrapping overseas, the agency confirms. Although not now required, such certification is within MARAD's right to demand under its regulations, Mr. Graykowski says.

Shannon Russell, a MARAD spokeswoman, denies that her agency, an arm of the US Department of Transportation, has routinely overlooked environmental laws in ship reflagging.

"I would completely disagree with that," she says. "At the end of every form we have, we say: 'You must comply with rules of the US, including its environmental laws.' We are a promotional agency, not a regulatory agency. We have no authority over any of these environmental laws."

In the US, companies have been scrapping old single-hull oil tankers as required by international agreement, 28 of them since 2000, says MARAD's website. At least some of those were reflagged and sold to a foreign owner for scrapping overseas, MARAD records show and Ms. Russell confirms.

For instance, in 2006, MARAD approved a Florida company's application to sell the tanker Chelsea to Grand International Shipping Co., a Liberian corporation, according to the agency's public notice. The agency expected "transfer of said vessel to Mongolia registry and flag for scrapping in India."

It's not known if PCBs were on board the Chelsea or any of the other 90 ships – or precisely where they were ultimately scrapped. Yet few ship owners seek bids from the lower-paying US shipyards where costs associated with tight regulation are higher than in the scrapping centers of India, Bangladesh, or Pakistan, maritime experts say.

"I don't know where US flag [commercial] ships are going.... I just know we aren't seeing them here in the US," says Werner Hoyt, program manager for Allied Defense Recycling of Petaluma, Calif., a start-up ship-recycling company.

At least some ship owners are concerned, according to Kathy Metcalf, maritime affairs director for Chamber of Shipping of America, a Washington-based trade organization whose membership includes several companies with fleets of oil tankers.

"We've had members consider sending their ships [to developing nations] and then they discover conditions there are just as bad as they always were," Ms. Metcalf says. "The option is to go somewhere else, and our members do. Unfortunately, there are always ships that will go and make headlines."

The Oceanic's end?

Until recently, the owner of the SS Oceanic was California Manufacturing Corporation, Coast Guard records show. That company appears to be affiliated with Miami-based NCL Corporation, Ltd., which operates Norwe­gian Cruise Line. The Oceanic was reportedly sold last summer, but its current owner has not been publicly revealed. Requests for an interview with NCL officials to clarify the vessel's ownership went answered.

Originally christened the SS Independence at the Quincy, Mass., shipyard in 1950, the SS Oceanic could easily follow another former NCL ship – the SS Norway, also known as the Blue Lady, Puckett says. That liner was driven onto a beach in Alang for scrapping in 2006.

"We no longer own the Oceanic," a woman answering NCL's press line in Miami said.

The Christian Science Monitor