Shipbreaking is one of the world's most dangerous and dirtiest industries. In search of maximum profits, 80 percent of the world's fleet is sold and dismantled on the beaches of South Asia. Ships are run ashore and broken apart by hand by the poorest and most vulnerable people of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. One in five workers is under the age of 15. The toxic waste contained in the ships (such as asbestos, lead, PCBs and heavy metals) is not properly treated and is released directly into the environment.

www.offthebeach.org

• Dangerous working conditions

It is extremely risky for workers to break ships on beaches. The sand cannot support heavy lifting or emergency response equipment. Many workers die or are injured in accidents caused by explosions, crushed by falling metal plates or suffocated by the build-up of gases within the ship. They can also suffer from diseases like lung cancer due to their constant exposure to toxins. The total death toll in the shipbreaking yards of South Asia now runs into the thousands.

• Extreme pollution

The toxic waste from the ships leaks into the sand and is taken out to sea by the tide. The pollution destroys the biodiversity of the region and the livelihoods of surrounding fishing communities. The damage done to the environment and people alike is devastating.

To find out more about the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and the shipbreaking industry, go to our website.

We, the undersigned concerned citizens of the world, call upon the United Nations, the European Union and national governments of the shipping and shipbreaking industries to halt the crude and unacceptable practice of breaking ships on beaches. Now.

Shipbreaking on the beach can never be done in a way that is environmentally sound, secure, and protective of human health. Safer and cleaner methods of shipbreaking already exist but require more economic and infrastructural investment from the industry.

The global community needs to show leadership and move toxic ships off the beach, otherwise, the shipping and shipbreaking industries will continue their race to the bottom. Only working together will we be able to get shipbreaking off the beaches of South Asia.

In addition to the deep structural changes needed on the ground in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, rigorous implementation of the Basel Convention on the Control of the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal is urgently needed at an international level and the EU Waste Shipments Regulation must be properly implemented at the European level. 

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