32 Amendments of Caroline LUCAS related to 2007/2279(INI)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas on various shores in Southern Asia enormous seagoing ships are dismantled under conditions which are environmentally damaging and harmful to people; whereas some ofreminiscent of the darkest middle ages: giant ships are sailed onto the beach at high tide, and then dismantled on the spot, with zero workers’ health protection (e.g. half-naked people taking out asbestos with their bare hands) and all pollutants such as oils, sludges, lead- based paints, PCBs, PVC, asbestos being discarded directly into the se ships originate in the EUa or onto the beach; whereas most ships owned by EU companies are disposed of in this way,
Amendment 4 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas the Commission looked into the economics of ship scrapping already in a study back in 2000, but refrained from any action, as the study considered it to be extremely difficult to make ship recycling economically viable while at the same time respecting sound environmental standards; whereas this primacy of short-term profits over human lives and environmental pollution is unacceptable,
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas it is regrettable that possible action is only discussed after high-profile cases such as the attempt by the French government to dispose of its aircraft carrier “Clémenceau” outside the EU created public awareness,
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas this situation couldis bound to deteriorate further because in the next few years manyall single-hull oil tankers will be withdrawn from operation, while there isith a massive peak in 2010, while there is at the same time insufficient dismantling capacity in the EU to deal with them, let alone environmentally sound capacity,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas it is possible for a ship to become waste as defined in Article 2 of the Basel Convention while at the same time remaining classified as a ship pursuant to other international provisions; whereas this loophole is systematically exploited, leading to most EU ships being scrapped in Asia in full circumvention of the Basel ban and the corresponding provisions in the EU Waste Shipments Regulation,
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas Parliament had called for guidelines to be developed by the Commission to close this loophole during the revision of the Waste Shipments Regulation already in 2003, but Council refused to accept this, instead deferring further action to the joint work by three international bodies (Basel Convention, ILO, IMO) to establish mandatory requirements at the global level;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas any vessel that contains substantial quantities of hazardous substances or from which these substances have not been properly removed according to the formulation of OECD Waste Code CG 030 and according to the listing of the Basel Convention constitutes hazardous waste; whereas, and therefore the transfer of such a vessel from the EU to a non-OECD country for dismantling is therefore banned under the Basel ConventionWaste Shipments Regulation, that transposed the Basel Convention into Community law,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas ships which are regarded as hazardous waste must be dismantled under environmentally correct conditions in an OECD country or, after decontamination (so that they no longer constitute hazardous waste), may be transferred to non-OECD countries; whereas this is however systematically disregarded,
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas both maritime law and IMO conventions lay down that coastal states have the right and the duty to enforce all relevant international legal provisions with the aim of protecting the environment; whereas, however, the Basel Convention is rarely complied with in respect of ships for scrapping, inter alia because it is difficult to apply the Waste Shipments Regulation outside European wof lack of political will to close the loopholes and to tackle the structural hiding of responsibility in the shipping sector, best illustrated by the phenomenon of flag staters,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J
Recital J
J. whereas at European Union level the Waste Shipments Regulation is the regulatory framework for implementing the Basel Convention, including the export of ships at the end of their lives; whereas enforcement of this regulation is inadequate in respect of ships for scrapping, as ships flying an EU flag are often scrapped only once they have already left European waters, owned by Europeans, or operating in European waters or flying an EU flag go for a last 'normal' voyage, and are only declared a waste once they have already left European waters, with no further control mechanisms or enforcement guidance to stop these violations of international and Community law,
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J a (new)
Recital J a (new)
Ja. Whereas the preamble to the Waste Shipments Regulation states that 'It is necessary to ensure the safe and environmentally sound management of ship dismantling in order to protect human health and the environment',
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J b (new)
Recital J b (new)
Jb. whereas with a view to closing loopholes found in the Basel Convention regime, the IMO is drafting a convention designed to solve this problem worldwide;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J c (new)
Recital J c (new)
Jc. whereas at the Seventh Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, Parties including the Member States of the European Union, in order to apply more rigour with respect to preventing the export of toxic ships, have invited the IMO to continue to consider the establishment in its regulations of mandatory requirements, including a reporting system for ships destined for dismantling, that ensure a level of control equivalent to that established under the Basel Convention and to continue work aimed at establishing mandatory requirements to ensure the environmentally sound management of ship dismantling, which might include pre-decontamination within its scope,
Amendment 20 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J d (new)
Recital J d (new)
Jd. whereas the draft IMO Convention on ship recycling in its current form has not established a level of control equivalent to that of the Basel Convention and the Waste Shipments Regulation, nor does the draft attempt to prevent the export of toxic wastes to developing countries, nor envisage mechanisms based on the polluter pays principle nor the substitution principle for green ship design, nor audited standards for ship recycling yards, among other concerns, and may in any case not be able to attract ratifications from current ship recycling states or prominent flag states,
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital J e (new)
Recital J e (new)
Je. whereas in any case it is anticipated that it could take many years to adopt such an IMO convention, after which it could again be years before it enters into force because of a protracted ratification process,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the EU has insufficient capacity to dismantle its ships (ships sailing under EU flags or owned by EU owners) cleanly and whereas this particularly applies to the merchant shipping fleet; whereas the lack of capacity will increase dramatically in 2010 because of the accelerated phasing-out of single- hull tankers,
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)
Recital K a (new)
Ka. Whereas concrete regulatory action at EU level is therefore of the utmost urgency if those single-hull tankers are not to further deteriorate the beaches and river banks of Southern Asia; whereas there is no excuse for not acting, all the more since these single-hull tankers can clearly be identified,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas the primary market for the dismantling of ships currently operates only under very poor conditions, which seriously violate the social, environmental and health principles accepted in the EU,
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the thorough analysis in the Green Paper of the principal social and environmental problems arising from operations involved in the dismantling of ships in Southern Asian countries; however, stresses that this initiative is at least ten years overdue;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that practical measures must be taken quickly, the main aim being to protect the environment and public health without simply displacing the problems to other countriesStresses that there is no time to spare, as it is predicted that in 2010 nearly 800 single-hull tankers will have to be dismantled;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that there is little time to spare, as it is predicted that in 2010 nearly 800 single-hull tankers will have to be dismantledConsiders therefore that practical measures must be taken 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; stresses that the main aim should be to protect the environment and public health without simply displacing the problems to other countries;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls upon the Commission to draft the requisite guidelines and mechanisms to determine when a ship should be regarded as waste pursuant to the definition in the Framework Directive on Waste, in order to prevent evasion of the provisions of the Waste Shipments Regulation, and to likewise examine the question of when a Member State can be seen as a 'state of export' under the Waste Shipments Regulation, including port states, flag states and states with jurisdiction over ship owners;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls upon the Member States and the Commission to implement the Waste Shipments Regulation more effectively by means of stricter inspections and supervision by port authorities in Member States, with the proviso that port states must have the pa view to empowering port states, flag states, and states with jurisdiction over owners (waste generators) to declare a ship 'end- of-life' and therefore a waste regardless of whether or not the ship is still operable;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls upon the Commission to compile and maintain a list of seagoing ships which are likely to be scrapped within a few years and to envisage mechanisms whereby such ships are considered as 'pre-waste ships' for which a disposal plan needs to be drawn up prior to selling for scrapping; calls on the Member States and port authorities to use this list to step up their monitoring of these ships, which could potentially be scrapped;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Calls upon the Commission and Member States to insist that the futurenegotiate an IMO Convention shouldthat incorporates extensive requirements and regulations which can ensure an adequate level of supervision: - ensures a level of control at least equivalent to that of the Basel Convention, - provides for a high global safety and environmental standard of Ship Recycling that is third party audited and certified, - disqualifies beaching as an appropriate dismantling methodology, - will not allow ship dismantling by non- Parties; - establishes the substitution principle for eliminating the current use of hazardous materials in the construction of new ships; considers that the future convention should impose a requirement either to remove all hazardous materials from end-of-life ships before sending them for dismantling to non-OECD countries or to send them to specially authorised recycling companies in OECD or EU countries which comply with clearly defined safety and environmental standards;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that monitoring of the implementation of the future IMO Convention should be just as stringent as inare the caserequirements of the Basel Convention: all relevant standards and obligations of the International Labour Organisation Conventions must be incorporated in the instrument, no exceptions may be permitted and measures must be taken to prevent end-of-life ships which contain hazardous waste from departing for countries with inadequate installations which are notor which themselves constitute hazardous waste from departing to non-OECD countracting parties;
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Urges that immediate measures be taken to support the development of a competitive and clean ship dismantling and remediation (pre-cleaning) industry in the EU; urges the Member States in this connection increasingly to require pre-clean recycling by ensuring thating and clean recycling of all ships which are State property, including warships, arend to dismantled them in a safe and environmentally sound manner in EU facilities; considers moreover that the development of recycling activities at European shipyards should be supported as part of EU industrial, structural and cohesion policy;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the suggestion by the Commission that certification and labelling systems should be established for safe and clean recycling facilities and considers that Community subsidies should be granted to the shipping industry only on condition that suchthey adhere to the Waste Shipments Regulation and to other EU requirements, such as the use of certified facilities are used; stresses that it cannot be the intention to conquer the ship dismantling market in Southern Asia but that on the contrary the aim should be to preserve it by promoting environmentally sound dismantling;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Considers that the 'polluter pays' principle, the principle of extended producer responsibility, and the principle of producer liability should be applied extensively in order to attain a lasting solution to this problem;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the proposal to establish a Fund for Ship Dismantling and calls upon the Commission and Member States to pursue with determination the aim of establishing such a fund at IMO level and simultaneously at EU level; calls upon the Commission in this connection also to investigate the possibility of compulsory insurance to ensure environmentally sound recycling from the moment when a ship first starts to operate;