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AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands 15 February 2001  -- The Netherlands has prevented a Mauritius flagged vessel from leaving the country on suspicion that it would sail to India for scrapping. The Sandrien, a 172 meter (560 foot) long cargo carrier, used to transport chemicals and molasses, contains asbestos, heavy metals and other toxic materials. The environment ministry claims that if the ship was allowed to sail, it would breach a 1999 European Union regulation implementing the 1995 United Nations Basel convention ban on industrialized states exporting hazardous waste to developing countries. If a court case ensues, it could set a global precedent regarding ships due for disposal. Shipbreaking yard on India's west coast.

There are currently no international environmental rules on ship scrapping, which is overwhelmingly concentrated in developing countries such as India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Environmental groups brought the issue to the fore in the late 1990s, claiming unacceptable hazards to developing country workers and the environment, and calling the global trade "illegal and immoral." According to the Dutch Environment Ministry, papers found on the 34,000 Sandrien during an inspection in Amsterdam showed clearly that the vessel was to make a last voyage to India, where it would be scrapped. Because the ship contains hazardous substances such as asbestos, the ministry believes this would breach the European Union Basel ban regulation. This would be the second time that the Basel Ban has been enforced to prevent a toxic ship being exported from Europe to a developing country for scrap. The first instance occurred in 1999 when the Forthbank was detained in Belgium. A prime mover in the NGO campaign against exports of ships to developing countries for scrapping, Greenpeace today welcomed the Dutch authorities’ move. The group called on the shipping industry to dispose of ships in an environmentally sound manner and to "stop using Asia as a dumping ground."

Greenpeace said today that the Sandrien was preparing to leave Amsterdam for the Alang ship breaking yard in India. Built in 1974, the Sandrien was until very recently owned by Panship, the same Italian company that owned the Erika, which contaminated the French coast with oil when it sank in December of 1999. Records indicate that the Sandrien has a very poor safety record. It was initially arrested by the Dutch port authorities in Amsterdam last September for violating safety regulations. International and European Union law on the issue is not clearcut, however, and several sources said today that there was as yet no case law on "when a ship ceases to be a ship" and becomes hazardous waste. International discussion on the issue is due to be taken forward this year both by the International Maritime Organization and parties to the United Nations Basel Convention.

The shipping industry maintains that a ship legally still able to sail cannot be classed as hazardous waste, but stresses that it is now aware of the problems of scrapping in developing countries and is working to ameliorate them. "This case sends a clear message to the shipping industry that it cannot dump its toxic ships on Asia. In the interests of the environment and of worker safety, ship owners must take responsibility for decontaminating their ships of hazardous materials before they are exported for scrapping," said Navros Mody, executive director of Greenpeace India.

Ships exported to Asia for scrapping contain dangerous substances such as cancer causing asbestos which is used for insulation, paints that contain heavy metals and explosive gases and oils. Workers and the environment are exposed to these substances when the ships are broken. Industry coalition body Marisec recently launched a guide for shipowners on identifying all hazardous materials on board a vessel before it is sold to be broken up. It is also developing a code of practice, for submission to the International Maritime Organization.