Illegal export of hazardous waste to Turkey
The ship was docked along the main jetty of the port of Marseille. Since September 2010, she imposed herself as a five-star squatter while, despite her silhouette and red chimney, she tried to blend in and make believe that her port of call was temporary.
Initially her stopover in Marseille was technical. There was talk of replacing steam turbines with diesel engines. From technical, the stopover quickly became economical. There is no future for a ship built 30 years ago without considerable expense and a regulatory upgrade.
The TK Bremen Situation
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.
The TK Bremen Situation
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.
Asbestos aboard
LNG carrier Edouard LD owned by Gaz de France and Louis Dreyfus Armateurs is ill-fated to demolition. She is beyond limits. The average age of gas carriers when they are scrapped is 30. The Edouard LD is under French flag. In accordance to the French case-law, the Edouard LD has to be demolished in an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country or outside OECD under the condition she would be subjected to a preliminary extraction of asbestos and other dangerous wastes. Edouard LD lightweight is 28.000 t, with a lot of non ferrous metals. She could be sold at 850 $ per ton at least in Bangladesh. She holds between 800 and 1,000 t of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials. To dodge the French rules, the French owners are considering to sell the Edouard LD to a Greek tanker fleet owner, Dynacom, whose other activity consists in speculative trading of ships to be demolished.