“Shipbreaking” #71
(pdf 97 pages – 16.2 MB)
October 1, 2023 – April 30, 2024
120 sources – 264 photos
To find out more about the end-of-life of ships and spread the word, on February 7, 2006, Robin des Bois launched the issue n°1 of “Shipbreaking” (English version) and “A la Casse” (French version) from its Paris yard. This bulletin of information and analysis on end-of-life ships, whose issue n°71 is published today, has become a sort of memorial to merchant and military navies. It is also a repertoire of all the fiscal, speculative, anti-social, anti-environmental and cover-up manoeuvres that still rightly make the bad fame of the sector. “Shipbreaking” is appreciated by seamen, maritime safety authorities, shipping consultants and customs.
With the exception of France and Ireland, Europe’s national navies send their old hulls full of asbestos and persistent chemical pollutants to Turkish demolition yards. The United Kingdom (23 ships since 2006) and Italy (21 ships since 2006) are the champions in this field. See pages 3 and 4 “Grey matter and black manners” and Annex 2 pages 93 to 95.
MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), the world leader in container ships, is twinned with Alang in India. Between 2006 and April 2024, the Swiss-Italian company sold 125 container ships and general cargo ships, most of which were built between 1971 and the 1990s, to Indian demolition yards, with the exception of 8 ships demolished in Pakistan, Bangladesh and China. The beaching and demolition of ships likely to contain asbestos in countries that have not yet banned the use of asbestos has earned MSC around 700 million US$. Cf. page 5 and Annex 3 pages 96 and 97.
Although it has its own demolition yards, China has exported 37 end-of-life ships and their waste to the Indian subcontinent, in particular Bangladesh.
Yet more bad news for the Black Sea. The only scrapping yard approved by the European Union was in Varna, Bulgaria. It has just gone bankrupt.
The SA Amandla, a deep-sea rescue hero based in Cape Town, South Africa, has been sold to the Alang metal dealers despite protests from her admirers, who wanted to turn her into a maritime cultural and educational centre.
Issue n°71 of “Shipbreaking” is exceptional. It covers the last quarter of 2023 (October, November and December) and the first quarter of 2024 (January, February and March). For the month of April, Annex 1 (pages 89 to 92) lists the departures for the last voyage with the IMO number, the category of ship, her name and former names, the light weight, the last flag, the shipowner, the country of destination and, when known, the selling price per tonne.
“Shipbreaking” # 71 is available on:
www.robindesbois.org/wp-content/uploads/shipbreaking71.pdf
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