The amendment will redefine the term “wreck”, which SC used to
describe the vessel, so that it could justify the continuous presence of the dead ship.
Apprehending flak from the Supreme Court (SC) for ignoring the anchoring of contaminated giant ship Platinum-II at Bhavnagar, Gujarat, for dismantling, the Centre has decided to amend the Merchant Shipping Act of 1958.
The amendment will redefine the term “wreck”, which SC used to
describe the vessel, so that it could justify the continuous presence of the dead ship. The ship came to India after many environment and public heath-conscious countries turned it away.
SC has ruled that ships coming to India for breaking must shed hazardous material at the point of their origin. However, Platinum-II’s antecedents are doubtful, so is her registration and ownership.
Green activist Gopal Krishna and his lawyer Sanjay Parikh have drawn the apex court’s attention to the blatant violation of its direction by Gujarat Maritime Board and other authorities.
They have sought an inquiry by an independent agency to ascertain the circumstances of Platinum-II’s arrival.
Parikh said at least 700 ships were broken in India in the past four years and 5,000 since 1982, all against SC’s mandate that ships must be decontaminated in the countries of their origin before they are allowed in India. Krishna’s pending plea also seeks
clarification on whether an end-of-life ship containing hazardous material can be exported to India without decontamination and whether such a ship can be allowed in Indian waters without complete information about her antecedents, ownership documents and inventory of embedded hazardous material.
Only after a complete examination of these documents, entry can be granted to such ships.
However, Indian authorities follow a different practice. They allow hazardous ships in territorial waters even before they declare their purpose of visit. The authorities inspect only anchored ships. Such a liberal approach, Parikh said, also endangered the safety of the country.
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