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Eco-concerns mount, but... -- For Alang it is time to break the Chinese ship yards

Vinod Mathew

IN 1998-99, they had a turnover of around Rs. 25,000 crores and pushed about three million tonnes of steel into the Indian market. In the current fiscal, a two-month lay-off in May-June forced by an exodus of its 35,000 workforce notwithstanding, the lar gest shipbreaking yard in the world at Alang in Gujarat hopes to do an encore performance.

The Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB), the state government corporation, whose primary role is to oversee the development and smooth functioning of the intermediate and minor ports in Gujarat, collected Rs. 32.5 crores (Rs. 108 per tonne) in beaching and whar fage charges.

It is a free enterprise, where the ruling maxim is the highest return on investment (RoI), though the industry admits there are six-seven casualties per month from accidents on site. But those are imponderables for industry captains at Alang as they gene rate business of Rs. 6-7 crores a day. It is a moot question if the workforce casualty rates are seen as more than occupational hazards, as it puts into circulation some 8,000 tonnes of steel per day from ship scrap.

Clearly, the 100-odd entrepreneurs at Alang are too preoccupied with the forex movement as ships are purchased from brokers in Germany, the UK and Greece in the $100-130 per tonne band. And, it pays handsome dividends _ they sell scrap steel at $210 per tonne, that too in Indian rupee equivalent. And, Alang accounts for the Rite de Passage of one ship per day.

However, they are a worried lot now. True, the green activists have been making a buzz about the environmental and safety standards at Alang. Of late, there is a threat of ship scrapping coming under the net of the Basel Convention norms on the internati onal movement of toxic waste. The Greenpeace International brought in the Rainbow Warrior a few months ago to draw the world community's attention to what ails Alang.

But Alang is worried more about the competition from China's modern yards. The rules of the game are now being rewritten by the Chinese who, last November, got Hamburg Sud, Germany, to bring in equipment and break their ship as per international norms. A nd, if one were to draw inferences from the deliberations at the recently-concluded international seminar at Bhavnagar on `Challenge to ship recycling industry: Environment and safety', the reading is clear.

The international shipping community, which includes major transnational giants, cannot afford to be identified with shipbreaking yards which have scant regard for basic human safety norms, flout environmental laws and treat their employees as almost sub -human. As the matter is getting international exposure, the shipbreaking countries _ India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and of late Vietnam _ need to improve their overall standards.

Those unwilling to respond to the changing rules of the game will soon be left out. If that means a shakeout in the industry, it is bad for those who opted to ignore the writing on the wall. This was the overriding message at the Bhavnagar summit from Gr eenpeace International, the Basel Action Network, the International Chamber of Shipping and the Dutch Maritime Network.

Consider these facts: The Gujarat Government, on its on volition, admits to 103 deaths in the last three years at Alang from accidents. The most common causes of death have been classified as fire (19), fall from height (18), exposure to gas (18), explos ion (15), struck by falling objects (15) and struck by heavy objects (11). These figures are being juxtaposed against those provided by Greenpeace, which puts last year's toll at Alang closer to 300, including exposure to poisonous objects such as asbest os and organo-chlorines.

Mr. P. S. Nagarsheth, President, Iron Steel Scrap and Shipbreakers Association of India, spewed statistics on how shipbreaking was an eco-friendly activity compared to the pollution caused by setting up facilities for production of similar quantities of steel. But these kind of statements were made less audible by the thunder of experts representing both the domestic and the global platform.

``The intention of the environmental groups is to bring scrap ships under the Basel Convention as toxic waste. If this were to happen, the cost of removing the waste listed as toxic in the country of the ship's origin may far outstrip the price it procur es from the Indian breakers. If the ship owners were to choose between the application of the Basel Convention and paying their dues to upgrade the safety norms at shipbreaking yards, they will choose the latter.

``The implementation of safe and environment-friendly practices at the shipbreaking yards could come from a levy system on the maritime industry, where a few cents per tonne could translate into a substantial amount. Or, it could be through the market me chanism where the ship owners accept a discount on the scrap ship, depending on the level of treatment at the yard _ this is already working well in China,'' said Prof. N. Wijnolst of the Dutch Maritime Network.

How to come out

of the morass

ONE voice from the Indian contingent that was most vociferous at the summit was that of Mr. Pranav R. Mehta, managing director, P. M. Consultants. According to him, there are a handful of pragmatic steps the Alang industry can take immediately to break o ut of the morass. With these suggestions, the shipbreaking yard could look more like an industry site and less like the graveyard of ships and humans that it is now:

* Decongestion of yards _ From 250 hands per ship to below 50 by locating the secondary processing at specially-equipped workshops slightly away from the beach front;

* Scaling down oxygen/LPG cylinder use _ From the current level of 100 cylinders per plot per day to around 10 and that of LPG from 15 to a maximum of four by going in for the decongestion move;

* Mechanised handling _ Movement from primary to secondary yard to be made easier, avoiding much of the rough handling that now causes accidents. Need to introduce mobile cranes, trailers and mono-rails;

* Streamlining of utilities _ A common storage facility for oxygen and LPG which will be available on tap at each yard; LNG, the cheaper alternative for cutting operations, to be made available as the State government is taking major initiatives on this front;

* Desalination plant _ Water, being a scarce item, the Alang yard should seriously consider setting up a desalination plant, possibly from the low-pressure steam generated from incineration of some of the waste materials;

* Power generation _ Need to create independent power generation, possibly through incinerated steam or even alternate fuel like LNG or naphtha; and

Cleaning of sea _ Sea front, now littered with oil sludge, thermocol, cotton wool and even asbestos, needs to be periodically purged.

It appears the days of free masonry may be over for the ship-breakers of Alang, if the Bhavnagar seminar on the environment and safety aspects of shipbreaking was any indication. The role played by the State government, through the GMB, limiting itself t o being a facilitator, and encouraging entrepreneurs to thrive on the strength of market forces may be eclipsed. The Alang breakers may have unwittingly forced the hand of the State government to take up the regulator's role with greater vigour.

,3>In the final analysis, the observations of Mr. Chris Horrocks, Secretary-General, International Chamber of Shipping, London, at the summit were pertinent: ``Our impression, rightly or wrongly, is that the environmental issues are generally less signif icant in India than those of personnel welfare and safety. Although the processes may seem primitive by the standards of some people in the industrialised countries, the value of virtually every item of the equipment in the local economy ensures there is a real inducement to minimise waste...The shipping industry needs ship disposal yards as the average age at which ships are withdrawn from service has been steadily rising over the past decade.

``It has become a standard procedure in some industries that the manufacturer also has a degree of responsibility for the ultimate recycling or disposal of his product. This is not currently the case with ships where the shipbuilder's interest ceases onc e the guarantee period of the commissioned equipment comes to an end. We are, therefore, initiating talks with the shipbuilding industry about a `cradle-to-grave', `maker-to-breaker' approach _ the possibility of constructing the vessels with its ultimat e disposal in mind.''

The shipping community has expressed its willingness to consider both transfer of technology and aid funding to improve facilities at the Alang shipbreaking yard. It has also been reiterated that the European Commission _ representing the countries of sh ips' origin _ may consider working together with the governments of the Asian countries where the shipbreaking takes place for `practical solutions'.

At the end of the day, whether practical solutions will result in a rejuvenated Alang `ship recycling yard' getting spruced up to take on other destinations such as China and even some of the modern yards coming up within India itself remains to be seen.