Floating Toxic Waste a Global Issue
Following the furore caused by France's attempt to dump an asbestos-laden warship in India,1 news that the Dutch Government has been engaged in a similar sleight of hand has emerged. Towards the end of February 2006, the Dutch ship Rotterdam arrived in Gdansk, Poland for refurbishment work that included asbestos decontamination of the ship prior to its return to Holland. Although the owners of the ship, the largest passenger liner ever built in the Netherlands, estimated that there were 180 tons of asbestos-containing materials onboard, the experience of the Clemenceau strongly indicates that this figure significantly underestimated the level of contamination.2 A more credible assessment, made by Greenpeace and confirmed by Polish media sources, state that in excess of 1,000 tons of asbestos-containing material could be onboard. Port authorities in Gdansk have admitted that the extent of contamination on the Rotterdam was not disclosed during the contract negotiations.
According to a Greenpeace spokesperson, by sending the Dutch ship to Poland for its refit, the asbestos which is removed becomes Polish waste that must be dealt with in Poland. Considering that the ship was constructed in the Netherlands and is destined to return to the city of Rotterdam for use as a floating multi-purpose facility centre, the legal and moral “ownership” of the hazardous waste seems clear. Furthermore, the “self-sufficiency principle,” which stipulates that a nation is responsible for its own waste, supports the view that the problems caused by a contaminated ship should not be transferred abroad.
In February 2006, one of the Polish companies involved in the refit petitioned the Dutch Ministry of Environment for permission to export the asbestos waste to the Netherlands; the Dutch rejected this request, saying that Dutch national legislation forbids the import of waste that cannot be recycled or reused. On March 2, Polish authorities refused permission for the work to take place in Gdansk saying that a specialized shipyard was needed; none can be found in Poland and the ship cannot now be sent back to Holland as, under EU law, the import of toxic materials is prohibited. Jacek Winiarski from Greenpeace Poland concluded:
“The Dutch company took advantage of a legal loophole by sending it here. Had they sent us the same amount of asbestos in boxes it would have been illegal… every country should deal with its own waste.”
At the time of writing this article, the ship remained berthed in Gdansk.
Other innovative solutions have been found for ridding Europe of troublesome end-of-life vessels. The Foch, sister ship to the now infamous Clemenceau, was sold to Brazil four years ago for $50 million. Although a spokesman for the Brazilian Navy says that 55 tons of asbestos were stripped from the ship, now renamed the Sao Paulo, before it left France, the quantity and condition of the asbestos-containing products which remain onboard is unknown. Two other redundant French ships are believed to be on their way to Argentina; everything about the movement of these ships is being kept secret, not only from the public but also from Buenos Aires civil servants.
March 8, 2006
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1 See: Civil Society Fights Back!
2 The Rotterdam ship was built in the Netherlands in 1959 and can carry 1114 passengers. The ship formerly belonged to the Holland America Line but Woonbron, the new Dutch owners, are planning to turn it into a conference center, restaurant, theatre and tourist attraction.
