Tag: EU

Under the Basel Convention, inventories of hazardous materials must be accurate, and the environmentally sound management of the toxics assured. Further, under the Izmir Protocol of the Barcelona Convention, Turkey is not allowed to import hazardous wastes into its territory.

So far, two suspect Inventories of Hazardous Materials (IHMs) have been submitted by Sök Denizcilik and Ticaret Limited, the buyer of the ship, despite the impossibility to access the majority of the ship’s structure to conduct a proper assessment. Both documents identify quantities of hazardous substances, such as asbestos and PCBs, far below the actual amounts found on SÃO PAULO’s sister ship CLEMENCEAU. The latter was built with the same design and was found to contain hundreds of tons of asbestos and PCBs at the time of its recycling in the UK. The buyer’s claim of a reported 9 tons of asbestos, no PCBs, and no radioactive residues on board the SÃO PAULO is thus seen as highly improbable.

Now, with the initial victory declared, the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, together with the Basel Action Network (BAN), BAN Asbestos France, the Henri Pézerat Association (Work, Health, Environment), International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), İstanbul İSİG (İşçi Sağlığı ve İş Güvenliği) Meclisi, Greenpeace Mediterranean, and Brazilian ABREA (Associação Brasileira dos Expostos ao Amianto), is calling for a new independent IHM to be performed under the review of the French Government, and, importantly, for an entirely new auction to take place with only legal destinations participating.

When France sold the vessel to Brazil, the sale agreement specified that the ship could not be sent for dismantling without prior French approval. Given the current circumstances, France should now assist IBAMA in making sure an impartial and objective assessment of the quantities of hazardous materials on board is carried out, and the removal of asbestos, PCBs, radioactive substances, and toxic paints is performed in full compliance with national and international rules aimed at protecting both workers and the environment from poor waste management practices.

Several European yards, equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, have been showing interest in properly managing the recycling of the vessel. Additionally, a Brazilian organisation has been relentlessly campaigning for the conversion of the ship into a museum. Considering the illegality of the attempted transboundary movement and the buyer’s unreliable IHM submissions, Brazil is urged to start over, and initiate a new sale and be ready to consider alternative offers even if they are more expensive.

The SÃO PAULO is scheduled to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on October 4. According to the civil society groups, without a new accurate IHM, environmentally sound waste management plans, a new auction, and assurances of legal export, the ship must not be allowed to leave Brazil again.

For more information:

Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network, e-mail: jpuckett@ban.org, Phone: +1 206-354-0391Annie Thébaud-Mony, for Ban Asbestos-France Association, email: annie.mony@gmail.com
Asli Odman, Istanbul Health and Safety Labour Watch, email: asliodman@gmail.com
NGO Shipbreaking Platform, e-mail: info@shipbreakingplatform.org, Phone, +32 (0)260.94.419

The decision by Murat Kurum, Turkish Minister of Environment, City and Climate Change, comes after a Federal District Court injunction to stop the departure of the ship was not enforced, and the Brazilian government and the buyer of the vessel failed to produce and submit a second Inventory of Hazardous Material (IHM) in order to properly identify the amounts of toxics onboard the ship. Indeed, a second audit was deemed necessary by Turkey after environmental and human rights organisations challenged the validity of the first one.

Following the cancellation of Turkey’s consent to the transboundary movement, IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) has issued a letter to Oceans Prime Offshore Agenciamento Maritimo Ltda, the exporting company working with the buyer SOK, to arrange the immediate return of the SÃO PAULO to Brazil. However, to date, the company in control of the vessel has not yet provided information regarding the route change.

For more information:

Jim Puckett, Basel Action Network, e-mail: jpuckett@ban.org, Phone: +1 206-354-0391Annie Thébaud-Mony, for Ban Asbestos-France Association, email: annie.mony@gmail.com
Asli Odman, Istanbul Health and Safety Labour Watch, email: asliodman@gmail.com
NGO Shipbreaking Platform, e-mail: info@shipbreakingplatform.org, Phone, +32 (0)260.94.419

It must be noted that Grieg Green, the survey company that issued the IHM for SOK, :

-  admitted they had access to only 12% of the ship;

-  did not have access to the IHM prepared by the Brazilian Navy;

-  concluded there were no radioactive materials onboard;

-  did not compare with the IHM issued by Bureau Veritas for the vessel’s sister ship CLEMENCEAU;

-  did not adequately test (only six samples) Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) concluding there were none;

-  concluded that there might be more asbestos onboard the aircraft carrier than the estimated 9 tons; and

-  recommended further sampling during dismantling operations.

The SÃO PAULO's sister ship CLEMENCEAU was estimated to have at least 760 tons of asbestos, a figure which was later confirmed by Bureau Veritas upon the dismantling of the CLEMENCEAU at the scrap yard ABLE UK.

IBAMA has responded to the Turkish request by saying the ship had already left Brazil so therefore it was not possible to fulfill the request that a new inventory be made in Brazilian territorial waters.

Indeed, just a few hours following the court injunction on August 4, the ship was hastily towed out to sea, and instead of following the towage plan which projected it sailing along the Brazilian coast, the tow train made an easterly heading to leave Brazilian territory as rapidly as possible. 

Despite the federal injunction which is now considered out of force, and the new demand for a new IHM by Turkey, neither IBAMA, the Brazilian Navy, nor SOK have made any move to turn the ship back to Brazil. It is currently moving at its top speed just off the coast of Mauritania and is just a few days away from the Strait of Gibraltar. Meanwhile, neither Spain, the UK nor Morocco have been notified or given consent for it to pass through their waters at Gibraltar as is required by the Basel Convention.

While IBAMA seems unwilling to respect the request by Turkey that the new survey be conducted in Brazil, they, nevertheless, wrote to the exporting company working with SOK, known as Oceans Prime Offshore Agenciamento Maritimo Ltda., to remind them that it is within the rights of the importing country to amend their import consent with new conditions. They suggested that a new IHM may be required "upon arrival" and would need to be paid for by SOK. However, doing the job in Turkey instead of Brazil is likely to be illegal.

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, Basel Action Network (BAN), BAN Asbestos France, Henri Pézerat Association (Work, Health, Environment), International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), İstanbul Isig Meclisi, Greenpeace Mediterranean and Brazilian ABREA are all calling for the government of Brazil and the owner of the ship (SOK Denizcilik Ve Tic LTD STI ME) to comply immediately with the injunction issued by the 16th Federal Court (Rio de Janeiro) and return the ship to Rio de Janeiro. In an open letter to IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources), the Brazilian government agency responsible for authorizing the export under the Basel Convention, BAN and the NGO Shipbreaking Platform cited likely violations of established law. 

Defiance of Brazilian Federal District Court Injunction

On August 4, just a few hours after the departure of the vessel, a judge of the 16th Federal Court issued an "Order to Return the Ex-Nae SÃO PAULO to Rio de Janeiro.”  IBAMA, as the entity charged with authorizing the shipment under the Basel Convention, has clear responsibility and authority to recall the export. As no action has been taken by the Brazilian authorities, the non-governmental organisations have consequently alerted INTERPOL to the situation. 

Lack of Required Insurance

According to the insurance documents filed by IBAMA prior to the ship's departure, the accident and damage insurance elapsed in May 2022.  Yet, insurance required by the Basel Convention must be in place before the export. If the filed documents are correct and the SÃO PAULO was not properly covered by insurance, it is unlikely that any insurance company will correct this failure now and renew the policy, as the ship's export is currently under an injunction and a cloud of illegality and uncertainty.   

Export without Notification to, and Consent from, Transit States

According to the towing plan filed by IBAMA, the transboundary movement of the SÃO PAULO from Brazil to Turkey will pass through the Strait of Gibraltar and thus will move through the territorial waters of Spain, the UK, and/or Morocco. Under the Basel Convention, all transit states must be notified and give their consent before the export can commence. However, in the correspondence between the NGOs and IBAMA, it was incorrectly asserted by IBAMA that the prior notification to transit states was not needed if the ship did not stop in a port. The Basel Convention's definitions clarify that transit includes passage through territorial waters. Thus, depending on the precise route chosen, Spain, Morocco, the UK, Malta, Italy, and Tunisia should have been notified and their consent should have been received prior to departure. Failure to do this makes this export illegal traffic under the Convention. Without such notification, Spain, Morocco and UK should deny passage. 

Export to Parties that have Prohibited the Import of Hazardous Waste 

When Parties notify the Basel Secretariat that they possess an import prohibition of hazardous wastes, all Parties must respect that prohibition under the Convention. Turkey has notified not only that they have a national import ban on hazardous wastes, but they are also Party to the Izmir Protocol of the Barcelona Convention, which requires Turkey to ban imports of hazardous wastes. In the case of the SÃO PAULO, Brazil, as an exporting state Party must prohibit all exports to Turkey. Yet Brazil allowed this export.  

Toxic Waste Quantification Discrepancies  

A complete and accurate assessment of the hazardous materials (waste) contained within the ship structures is a requirement prior to export under the Basel Convention. However, it appears that the Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM) prepared for the SÃO PAULO by Grieg Green may have greatly underestimated the quantities of cancer-causing asbestos, toxic paints, radioactive substances, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).  In 2006, Greenpeace International commissioned Mr. Aage Bjorn Andersen, an expert in the field of hazardous material surveys on marine vessels, to assess the sister ship CLEMENCEAU. His estimate was 760 metric tons of asbestos. In contrast, the recent IHM estimated just 9.6 tons. And, in a subsequent letter, Grieg Green admitted that figure could be significantly off the true amount. Similarly, the CLEMENCEAU was estimated to contain 165 tons of PCB material (levels higher than 50/ppm concentrations). The IHM for the SAO PAULO found no PCBs in the small number of samples taken and estimated no PCBs. For a ship built in 1957 when use of PCBs was ubiquitous, this finding of no PCBs is doubtful. Without a proper assessment of hazardous materials, the proper capacity to manage the waste cannot be determined. 

Meanwhile, communities in Turkey are alarmed about the incoming hazardous wastes that will potentially harm workers and need to be managed and disposed of safely. They have organized daily vigils to take place in Aliaga.  

History repeating itself

The NGO Shipbreaking Platform, Basel Action Network (BAN), BAN Asbestos France, Henri Pézerat Association (Work, Health, Environment), International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), İstanbul Isig Meclisi, Brazilian ABREA and Greenpeace Mediterranean have called upon President Macron to take responsibility for the ship and direct it to safe and legal recycling or reuse, as France did with the sister carrier the CLEMENCEAU in 2006. At that time, France exported the CLEMENCEAU to India, only to admit that the export was illegal under the EU Waste Shipment Regulation. Consequently, President Jacques Chirac ordered its return to France.  

Illegal export

This time, according to environmental organisations, the movement of the SÃO PAULO from Brazil to Turkey is also illegal, as it violates the 1996 Izmir Protocol (Protocol on the Prevention of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal) of the Barcelona Convention, which does not allow hazardous wastes to enter the Mediterranean Sea unless they are to be destined to an EU country for recycling or disposal. The export of the ship also violates the Basel Convention as Brazil has failed to recognise the Izmir Protocol that imposes a ban on Turkey, and has failed to notify and receive the consent of the potential transit states Spain, Morocco, and the UK at the Strait of Gibraltar. Further, the NGOs claim that the IHM (Inventory of Hazardous Materials) is suspected of being a gross underestimation as it claims levels of asbestos, PCBs, and other toxic materials at levels far below what was found on the CLEMENCEAU.

In 2000, the French Navy sold the aircraft carrier SÃO PAULO to Brazil. Last year, the Brazilian navy decided to scrap the vessel, and it was auctioned off to a Turkish shipbreaking yard, Sök Denizcilik and Ticaret Limited. The SÃO PAULO, as did the CLEMENCEAU, contains large amounts of hazardous substances such as asbestos, PCBs, and toxic paints within its structure, qualifying it under international law as hazardous waste and thus subject to special trade controls. The NGOs alerted the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and the Brazilian Basel Convention Competent Authority (IBAMA) about the legal, environmental, and health risks linked to breaking the vessel in Turkey. So far, the two governments have rebuffed the NGOs and ignored the claims of legal violations. Yesterday, the NGO Basel Action Network answered IBAMA's official response with an open letter, urging Brazil to respect international law and delay the export until a legal and safe solution can be found. 

Discrepancy in waste accounting

The consultant Grieg Green had prepared the IHM for the SÃO PAULO. NGOs now raise serious concerns that this IHM has missed identifying large amounts of asbestos, PCBs, and radioactive contamination. Comparing the IHM of the SÃO PAULO with the one that Bureau Veritas issued for the CLEMENCEAU, there is not only a big discrepancy in terms of the amounts of hazardous materials identified but also in terms of rooms and tanks that have been sampled. On the SÃO PAULO 12% of the rooms were sampled, compared to 82% of the rooms on the CLEMENCEAU.

The SÃO PAULO's IHM estimates just 9.6 tons of asbestos-contaminated materials onboard the vessel. However, the CLEMENCEAU, SÃO PAULO's sistership, contained at least 600 tons of asbestos. With no further proof of prior asbestos removal operations on the SÃO PAULO, it is expected that the ship has similar amounts of asbestos onboard.

Moreover, the IHM provided by Grieg Green did not detect the presence of PCBs. However, no testing of the electrical cabling was conducted even though all the electrical cabling on the CLEMENCEAU was estimated to contain PCBs, and the use of PCBs in ship flooring, gaskets, rubber parts, insulation, paints, etc. was common at the time both aircraft carriers were built in France. 

The SÃO PAULO was furthermore involved with atmospheric nuclear bomb testing in the Pacific. The presence of 170 tonnes of lead/cadmium paint, which could shield radioactive contamination, and the lack of information on prior removal of radioactive equipment have raised concerns that the vessel is contaminated despite claims to the contrary.

Turkish citizens in strong opposition

In view of the large amounts of asbestos and other hazardous materials embedded within the vessel’s structure, local civil society groups, political leaders, technical experts, and union organisers in Turkey are now stepping out in strong opposition to the import of the vessel to Turkey. Turkish environmental organizations such as ALÇEP, FOÇEP, EGECEP, IA, and Polen Ecology in Izmir, intend to use their constitutional right to life and the environment, to impede the dismantling of the aircraft carrier.

President Macron asked to take responsibility

Now that Brazil has rebuffed the call to halt the export of the ship, the NGOs are calling upon French President Macron to stop the export of the SÃO PAULO to Turkey and make sure that the export and subsequent management of the toxics on the SÃO PAULO is done in an environmentally sound manner. Read the full letter to the President here.