Memorandum submitted by the Environment
Agency
DISMANTLING OF DEFUNCT SHIPS
1. SUMMARY
1.1 The Environment Agency ("the Agency")
welcomes this opportunity to submit evidence to the Inquiry into
the dismantling of ships and to contribute to the debate on the
future of ship dismantling in the UK. The Agency has a keen interest
in this topic as the regulator for waste management in England
and Wales and for the transboundary movements of wastes.
1.2 The Agency's comments are confined to
the key environmental and regulatory issues concerning the movement
and dismantling of ships that are waste. The Agency considers
that:
— there are weaknesses in the control
of international movements of ships as waste;
— at an international level there is
a need for greater clarity on the status of ships as waste and,
therefore, the application of regulatory controls to their movement
and dismantling;
— robust regulatory mechanisms should
be established at a UK and European level;
— ship dismantling activities, if not
appropriately regulated, have the potential to cause harmful environmental
and health impacts;
— there should be a presumption that
ships are hazardous waste unless and until it can be demonstrated
that the hazardous components have been removed;
— given the ban on the export of hazardous
waste to developing countries, OECD ships that become waste and
contain hazardous substances should only be dismantled within
the OECD area;
— the UK should adopt national policy
that promotes environmentally sound ship dismantling;
— an adequate network of authorised
recovery facilities is necessary to ensure the environmentally
sound recovery of ships.
2. INTRODUCTION
2.1 Ship dismantling is an international
business that, where properly carried out and regulated, contributes
to sustainable resource management through the recovery of materials
from waste. However, international environmental regulatory frameworks
do not make express provision for and do not readily lend themselves
to the Regulation of ships as waste.
2.2 There has been a tendency for ship dismantling
activities to be concentrated in low cost, poorly managed facilities
in developing countries, often with significant environmental
and health and safety impacts.
2.3 Ship dismantling is set to increase
as a result of a number of factors, including the requirement
to phase out single hulled tankers and because many ships built
in the 1970s are now reaching the end of their useful lives.
2.4 The European Union is a significant
shipping region, now being one of the largest flag States (a State
which registers a ship for the purposes of maritime law) areas
following EU enlargement. Future demand for dismantling and recovery
facilities needs to be determined and Member States need to ensure
that an adequate network of authorised facilities is put in place.
2.5 The Agency supports the strengthening
and clarification of the framework of international environmental
law to ensure it can be enforced in respect of the movement of
ships. A system is required that ensures that owners take responsibility
for the safe management and recovery of ships, akin to the UK
"duty of care" provisions for waste.
3. STATUS OF
SHIPS AS
WASTE
3.1 Ships can freely navigate the high seas
and controls on the movement of ships as waste only apply from
the point at which they become waste. Under the EU Waste Framework
Directive "waste" is any substance or object that the
holder discards, or intends or is required to discard. Where waste
is moved across international boundaries, the holder of the waste
is under an obligation to ensure compliance with national and
international controls on the movement of that waste.
3.2 In practice it can be difficult to determine
the point at which a ship becomes waste and subject therefore
to waste controls. The holder may intend or be required to discard
a ship and hence it becomes waste, albeit it is still viable as
a floating structure. In practice, however, holders may seek to
defer the decision to discard until the ship has reached its final
destination, thereby avoiding regulatory controls on waste movements.
4. STATUS OF
SHIPS AS
HAZARDOUS WASTE
4.1 A similar definition of waste applies
under the Basel Convention. This Convention provides the framework
for the international movement of hazardous wastes and all EU
Member States (including those that have recently joined the EU)
have ratified it.
4.2 Hazardous wastes are identified by reference
to the European Waste Catalogue (EWC). The EWC does not expressly
include ships. However ships commonly contain a range of hazardous
substances including asbestos, oils, heavy metals and PCBs, arising
from their construction and use. At the end of the ship's life
some of these can be removed prior to dismantling. Some of these
hazardous substances, such as asbestos, are often integral to
the ship's structure and are only removed as part of the dismantling
activity.
4.3 The Agency considers that there should
be a presumption that ships are hazardous waste (as with end-of-life
vehicles) unless and until it can be demonstrated that the hazardous
components have been removed.
5. REGULATORY
CONTROLS ON
DISMANTLING AND
MOVEMENTS
Permitting controls on waste recovery and disposal
facilities
5.1 The Agency's view is that dismantling
of waste ships is a waste recovery or disposal activity and must
take place at an appropriately authorised facility. The Agency
is the competent authority for issuing waste management licences
(WML) and permits under the Pollution Prevention and Control (PPC)
regime in England and Wales. A waste permit can only be issued
if appropriate planning permission is in place from the local
planning authority. Applicants must also demonstrate to the Agency
and the planning authority that their activities will not have
a significant impact on European sites designated under the Habitats
Directive. Depending on the activities being undertaken, other
permissions may need to be obtained from other regulators, such
as the Health and Safety Executive and Defra (under the Food and
Environmental Protection Act).
5.2 The interfaces between these regimes
are complicated and can be confusing for operators wishing to
dismantle a ship. Practical application of the regimes can also
be challenging for regulators. Clear guidance should be made available
that explains the regimes and provides guidance on the interface.
Controls on transboundary movements of waste
5.3 The EU Waste Shipments Regulation (WSR)
gives effect to the Basel Convention on the transboundary movement
of hazardous and other wastes. The Regulation is consistent with
rules on international trade, and with OECD Decisions on wastes
destined for recovery. It provides for a system of "prior
informed consent" whereby transboundary movements of hazardous
waste must be prenotified to, and consented by, the relevant competent
authorities. Contracts also have to be in place between the notifier
and consignee with a financial guarantee and insurance to cover
foreseeable eventualities, including repatriation of the waste.
An amendment to the Basel Convention provides for a ban on the
movement of hazardous waste from developed to developing countries.
This is currently in force for waste arising within the EU. The
WSR is currently being reviewed to bring it up to date with recent
OECD and Basel Convention decisions.
5.4 The Agency is a competent authority
under the WSR. It has to have regard to the statutory United Kingdom
Management Plan for the Exports and Imports of Waste. The Plan
recognises the value of international trade in waste as a means
of providing valuable substitutes for raw materials provided they
are consigned to genuine and environmentally sound recovery operations.
It also confirms that the proximity principle (ie the requirement
for waste to be dealt with close to source) only applies to waste
for destined disposal and not to waste for recovery.
Practical application of the control regime
5.5 In circumstances where waste is moved
in contravention of the WSR or where the disposal or recovery
operation cannot be completed, there are provisions for the waste
to be repatriated to the country of origin. Enforcing such an
agreement can be challenging, particularly for waste ships that
originated outside the EU. Repatriation provisions are underpinned
by the Articles of the Basel Convention, but it is the responsibility
of the export State to honour its obligations under international
law. Where the State does not honour the agreement there is little
sanction other than diplomatic pressure. Such a case could be
submitted to the Basel Convention's newly established Compliance
Committee. This route has yet to be tested, however, and to be
effective would require both exporting and receiving States to
have ratified the Convention. Where the activity has taken place
within the EU the Commission could intervene and take action.
5.6 It is possible to avoid these control
mechanisms for shipments of waste ships for recovery. Firstly
if a holder of the ship decides it should not be classified as
hazardous waste but as Green List (ie non hazardous waste). In
such cases the prior informed consent provisions do not apply.
Once a ship leaves the country of dispatch the opportunity for
the regulator to establish its correct classification is lost
and potential enforcement compromised.
5.7 Secondly a decision that a ship is waste
and will be dismantled may be taken while it is at sea. In these
circumstances there would be no Competent Authority of Dispatch
to apply the provision of the Basel Convention. There is a risk
that OECD originating ships could easily be declared waste at
sea and routed to dismantling facilities with lower environmental
standards. There is a lack of clarity in the application and interpretation
of these regulatory regimes in different countries and no international
agreements have yet provided certainty.
5.8 In the Agency's view these loopholes
compromise the international control regime. The review of the
WSR needs to specifically consider how it is applied to ships
and whether further guidance is needed in this respect.
Progress in international agreements on ship dismantling
5.9 The International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) and the Basel Convention have both developed and adopted
guidelines in relation to ship dismantling. These complementary
guidelines are a good first step. They place responsibility on
the final owner of a vessel to ensure that the ship has an inventory
of hazardous substances and that a facility is identified to dismantle
a ship (or parts of a ship) which is capable of dealing with the
waste which arises. They require all relevant environmental permits
for recovery or disposal facilities to be in place prior to the
movement of waste between countries.
5.10 A considerable amount of work has been
undertaken at international level between bodies such as the Basel
Convention and the IMO to clarify these issues. The Agency welcomes
the initiative being taken at international level to establish
a Joint Working Group (JWG) between representatives of the IMO,
International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Basel Convention parties,
with the objective of strengthening the implementation of the
current guidelines on ship scrapping. The Agency believes that
the outcome of these JWG discussions should lead to the creation
of a binding legal agreement, which can be enforced by the relevant
competent authorities. Such an agreement could look to encompass
the relevant provisions of the WSR for ships and apply them internationally
in a legally binding manner.
5.11 This international process is likely
to take some time. In advance of the outcome of that process the
Agency believes that similar measures should be adopted, applicable
as a minimum to the UK and EU during the interim. This would at
least assist in ensuring that European derived ship dismantling
is carried out in an environmentally sound manner and would provide
leadership to the international debate. Clarification at an EU
level as to the point at which ships for dismantling are subject
to the provisions of the Waste Framework Directive and the WSR,
or an equivalent regime would be welcome.
6. CONCLUSIONS
6.1 Law and policy relating to the dismantling
of ships, including the regulation of their movement, is complex.
Clarification on the application of these measures to ships would
help to ensure that the impacts of ship dismantling on the environment
and human health are minimal.
Environment Agency
May 2004
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