Ship dismantling standards haunt RI

Adianto P. Simamora ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Nusa Dua, Bali   |  Thu, 06/26/2008 10:38 AM  |  National

Indonesia is ill-equipped to dismantle ships in accordance with international environmental protection standards, an official said Wednesday at a conference on toxic waste.

Agus Purnomo, head of the Indonesian delegation to the Ninth Meeting of Parties to the Basel Convention, said workers in ship dismantling projects throughout the country continued to dispose of huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the sea.

"Most ship dismantling activities in Indonesia are carried out in traditional, unsophisticated ways, with workers using little protective equipment," he said on the sidelines of the meeting in Bali.

Indonesia has the second-longest coastline in the world, trailing only Canada, but has no data on the number of vessels dismantled annually throughout its territory.

"We suspect there are about 200 informal and traditional shipyards that hire local people to dispose of old vessels," he said.

Dismantling of ships is one of the key issues being discussed at the meeting, and stems from fears an obsolete vessel can release hundreds of tons of hazardous waste, including asbestos, heavy metals, oils and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), when improperly dismantled.

PCBs are a highly toxic chemical that can accumulate in the human body, affecting the brain and nervous system, and causing a range of illnesses ranging from cancer and immune system suppression, to reproductive damage.

The Basel convention -- adopted in 1992 and signed by 170 countries -- prohibits the international trade of hazardous materials, including asbestos and PCBs from old dismantled ships, to help protect the environment and general population.

The United Nations said the steel comprising 95 percent of a ship's structure could be recycled for use in construction and manufacture.

It said over 90 percent of global ship dismantling was undertaken in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and China.

"While India was traditionally the world leader, Bangladesh accounts for most of the vessels scrapped in recent years," it said.

There has been a rise in the number of ships sent to developing nations from developed nations for dismantling. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has submitted a draft convention on safe and environmentally sound recycling methods to the Basel convention.

The Bali meeting is expected to agree on the draft before its adoption as an international convention next year.

Once the convention is in place, the IMO will be able to set the criteria for environmentally friendly ship recycling, while the International Labor Organization (ILO) will be able to formulate standards to protect workers from exposure to toxic chemicals.

Recycling facilities will also require IMO certification before being allowed to operate.

"We hope the IMO's regulations will not hamper the national ship dismantling industry," Agus said.

"Because in all honesty, we are simply not ready to meet the international criteria on ship recycling facilities."

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