Europees Parlement wil betere omstandigheden bij afbreken Europese schepen in Azië (en)

Acting on environmentally damaging practices and on dangerous working conditions under which cargo ships are dismantled, primarily in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, is asked by the House. MEPs also ask the Commission to set up a list to register and monitor 'pre-waste ships', and a list of preferred ship recycling facilities in an own-initiative report drafted by Hans Blokland (IND/DEM, NL).

Up to 600 large cargo ships of over 2 000 dead weight tons (dwt) are dismantled worldwide. They are scrapped and torn apart, each year, for re-use of the steel and other valuable materials they contain. In 2010, it is predicted that nearly 800 single-hull oil tankers will have to leave service. Approximately 100 warships and other government vessels flying EU flags - most of them French and British - are expected to be decommissioned in the next 10 years, according to the Commission's document.

MEPs warn that the current situation at the scrapping sites is bound to deteriorate further and that the issue should have been acted upon already ten years ago. MEPs call for effective measures to be taken at EU level before 2010, prior to the adoption of the IMO Convention and prior to the peak year of the accelerated phase-out of single-hull tankers.

The House considers it ethically unacceptable that children are used by some dismantling contractors to do hard and hazardous work.

Increase EU's capacity for dismantling and create a register

Ship owners use a loophole that allows EU ships to at the same time be classified as waste and a ship under different regulations, and thus circumvent the ban on export of hazardous waste. The report criticizes the lack of political will to close the loopholes and to tackle the structural hiding of responsibility in the shipping sector, which leads to a systematic disregarded for regulation and for the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

The House calls upon the Member States and the Commission to implement the Waste Shipments Regulation more effectively by means of stricter inspections and supervision by authorities in Member States, with a view to empowering port states, flag states, and states with jurisdiction over owners (waste generators) to declare a ship to be 'end-of-life' and therefore as waste regardless of whether or not that ship is still operable.

In order to enforce the rules and close loopholes the report calls for worldwide regulation by the International Maritime Organisation, which according MEPs would be the most effective way to protect the environment and public health

However, since it is anticipated that such conventions are unlikely to enter into force before 2012, the report also calls for the Commission to establish a list to register and monitor 'pre-waste ships', as well as a list of preferred ship recycling facilities.

Even with such lists established, there would still be a lack of OECD ship dismantling facilities. However, since it is legitimate to move ships from OECD- to non-OECD-countries for scrapping, provided that they first have their toxic components removed, the report calls for immediate measures to develop the dismantling and pre-cleaning industry in the European Union. EU - approved dismantling sites in Asia is another option suggested by MEPs.

Transfer of technology and fund for ship dismantling

The report also calls for Calls on the Commission to promote the transfer of know-how and technology, thereby helping dismantling yards in Southern Asia to comply with international safety and environmental requirements.

MEPs welcome the proposal to establish a fund for ship dismantling. Available financial mechanisms, including a compulsory insurance requirement and the use of port fees, should be investigated.