Clean breaking of Maltese flagged oil tankers
Posted: 27 April 2005
Week after the international ban on single hull tankers entered into force, Greenpeace activists hung a banner today on top of the gate of the Ministry for Competitiveness and Communications, reading `Clean Shipbreaking NOW!`. The environmental organisation is calling on the Maltese Government to guarantee the clean breaking of Maltese flagged oil tankers and to bring the issue of polluting ship dismantling onto the EU agenda and act for a solution.
Greenpeace campaigner Erdem Vardar handed over a Greenpeace report and an EU flag with `Clean Shipbreakig Now` message to Mr Tabone, Communications Coordinator on behalf of the Minister, to be brought to the EU Transport Ministers meeting next week in Luxembourg.
Every year around 600 larger sea vessels are taken out of service worldwide. These end-of-life ships, still containing asbestos, toxic chemicals and heavy metals then head to poor Asian countries, where they turn into lucrative business items of the shipbreaking industry. Greenpeace representatives last year met with Minister Censu GALEA who is also responsible for maritime issues. Minister Galea promised to consider measures – yet no real action has been taken.
Greenpeace research shows that the burden of `toxic ships` to be dumped on Asian beaches will grow in the coming five years due to the recent international ban on single hull tankers. The global ban, heavily pushed by the EU, entered into force last week. As a direct result, more than 2000 oil tankers will have to be decommissioned in the coming five years. This will protect the beaches of Europe, but will lead to even more ships being dumped in Asia.
Fourteen percent of European-flagged tankers are under Maltese flag. Tankers which are European-flagged and at the same time owned by a European country, Malta is the leading country with 61 single hull oil vessels, thereby carrying serious responsibility in the issue of shipbreaking.
“Malta should take a leading role in correcting this problem”, says Erdem Vardar , Greenpeace campaigner in Sta Venera today. “We expect Minister Galea to bring the issue onto the agenda of the coming EU Transport Ministers meeting in Luxembourg next week. Since there are many single-hull oil tankers registered in Malta, the country can play an important role in the EU, showing that they are full right member of the European Union.”
Greenpeace urges EU institutions to take urgent action on EU controlled single-hull oil tankers, by enforcing the EU Waste Shipment Regulation, creating green shipbreaking capacity and to fight the lack of transparency in shipping. Greenpeace also demands an immediate commitment from EU transport ministers and the European Commission that the toxic burden of Europe's ships for scrap will not end up on Asian beaches.
Posted by Editor Offshore Arabia Magazine
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