With the Centre refusing the controversial ship Platinum II permission to berth in Gujarat for dismantling, the ship-breaking industry at Alang in Bhavnagar district may lose business to the tune of around Rs 40 crore, apart from the Government losing Rs 4 crore in customs duty and Rs 1 crore sales tax, says Mr Komal Kant Sharma, the owner of Leela Ship Recycling Pvt Ltd.

Mr Sharma had offered to buy the decommissioned ship for $4.85 million and was awaiting various clearances before making the payment.

“I have now told my agent about my rethink on the ship-buying and it is up to the present owner to decide on its fate. But it is a huge loss to the already ailing ship-breaking industry,” he told Business Line.

Doubts over ownership

He claimed that the Government had given in to the “arm-twisting tactics of NGOs who are resorting to ‘commercial terrorism’.” Questioning the Government decision, he said,

“We have been granted no opportunity to explain and not a single document exists to prove how the ship could be hazardous.” But according to Mr Vishnu Kumar Gupta, President, Alang Ship Recycling Industries Association, Bhavnagar, the Centre apparently disallowed the ship not because of its alleged ‘hazardous’ material — which, according to him, are within pollution control norms — but because of controversy over ownership.

Last week, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests had, based on a report submitted by the technical experts’ team, directed Gujarat Maritime Board to disallow the beaching and breaking of Platinum II anchored off the Alang coastline, and its subsequent dismantling at Alang ship-breaking yard.

The once-lucrative ship-breaking industry at Alang is already facing rough weather in the form of competition from Bangladesh, China and other countries in the East that have set up their own ‘graveyards’ for retired ships, whose recycling has triggered many businesses and created employment opportunities.

The voyage so far…

Built in 1951, the 18,500-tonne ship, originally known as SS Independence and then SS Oceanic, registered in the US, underwent many changes until it surfaced as Platinum II. In September 2009, it was reportedly registered in the Republic of Kiribati, an island-nation in the Pacific Ocean, in the name of Platinum Investment Services Corporation, Liberia.

Earlier, the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) had levied penalties of $518,500 against Global Shipping LLC and its affiliate Global Shipping Marketing Systems Inc for ‘exporting’ the controversial ship for disposal outside the US, in violation of various laws. In February 2008, it was towed out of US territorial waters. When it anchored off Gopnath, 40 nautical miles from Alang coast, on October 7, it still had a US flag painted on its chimney.

The Centre asked Gujarat Maritime Board to also probe allegations that the ship had been brought into India with a falsified flag and registry.

Hazardous hold?

According to the NGO Indian Platform On Ship-breaking, which campaigned against Platinum II on the grounds that it contained 210 tonnes of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 250 tonnes of asbestos as part of its construction, Kiribati had clarified that the papers filed with India by the ship-owners were fake. This was allegedly done to facilitate its dismantling in India while keeping the countries concerned in the dark.

Why was the ship seen as ‘hazardous’? The Gujarat Pollution Control Board and the Gujarat Maritime Board had inspected the ship on arrival and certified it as safe and radioactive-free.

The NGO had objected to this and brought the issue to the notice of the Centre, which appointed a technical experts’ committee to inspect the ocean liner.

The committee reported that though the ship, like any vessel of its size, contained hazardous substances such as asbestos-containing material (ACM) and PCBs, apart from some radioactive material, it did not contain such material in loose form or as cargo.

In a similar instance in 2006, the Supreme Court had laid down norms for pollution control and environmental protection. According to Mr Gupta, the court allowed breaking of ships with proper disposal of toxic material in accordance with the norms set by it. The court had then allowed the dismantling of a Norwegian ship, Blue Lady, which had 1,200 tonnes of asbestos (Platinum II has about 200 tonnes of asbestos).

A Court-appointed technical committee comprising nominees from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Maritime Board, and the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board supervised the dismantling of Blue Lady.

Reports of a hole in the bottom of Platinum II had complicated matters in October, with environmentalists warning of a possible toxic leak from the hull threatening marine life and the coastline. The hull had been cleared of water and the hole sealed under the supervision of the Central team.