SeaFrance, subsidiary of the SNCF (french national railroad company), sold the two car ferries SeaFrance Cezanne and SeaFrance Renoir in the Port of Dunkirk this summer. They were sold to two Panamanian companies who then immediately replaced the French flag with that of Belize.
The Cezanne and Renoir were decommissioned in February and September 2009 respectively. The Renoir, renamed Eastern Light, now sits off the Bay of Alang waiting for authorization to be beached and dismantled.
This tragic and particularly hypocritical outcome was instigated by a French shipowner of which the state owns 100%.
Through press releases (1), Robin des Bois has alerted the government about two possible risks if these old car ferries were exported
1- The Cezanne and the Renoir could be resold to countries in the Southern Hemisphere. They would join the group of inadequate and overloaded passenger ships that is likely a deadly accident waiting to happen.
2- The Cezanne and the Renoir could also be resold in Asia to be demolished, ignoring workers’ security and the environment.
Despite the denials of the stakeholders, option two was selected. The Minister of Ecology did not object, pretending to believe against all logic that the Cezanne and Renoir proceeded someplace for their profiteering. They washed their hands. At the same time they noted that the rate of asbestos dust in the corridors of Renoir did not exceed the alert thresholds.
(1) “Shipbreaking” # 25, page 5 (pdf – 2,99 Mo) – November 2011.
“Shipbreaking” # 24, page 4-6 (pdf – 2,95 Mo) – August 2011.
Press release in French, 27th August 2010 « Cezanne et Renoir : une nouvelle exposition en Asie ? »
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