Proposal of the EU commission in order to stiffen the norms on the demolition of the ships



Today the EU commission has introduced a new proposed of norm on the demolition of the ships, that it will be time discussed from the Parliament and the Council EU, with the objective to guarantee that the European naval means are only dismantled in sure yards for the compatible workers and with the atmosphere.

The new proposed rules, that they will assume the regulations form - has explained Brussels - preview for the great mercantile ships clappers flag of the Member States of the EU a system of control, certification and authorization that of it the entire life-cycle will embrace, from the construction to the exercise until the demolition and recycling.

The system - it has specified the EU commission - moves from the convention of Hong Kong for a demolition of the ships sure and compatible with the atmosphere adopted in 2009, which the today's proposal intends to quickly give performance without to attend of ratifies it and the effectiveness, process that will demand several years. To such scope, contextually to the proposal of new rules on the demolition of the ships, today the Commission has introduced also a decision proposal that imposes to the Member States to ratify the convention of Hong Kong to the aim to accelerate its formal effectiveness, that it will happen with ratifies it by at least 15 great States of flag and demolition, that they on a worldwide basis represent at least 40% of the world-wide fleet and a meaningful percentage (at least 50%) of the ability to demolition and recycling available.

The new proposed of the Commission on the demolition previews that the European ships institute an inventory of the dangerous materials presents on board and ask a certificate for inventory. Moreover it establishes that, before the income of the ship in the demolition yard, they must be reduced the quantitative ones of such materials, also in the residual ones of cargo, fuel oil, etc

The proposal previews that, for being able to be inserted in the directory of the authorized yards world-wise, the plants of demolition of the ships must satisfy a series of environmental requirement and safety. The demolition of the European ships will be therefore only allowed in the systems included in the directory. Some of such requirement - it has emphasized the Commission - are more rigorous than those previewed from the convention of Hong Kong: the scope is to assure a better traceability of the European ships and to guarantee that the refusals deriving from the demolition, and the eventual dangerous materials presents on board, are managed in compatible way with the atmosphere.

Moreover, in order to guarantee the respect of the new rules, the proposal imposes the shipowners to notify to the national authorities the intention to start a ship on the demolition. Putting to I confront the directory of the ships for which they have released a certificate of inventory with the directory of the ships demolished in authorized yards - he has found Brussels - the authorities will be able to characterize the illegal operations more easy than demolition. Also the endorsements previewed from the regulations will be more specific and precise.

"Although the field of practical the naval demolition has improved its - it has observed the European commissioner to the Atmosphere, Janez Potocnik - many yards continue to operate in conditions of danger and potential damage. Scope of the proposal is to guarantee that the old European ships are recycled in the respect of the health of the workers and the atmosphere. Draft of an inducement clearly to invest itself with urgency in the improvement of the demolition yards".

The old EU commission has remembered that every year beyond 1.000 great mercantile ships, which oil tankers and portacontainer, are under way to the demolition in order to recover metallic scrap irons and that many European ships end on spiagge sandy of southern Asia, in not consistent yards to the standards in the majority which the measures of environmental protection and safety lack necessary in order to manage the dangerous materials presents in the fine ships to life, between which asbestos, polychlorobiphenyls (PCB), pond pay them and engine sludge. They achieve some is high rates accidents and sanitary risks for the workers are a diffused environmental pollution.

In 2009 beyond 90% of the European ships it is demolished to out of the OCSE, in sometimes not consistent systems of naval demolition to the standards. The number of fine European ships to life - it has specified the Commission - is considerable, as 17% of the world-wide tonnage are registered under flags of the EU.

The Commission has remembered moreover that currently the demolition of the ships is disciplined by the relative regulations to shipments of refusals, that prohibits the export of hazardous waste towards extra Countries OCSE and that however the enforced norm, than is not understanding specifically to the ships, often is eluded because of the deficiency of ability to demolition and recycling adapted in Countries OCSE, but also of the difficulty to characterize, on one side, the moment in which the ship it is transformed in refusal and, from the other, the Exporting country of the ship. On November 19, 2008 the Commission had adopted the strategy of the European Union for better a demolition of the ships, in which it proposed a series of measures times to improve the recycling in times the most possible breviums, without to wait for the effectiveness of the convention of Hong Kong. The today's proposal moves from the lines guides included in the strategy.

According to NGO Shipbreaking Platform, an organization with center to Brussels that has the objective to do so as that the containing ships toxic substances are not demolished in plants of the nations developing, has evidenced that the new rules introduced today from the Europe Commission will have effect only for the ships clappers an European flag and - for NGO - they will be able to make very little in order to invert the current use to take advantage of the spiagge of the Developing countries for the demolition of the ships without some cure for the management of the refusals.

"Without some economic incentive in order to change to the current practical of navigation and demolition, and in front of the truth that are little, and in future probably still less, ships clappers European flags at the end of the life-cycle - the director of NGO Shipbreaking Platform has explained, Ingvild Jenssen - the proposal of the Commission effectively removes Europe from its responsibilities and the opportunity to supply a sustainable solution in order to prevent that toxic ships poison the workers and the atmosphere in some of the more vulnerable Countries of the world".

NGO considers that the convention of Hong Kong offers to a base weak person on which constructing a solid normative picture. Moreover the organization has emphasized that, if 40% of the world-wide fleet are of property of society based in Europe, solo a small percentage of the ships at the end of their life-cycle is navigating under European flag. In particular - it has specified NGO - second the data of 2009 of IHS Fair-play DG Environment, of the 1,299 ships altogether correspondents to the demolition, 349 (27%) were of property of European societies and the great part of this quota (252 ships, 72%) did not fly an European flag. Therefore - it has found the organization - the European proposal regards only 28% of the ships of European property, that is those which fly also European flag, beyond to a meager number of ships of not European societies that but are registered under an European flag. In conclusion: of the 1,299 ships sent to the demolition in 2009, only 197 (15% about) navigated under an European flag.