196 Ships Broken Worldwide in Q1
Of the 196 ships sold for scrap in the first quarter of 2017, 65 percent ended up on beaches in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, said South Asia quarterly update of NGO Shipbreaking Platform. 128 ships were sold for scrap to the South Asian beaches in the first quarter of 2017. 51 of the beached vessels were containerships. The other main shipbreaking destinations, Turkey and China, received 36 and 28 vessels respectively. Four ships were destined for recycling in other locations outside the main five breaking nations. Eleven workers were killed and at least four additional workers were injured while cutting down the vessels manually on the tidal beaches of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In Gadani, Pakistan, yet another tragedy caused the death of shipbreaking workers.
Don't Scrap This Ship in India Environmentalists Plead
Toxics Watch Alliance warns imminent arrival of end-of-life German ship 'Northern Vitality' breaches Indian Supreme Court Order. "This is to inform you that in violation of the Supreme Court order dated July 30, 2012, Northern Vitality, a 15-year-old ship owned by German company “Norddeutsche Vermögen Holding GmbH & Co” and chartered by Swiss company MSC is headed for the shipbreaking beach of Alang, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. I am copying this message to Mr Michael Steiner, German Ambassador to India besides other concerned authorities. I have learnt that in the ongoing saga of Alang's existence as a graveyard of ships and migrant workers last month four workers died in Alang beach.
Ex-'Exxon Valdez' Refused Entry by India
The ship, now known as the "Oriental Nicety," entered Indian waters last week and was headed for Gujarat, when the Supreme Court gave its order, according to a news report in 'The Times of India'. The ship was bought recently by the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of an Indian shipbreaking firm and was being taken to the coastal town of Alang, the hub of India's shipbreaking industry, for dismantling. After the court's order, Gujarat maritime authorities and the state's pollution control authorities withdrew the permission they had granted to the company to anchor the ship near the Alang beach.
