The European Union says that the environment is seriously damaged by the hundreds of merchant ships thet are dismantled each year, leaving out large quantities of hazardous waste such as asbestos, PCB and oil sludges. Moreover, in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where the majority of the dismantling industry is set, working conditions are so poor that each year hundreds of workers suffer serious accidents. Nearly a quarter of the ships dismantled come from Europe.

In one month, negotiations between the Member States on what position the Council of Ministers will take on the strategy, will commence. The environment ministers are expected to adopt conclusions at the Council meeting on 21 October.

There is already an EU ban on exporting environmentally hazardous materials, but compliance with the ban is poor, especially when it comes to ships as it is difficult to establish exactly when a ship should be demolished. There is also a brand new IMO (International Maritime Organisation) Convention, but it may be years before it enters into force. It is also uncertain whether or not the convention will have sufficient impact.

Ulf Björnholm Ottosson, Environment Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Sweden to the EU in Brussels, heads the negotiations in the working group responsible for the issue,emphasises that the industry may offer thousands of employment opportunities and contribute to growth in the southern Asian countries, but the problems in the industry must be solved.

Last autumn, the European Commission presented a proposal for a strategy on how Europe should act on the issue. The proposal calls for increased cooperation between authorities in the Member States, improved control and lists on environmentally friendly ship dismantling facilities and condemned vessels. The governments of the EU countries can also lead the way by ensuring that state-owned vessels such as warships are recycled in an environmentally friendly way and under safer working conditions.

The overarching objective of to the Commission’s strategy is to ensure that the dismantling of ships sailing under EU flags will be safe and environmentally friendly by the year 2015. In the meantime, the EU should work for clearer international regulation, voluntary commitments on the part of the industry and increase EU legislation.

With these measures, the EU reaffirmed its fight for the regulation of conditions of shipping. For the EU, the world’s most important exporter and the second biggest importer, shipping and related services are essential in helping European companies to compete globally.

Previously, the European Union had created in 2002  the European Maritime Safety Agency, which coordinates cooperation between member states on disputes relating to sea and is equipped with the necessary technical measures to combat marine pollution.