US ship will not be allowed to break at Alang port

Platinum-II, the 682-ft long US ship anchored off Alang port in Gujarat, won’t be allowed to beach and break because it has high levels of toxic material and radioactive substances.
The Union environment ministry on Monday denied her access to ship breaking yards because the ministry said the ship had falsified the flag and falsified its registration papers to enter the Indian coastline. “Platinum II  entered the Indian coastline near Alang in Gujarat carrying ‘falsified flag’ and ‘false registry papers’, a government  panel that examined the anchored ship last month said.

Environment minister Jairam Ramesh had last month ordered an enquiry to check her antecedents and health.  A five-member team examined her and found that she was a threat to the environment. The ship had hazardous waste like asbestos-containing material (ACM) and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and radioactive material.

It is reported that the ship contains 238 tonnes of asbestos-containing material, 126 used lead batteries and an estimated 210 tons of PCBs, said Gopal Krishna, who heads an environment protection group. These substances are banned in the US.

Like Krishna, lawyer Sanjay Parekh who has been arguing for the ban of parking contaminated ships in the Indian coastline, says Ramesh’s order is an “exemplary precedent”. “It’s an order to send the ship back because fraudulent documents were produced to get itself dismantling in Gujarat,’’ Parekh said.