By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : The European Parliament (EP) adopted a report Wednesday criticizing the environmentally damaging practices and dangerous working conditions under which cargo ships are dismantled, primarily in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.
The EP wants the European Commission (EC) , the European Union’s (EU) executive body, to set up a list to register and monitor ‘pre-waste ships’, and a list of preferred ship recycling facilities .
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.
The report, drawn up by a Dutch Member of European Parliament (MEP) Hans Blokland, predicts that in 2010, 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.
The EU lawmakers 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.
The report calls for effective measures to be taken at EU level before 2010, prior prior to the peak year of the accelerated phase-out of single-hull tankers.
The report considers it ethically unacceptable that children are used by some dismantling contractors to do hard and hazardous work.
In order to enforce the rules and close loopholes the EP report calls for worldwide regulation by the International Maritime Organisation, which according to MEPs would be the most effective way to protect the environment and public health.
The report calls on the EC 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 also welcome the proposal to establish a fund for ship dismantling.