South Korean shipping companies are being criticized for continuing to send end-of-life vessels to be dismantled on the beaches of South Asia. This practice raises significant environmental and human rights concerns, reports Ship Breaking Platform.
Lack of Accountability
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform has raised concerns about the unsafe and environmentally damaging practices of South Korean ship owners when disposing of their end-of-life vessels.
- Accidents and Lack of Accountability:
- In the past two years, three severe accidents resulting in fatalities and injuries have occurred on South Korean ships sent to South Asia for dismantling.
- Despite repeated calls for accountability, South Korean ship owners, including major companies like Sinokor, SK Shipping, and H-Line, continue to sell their end-of-life vessels to cash buyers, thereby bypassing international regulations that mandate safe and environmentally sound disposal.
- Recent Illegal Export:
- The NGO Shipbreaking Platform recently alerted South Korean authorities about the illegal export of the vessel HL PYEONGTAEK (IMO 9061928), sold by H-Line to cash buyer Best Oasis and beached in Alang, India.
- H-Line has scrapped five vessels in the last five years and is preparing to decommission the HL RAS LAFFAN (IMO 9176008).
- Violations of International Law:
- In 2024 alone, at least 13 vessels were exported from South Korea to India and Bangladesh for dismantling.
- International law, specifically the Basel Convention, requires that all cross-border movements of hazardous waste, including end-of-life ships, must have Prior Informed Consent (PIC) from the importing countries.
- The export of end-of-life ships from OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries to non-OECD countries is strictly prohibited.
- Violations of these laws are considered serious environmental crimes, as demonstrated by cases in the Netherlands and Norway, where ship owners faced substantial fines and imprisonment for exporting vessels to India and Pakistan for scrapping.
Ceasing Practice
The NGO Shipbreaking Platform is urging South Korean ship owners, including Sinokor, H-Line, and SK Shipping, to cease the practice of dismantling their vessels on the beaches of South Asia. They also call upon South Korean authorities to intervene and halt this harmful trade, which violates their international obligations under the Basel Convention, and to actively support the development of a responsible and sustainable domestic ship recycling industry.
The South Korean Act on Promotion of Transition to a Circular Economy and Society acknowledges waste metal as a valuable resource that can contribute to a circular economy. The act aims to promote efficient resource utilization throughout product lifecycles, minimize waste, and encourage sustainable practices. Given South Korea’s significant shipbuilding and steel manufacturing sectors, the NGO suggests incentivizing national shipping companies and the steel industry to collaborate on utilizing high-quality ship scrap steel to decarbonize the domestic steel industry. Furthermore, the shipbuilding sector should be encouraged to adopt design practices that optimize material recovery during ship recycling.
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Source: Ship Breaking Platform
