SHIP DEMOLITION

A Demolition Derby

The demolition of the TK Bremen on French territory is a spectacular example of the administrative simplification so dear to the government. The dumping of this industrial waste amounting to 2,000 tons is containing asbestos in several forms, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), hydrocarbon traces, lead paint, mercury and tin are not submitted to French and European control’s temporary authorization for a Classified Facility for the Protection of the Environment. The guidelines of the Bale Convention and the International Maritime Organization on the dismantlement of ships are not being respected. Robin des Bois requests that the prefect of Morbihan, the maritime prefecture, and the labor inspectors publish the map of dangerous waste present on the TK Bremen, if it exists.

TK Bremen(ex-Melinau Satu, ex-Melinau, ex-Elm). OMI 8113487. Marchandises diverses. Longueur 109 m. Pavillon Malte. Société de classification Bureau Veritas. Construit en 1982 à Pusan (Corée du Sud) par Dae Sun SB & E Co. Son armateur turc Adriyatik GemiIsletmeciligi contrôle 8 navires, tous sous pavillon maltais, construits entre 1982 et 1985. Chacun d’entre eux est officiellement la propriété de « single ship companies » sauf dans le cas du TK Bremen où il s’agit d’une « double ship company », la Blue Atlantic Shipping, également détentrice du TK London. Les dommages financiers provoqués par la dérive et l’échouage du TK Bremen seront à la charge de cette seule compagnie basée dans l’Union Européenne, à Malte.

In referring to Article R 304-11 of the Code of Maritime Ports (1), the Port Authority of the port of Lorient – Morbihan – could have proceeded with the postponement of the departure of the TK Bremen. In effect, this 30 year-old ship had reached the age of demolition. She presented numerous deficiencies. The absence of panels on the entire hold, as was demonstrated before by aerial photos – might be one more of them. The ship had been recently detained in a Russian port and its Turkish ship owner, proprietor of two older ships, did not immediately furnish all of the guarantees of reliability. The profile of the TK Bremen was such that those responsible for the security and of the traffic of the port of Lorient should have, in view of the imminent dangers about to confront them in a dangerous maritime environment rich in marine life, banned its departure.

The CFDT Union is occupying all SeaFrance ferries at Calais. However, the Union allowed SeaFrance Cezanne and SeaFrance Renoir to head toward Alang. Economically, it was a good deal. Whoever would be the buyer for SeaFrance, he would not assume responsibility for the dismantling of the two polluted ferries in Europe. On the other hand, the sale of Sea France Cezanne and Sea France Renoir brought SeaFrance, a subsidiary of SNCF, around € 7 million.

Scrapping at Alang in India proved to be a good deal for the buyer of SeaFrance, and his pocket, if one.

Despite virtuous official speeches and the European regulations on the exportation of waste, the flight of European ships to Asian shipyards continues. The same sleight of hand repeats tirelessly: miraculous sale to a non-European ghost ship owner, de-flagging under lax colors and incognito scrapping.

The latest of these European ships on their last legs are SeaFrance Renoir and SeaFrance Cezanne ; the former having  just arrived at Alang, the latter, expected to arrive in the next few days.

To make matters worse, the two ships were owned by a subsidiary of a public company, SNCF. Despite statements of intent, exemplary conditions are once again missing. Other French victims of inertia and hypocrisy, the demolition yards required during the Clemenceau’s case by environmental organizations, trade unions and even the Grenelle Environment Forum and Grenelle of the Sea, are stayed dead.

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%.

Discover the awful story of Canadian Miner. A ship sent to Turkey for demolition Turkey and then ran aground off Cape Breton in Nova Scotia. Plus, the Iraqi Al-Zahraa, Saddam Hussein’s tank carrier locked down for 21 years at Bremerhaven, was sent Lithuania for demolition. Learn about Monte Stello, a Corsican car ferry, pronounced defunct after running a shore in Sardinia on January 1, 1994. It then resurrected in Norway, resold in New Zealand and destroyed in China. Read about Zoé, a Greek cruise ship, that never sailed and was sent for demolition in Turkey. Count the old petroleum tankers who head to Pakistan’s beaches, escort by the perpetual movement of boats that head to destinations far away. Follow Probo Koala step by step.

49 pages of information on the demolition of ships around the world.

Some excerpts:

– 65 years following the nuclear weapons tests the wrecks from the Bikini Atoll are to be broken up.

– An exclusive report on the incredible end of the Probo family including the Probo Koala responsible for the tragedy in Abidjan precisely 5 years ago.

– The killer asbestos in the top 4 demolition countries.

– The demolition market trends from May to July 2011.

– Are French ship owners taking responsibilities? The scrapping of the Renoir and the Cezanne in Dunkirk and the Tellier in Le Havre.

According to the Northwest Evening Mail, the Pacific Sandpiper is to be demolished in Belgium. The Pacific Sandpiper belongs to the English ship company, Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL), and was launched in 1985. She measures 104 meters long with a light weight of 3,950 tons. This floating nuclear waste, the Pacific Sandpiper, transported a total of 500 radioactive spent fuel containers throughout her career. These shipments were operated within the scope of reprocessing contracts with the Japanese electricity producing companies TEPCO and Kansaï, from Japan to France for Cogema-AREVA and from Japan to the UK for BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels Limited). In January 2004, the ship also transported vitrified nuclear waste, which originated from the AREVA factory in La Hague, (France) between Cherbourg and Japan.

The Gulf Jash, ex- Probo Koala, is anchored in Halong Bay, Vietnam. Today, June 3rd GMS, U.S. based ship broker, denies ownership of the ship. Under this hypothesis, it is for Dubai based Gulf Navigation, owner of the ex- Probo Koala since 2006, to clarify the conditions of the sale and the destination of the vessel.

In accordance with Robin des Bois’ (“Robin Hood” international association based in Paris) press release published May 17th 2011, the Equasis database displays, since May 31st that the Gulf Jash ex-Probo Koala, the Gulf Ahmadi ex-Probo Bison and the Gulf Shagra ex-Probo Panda are indeed “to be broken up”.